First thing... for good shooters its all about Muscle Memory.... and that comes from repititions.... a lot of shooting and then more shooting.... BUT, its about PERFECT PRACTICE... not just practice. You can make your shot automatic (almost) by doing the things Joe suggested - use the 5 in a row goal too.

I hope you take this the right way.... but IF you can shoot lights out and cant do the other things necessary to play, you wont get much, if any, playing time. You are young and in a growth spurt I am sure.... that can make you a little slower.

Once you get healthier, you need to work on your qucikness, (this will help your D as long as you understand the fundamentals of m2m defense)
Work out with weights
Be stronger with the ball, protect it like it was your last piece of pizza. :-) Get in a triple threat position and WHEN they try to steal if from you, RIP it through, do NOT let them get a good look at it.
When passing, make pass fakes, the D doesn't know if you are faking or passing, they have to react.... get them to move their hands away from the area that you want to pass the ball to.
Learn how to read he defenses too.

Let me give you an idea of what it takes to be a great shooter.
One summer one of my players came in EVERY day and shot 1,000 Free throws. 16 weeks X 5 days X 1,000 shots = 80,000 free throws.... not to mention the other shooting he did and working on the rest of his game. He was a Mid 80s% free throw shooter that seaon.... here is the amazing stat.... MID 90S IN THE 4TH QUARTER.

Thats the kind of commitment you will have to make IF You want to be automatic - IF you are willing to pay that price, then you can be a good shooter too.

He wasn't slow but he sure wasn't the quickest kid on the floor.... what he had as a burning desire to succeed and be the best he could be. When he was a freshman (like you) he came to me one day in the hallway with tears in his eyes, complaining that his shot sucked. I told him that there was nothing wrong with his shot.... its you and your attitude where you think that you HAVE to MAKE EVERY SHOT. It doesn't work that way... we all miss, Michael Jordon misssed and so does Lebron ( doesn't seem that way sometimes - but they miss too )

So, go to work on your game.... NOT just shooting, you have to be able to do all those things you listed if you are going to be a player. GOOD LUCK - The Ball is in YOUR court.

OK. I will definitely work on those things. But shooting will be my main priority. I don't have the Swish 2 dvd yet and I don't know if I'll get it, but I have been using the advice from the articles and I have been working on a new technique with that. Yesterday I shot from 5-6 feet away and I had to make 3 swishes from 5 spots. Would it be better to change this into 3 swishes in a row. My goal was to make perfect swishes, not just to simply make the shot.And with this new technique, when do you advise to move further away from the basket?

Coach Sars gave you plenty of great advice. Keep working on your shot.

I think Swish2 is a great video and I learned a lot from it. If you want to purchase it, go for it.

If you believe your athletic ability and strength are contributing to you not being a good player, get more athletic and stronger. It's not easy and it is going to take hard work. Where do you live? Maybe I know some good trainers in your area.

This offseason could focus on:

- Getting more athletic & stronger.
- Perfecting your shot.
- Primary Dribble Move & Counter Dribble Move

If you try to be great at everything, you'll never be good at anything. Focus on the critical few and get really good at them.

That too is great advice Joe!

Refresh our memories..... tell us about the injury and how the rehab is going. Thanks

would being better at defense fall under the category of getting more athletic&stronger?. I really need to do those things that Joe mentioned. I have a shin injury and I had a bone scan today and I have a doctor's appointment on thursday so he can tell me the diagnosis. Last week, the doctor said if it is a stress fracture, I'll be out for 4-6 weeks. If it isn't a stress fracture, he simply said that I'll have to live with that shin pain and deal with it.

Maybe its shin splints? When you are done with your regular doctor talk to the trainer at school and see what they suggest. Do a search on line also..... there are ways of dealing with that.

