Ben,

I have talked to a few guys that played point guard for me many years ago -

Their advice was pretty much the same as mine....

1- Play to your strengths
2- Be an assist man first and shot second (your teammates will love you)
3- Use your mid range game to your benefit
4- Be the quarterback of your team

Learn how to use the crossover and the jump stop... know where the help is coming from so you can dump to a post player and kick it out to a wing shooter. One guy said he rarely took the ball to the basket.... not even in college.... he said, why would I do that at 5'8" vs 6'7 guys - so I could eat the ball? They were both 5' tall as freshman by the way and were very smart when it came to keeping themselves out of bad positions, seeing traps coming etc. I hope this helps.

Ben,

I know you want to be a great scorer....nothing wrong with that.... but most of the articles I read don't say a lot about scoring... here is another one for you to look at.

FOUR KEYS TO BECOMING A GREAT POINT GUARD

by

Chris Capko
Assistant Basketball Coach
Stetson University

You will often hear coaches refer to their point guard as a “coach on the floor” or the “quarterback” of the team. You will also hear coaches refer to their guard play as being the reason their team was so successful. Point guards have more responsibility than any other player on the floor. A good point guard should account for many jobs that statistics just do not cover.

Away from the obligatory physical basketball skills that point guards must perfect, there are a number of other mental skills that are required for this position.

1. Pace and recognition of time and score.

These compliment each other and are two of the most important mental qualities a good point guard should have.

A good point guard plays at a steady pace, never getting out-of-control. They know when to turn up the pace and run as well as slow things down. The pace is generally dictated by the time and score of the game as well as that particular coach’s basketball philosophy. As simple as this sounds, too many times you will see a guy push the basketball and run when it is simply not needed or get out of control and make a bad decision because they don’t have a proper feel for the pace of the game.

It is as equally important for a point guard to always know the time and score of the game. There’s two minutes left in the game and your team is down ten, the point guard must recognize this and push the pace looking to get quicker scores. What if your team is up 4 with two minutes to go? The point guard must recognize this and set up a play to burn some clock and get the shot your team needs. Too many times young point guards lose track of this.

2. On offense a point guard should know every spot of every play within the team’s offense.

A play cannot be initiated or run correctly if every player is not in the correct spot. Point guards must recognize this and get their teammates in the correct spots. They should also know where their teammates are, who the play is run for, and how he prefers to receive the ball. Does my center feel more comfortable from the left or right block? Does my shooting guard shoot the ball better coming off screens going right or going left?

The point should also have a feel for the opposing players foul trouble or where there are defensive mismatches and be able to exploit them without the coach having to say that.

3. Leadership

Leadership is another quality that is a must for a good point guard. Between plays are you huddling your teammates up to let them know what defense you’re in or what play your coach wants to run? Are you encouraging your teammates or reprimanding them? If your big guy has been running the floor, but yet to receive the ball in the post, keep encouraging him and let him know you will be getting him the ball. Are you telling guys who they need to be matched up with or are you confused yourself? Through scouting do you know tendencies for all the opposing players or just the guys you are guarding? To truly be a “coach on the floor” you must know the intricacies of your team and the opponent.

4. Decision making

Decision making is another component that a point guard cannot overlook. Turnovers can be a detriment to a team’s success. The point guard has the ball in his hands more than anyone and is looked upon to make sound decisions.

A good point guard must value the ball and each possession for their team to succeed. It goes deeper than turnovers, but into shot selection and knowing personnel. Know the difference between a good shot and bad shot. Not knowing the difference can essentially be the same as a turnover as can not knowing your own personnel.

Many of these traits come with experience through playing the game, but many can also come through film and studying. A good point guard or basketball player in general can never study too much. You can never know all of your plays too much or find enough instances through film where you did not lead like you should. Invest in being the best point guard you can be both mentally and physically and your team will benefit greatly because of it.