Defense is all about DESIRE..... there should be NO bad days on D! Defense is desire and being fundamentally sound on the aspects of m2m defense. Its about quickness and proper position... and IF you are slow.... POSITIONING is really important. As a defenderf you need to have a plan as to how you want to play an individual. I used to play tennis with my cousin, he was better than me so I looked for a weakness to exploit, forehand, backhand etc...... no luck, so I hit the ball at his feet and took away his strengths. Look for ways to take away your opponents strengths, even IF he is better than you.

After you are better (healed) jump rope, jump lines, jump on and off of a box, run lines - meaning a lot of stop and go stuff. Baseline to free throw line and back, continue to do that. Think of the free throw lane lines... start on one side - slide to the other side and touch the line with your hand and slide back and touch that one too... continue this for 20 seconds.

First of all, make sure you do what the Doctor says.. and you get a release. IF he says its not a stress fracture, check this out.

Specific conditions under Shin Splint
[edit] Overused muscle
One cause is an overused muscle, either as an acute injury or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The muscle pain is caused by any activity that involves running, jumping, also sometimes even walking (especially on concrete). Untreated shin splints can lead to a stress reaction mid-shaft in the tibia, which can eventually lead to a stress fracture. A stress fracture can be diagnosed by a bone scan or an MRI and takes much longer to heal than shin splints.

Read this part carefully -

A physical therapist, athletic therapist, or doctor should be consulted before engaging in this type of training.

Acute treatment
Running and other strenuous lower limb activities, like basketball and other sports which include flexing the muscle, should be avoided until the pain subsides and is no longer elicited by activity. In conjunction with rest, anti-inflammatory treatments such as cold-packs and drugs, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (in particular, NSAID gel) may be suggested by a doctor or athletic trainer. Over-the-counter pain relievers can also be taken, though there is some controversy over their effectiveness. Furthermore, the lower legs may be taped to stabilize and take some load off the periosteum. In addition, finger massage on the affected muscle can be helpful, though try to avoid the bone. Finally, using good shoes (ideally compensating for individual foot differences) is important. The shin can be trained for greater static and dynamic flexibility through adaptation, which will diminish the contracting reflex, and allow the muscles to handle the rapid stretch. The key to this is to stretch the shins regularly. However, static stretching might not be enough. To adapt a muscle to rapid, eccentric contraction, it has to acquire greater dynamic flexibility as well. One way to work on the dynamic flexibility of the anterior shin is to subject it to exaggerated stress, in a controlled way, such as walking on the heels. If the muscle is regularly subject to an even greater dynamic, eccentric contraction than during the intended exercise, it will become more capable of handling the ordinary amount of stress. Experienced long-distance runners practice controlled downhill running as a part of training, which places greater eccentric loads on the quadriceps as well as on the shins.


A physical therapist, athletic therapist, or doctor should be consulted before engaging in this type of training.

Another acute treatment for anterior 'shin splints' is heavy stretching of the calf or plantar flexors of the foot. Many suggest writing out the alphabet in the air with the feet or scrunching up a towel with the toes. Tight calves cause a muscular imbalance where the anterior tibialis becomes overstretched. This overstretching causes a weakening and inflammation of the anterior tibialis. If the anterior tibialis is inflamed it is often due to tight calves putting permanent stress on the anterior tibialis. By stretching the calf musculature for 30 seconds to 5 minutes this can be alleviated over time.

Many doctors suggest also stretching the hamstrings, after warming up, as tight hamstrings can lead to problems such as shin splints.

Thanks a lot coach. I am going to the doctor on Thursday to see what the diagnosis is. Before the bone scan, the doctor said, "there could be 2 possibilities". The first one is that I could have a stress fracture and I could be out for 4-6 weeks. The second one, he simply said, if it is not a stress fracture, you are going to have to deal with this pain forever. I said "WHAT!!!". Then he said "some of our bodies were not built to play basketball". I didn't like that at all. I'll let you guys know on thursday what he says.

Good luck either way...... but IF he says its NOT a stress fracture - see your trainer at school and talk about your problem with him... and talk shin splints. See what he has to say too.