Ben,

I'm not sure that you are still interested in this, but here is something from Steve Nash -

NOTES FROM STEVE NASH (speaking at the Nike Steve
Nash Skills Academy)

* A player should always want his coach to be critical--it is an
opportunity to learn or opportunity to overcome adversity.
* A point guard sets the table for everybody; he makes other
players believe in themselves. If the point guard is not "fun"
to be around and if he is not respected, he will have a difficult
chance becoming a good point guard.
* Everyday work on all of the shots you will use in a game.
* No one is going to be in better shape than me.
* I don't want to dribble just to dribble...but I don't want to give
up my dribble and give my defensive man an advantage.
* Know your teammates and where they want their shots.
* Early in my NBA career, I worked out after a game.
* On an isolation play, read the defense behind your defender
and don't make up your mind that you have to score.

Hi Coach,

Thanks for all the great information.

But I'm having trouble with my shot. My dad has been helping with my shot forever. One thing he has always emphasized was backspin on the shot. So we were working on my shot tweaking some things and nothing feels natural or right and I'm still not greeting backspin. Now I'm stuck with no shot and I really need help.
One thing my dad told me was that he noticed that sometimes the ball is coming off the side of my hand. Is there anything I can do to fix that.

Thanks again,
Ben

Ben,

Last time we looked at your shot - you had a great shot, form and all. Maybe you are overthinking your shot?? Lets go back to the basics...

Stand by a wall, take one dribble and bring the ball up with your shooting hand only, (leave your guide hand behind you or along side of you) go in to your shot and hold the follow through... ( Put your hand in the cookie jar ) Doing this against a wall takes away thoughts of making the shot and gets you to focus on your form again. Do that 25 or 50 times until you feel comfortable again with the form.
Then do some BEEF check starting from the block to center of rim to the other block, do this with one hand also until you feel like things are getting back to where you had them. As for the ball falling off the side of your hand I can only guess that your elbow is getting out to far ?
After getting comfortable with this - add your guide hand and repeat the process..... then start backing up a few feet at a time. Then you might shoot some free throws and keep working on the form. I used to tell my players that when they were struggling with their shots in games, get to the free throw line, that gives you some time to go over your form/shot in your head.
After you feel like you have your shot back, then start shooting while you are moving, the flip drill etc
(If you can take another video of your shot that might help us to see what's going on)

Seriously, you had a very nice shot last year... so its hard to figure what happened in one year?? I know from our previous conversations that you are a hard worker and WANT to get better, but don't beat yourself up over this, remember, its a game and you are supposed to be having FUN too.
.Try some of this out for a few days and then get back to us.... let us know how the form and backspin are going.

Coach,

I remember posting that video and that was at a time where i was shooting great. My dad told me that my shot has changed and he noticed that my shooting percentage has gone down each year since that year. Also instead of shooting against the wall will shooting against the backboard work?

Thanks for the advice,
Ben

Update on Shooting:

So I did the form shooting and it went pretty well but:

When I did it one handed everything was fine but as soon as I put the guide hand on the ball it fet awkward. Can you think of any reason for this?

Thanks,
Ben

Ben,

The wall makes it a little easier, but if you don't have that available to you, the backboard can work too... use what's handy.

Could be your guide hand is involved with the shot now? If everything is fine when you are just shooting with one hand... try keeping your thumb pointing towards a part of your face, your eye nearest the guide hand? That should keep it still. I think its all about becoming comfortable with your shot again...

If you get a chance, post another video for us.

Let me ask you this, what do YOU think happened that caused your shot to change?

I don't think the guide hand is involved with the shot it just feels different and weird.

And answering your question I think I started to think too much about my shot.

Tell ya what Ben, go back and look at the last videos and see IF you can see or feel anything different....

Then relax a little bit, go out and have some fun..... IF your shot is anything like it was last year, it was and probably is still a darn nice shot.

Just stop overthinking this and shoot.... come back in a few days and let us know how you are doing.....