hand placement on ball

Where should your fingers of your shooting hand be placed on the ball . Right now i put my index finger in the middle of the ball and i am thinking that this is giving me side spin . Also i struggle alot with range and tend to push the ball rather than shoot it when im outside the 3pt line . Im 17 and fairly strong and physical yet i dont have the range too shoot a 3 . Any help?

I think that in the heat of a game the last thing we are looking at is where our hand is... you get that from form shooting... try moving your finger over just a little bit, that should put your index and middle finger in about the middle of the ball.

As for coming up short on threes.... try getting more of your legs into the shot and then let us know how its going.

Focus on hand placement when you have time when working on your shooting form.

air hole of basketball should be between your middle and index finger.

for the side spin, sometimes the thumb of your guide hand can get in the way of your release...watch for that.

Good catch Coach A... I was just coming back to tell him that maybe his guide hand was effecting the shot.

When you practice form shooting.. do it with ONE hand close to the basket... that way you can check exactly what you are doing.

Great stuff, coaches.

This article might help as well "5 of the Biggest Basketball Shooting Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)"

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting/5-shooting-mistakes.html

Number 2 is the one that the coaches were referring to.

Thanks guys, I spent my entire shooting workout focusing on my hand placment it was tough and felt a bit weird shooting jumpers from 15 feet and on but near the end i started to feel very comfortable . I didnt work at game speed though because every time i did i would go back to my old habit of putting the index finger in the middle off the ball so i just positioned my hands when i catched it and then shot .

As for the strength in my jumper i tried to bend my knees as much as possible but it then results in a very slow release and loss of accuracy . I'm not sure what is wrong but i dont think it could be strength because i can definently hold my own down low and im 17 yrs old . I just want my jumper to feel effortless from the outside because then i can be a great shooter because i wont have worry about just making the distance.

Thanks guys

I might suggest that you start working closer to the basket at first and then work your way out until you reach the distance you want and are comfortable with... and above all.... successful.

Not everybody is a good three point shooter but IF you are patient with yourself..... you can achieve that goal.

Good luck.

Coach Sar

Yeah but i've been doing that for the last 2-3 years just working on my mid range . my Coach told me to develop a consistent outside shot this summer(im in australia) and if i do i can play div 1 ball . So im pretty eager to get a 3point shot now and im willing to do whatever it takes . If a 1000 correct shots each day is the answer then thats what i'll do

I believe that you will...... but you need to find the range where you are successful at.. and then work your way back slowly until you achieve your goal.
Make sure that your form is not affected and 1,000 shots a day should do the job. IF you can find someone to feed you balls that should go a little faster.... there are machines that feed balls to players but they can be pretty expensive.... if your school has one and you can get access to it that would be good.
I had a senior in high school shoot 1,000 free throws a day all summer long... he shot around 92% during the season.. he was automatic. This was all about muscle memory... he took one dribble and shot the ball during the season... none of this fancy ritual stuff.
By the way, do you know a coach by the name of Tony Gall from Australia?

Thanks for believing coach and thats great advice . I've got a couple of friends who come down with me here and there so that could help . So how should i know i'm ready to step out to the three point line ?? And do you think i will become a great shooter if i can shoot 1000 perfect shots daily.
Which state is Tony from??

Lets say that you are comfortable and successful from 15 feet.... move back to 17 feet until you have the same success - once you have mastered that ... go to 19 and repeat the process.

As for a slow release - I am a firm believer of stepping into the shot off the pass... catch with the inside foot and step forward and shoot with one motion.....It's called 1-2 step shooting.... we used to talk to some kids about a quicker release..... count 1-1,000 - 2 - 1,000 etc.... and get your starting point... then work on a quicker release... a little at a time... don't try to be a lightning shooter right away... improve it a little bit at a time until it is as quick as you want it and can be successful with.

Do I think that you can be a great shooter IF you shoot 1,000 shots a day? .... I believe that we can do whatever we make our minds up to do... and it comes from believing in yourself first. I can tell you this for sure... you WILL become a much better shooter than you are right now... becoming a GREAT one.... thats up to you.

I became a head boys varsity high school coach and I didn't play past grammar school... no room on a high school team for a short kid with no shot..... I really didn't become a good shooter until I was 16 and got my first J shot. But I made up my mind as I got older what I wanted to do... and I made my goal and achieved it.... so, IF I can do it, so can you.

Tony is from Warrnambool, Victoria

ok coach thanks for the great advice much appreciated . Is there anything other tips you tell me that will help me achieve my dreams ? have you ever coached any div 1 players??

Tony leaves in the same state as i do but that town is located down near the beach so its a far distance probably 3-4 hour drive . A friend of mine might know him he played for Warrnambool
last season (They only have one major team) but he is in the states know doing a year at prep school .

I totally agree with Coach Ken, keep improving on your mid-range shot until you are "lights out", which means making 60 to 70% without being guarded.

If you have time and a helper. Try to chart your shots from mid-range so you have an idea how accurate you are. Chart how many makes and how many misses. Analyze your misses, why are you missing? are your shots short?, long? miss to the right? to the left? Get an understanding of why you are missing. Stay with this routine until you can knock down 60 to 70% of these mid-range jumpers, this could take 1,000's of repetitions.......then...step back and do the same from beyond the arc. Start by taking a 100 shots, chart each one and find your shooting % behind the arc. Once you know that you can now set yourself a goal to improve your accuracy....again...1,000's of reps before you will be lights out beyond the arc.
This whole process requires a lot of time and patience. You'll need lots of court time to do this on your own. It will go a lot quicker if you find helpers to rebound and to do the charting for you.

Good Luck Kid!!!


Coach A

thanks coach great advice! but it aint that easy to find someone here noone really is willing to give up that time just to rebound and if its working out with someone there not willing to get up early and workout so its tough but i guess its just another obstacle on the road to success haha . take care and thankyoou

Great advice Coach A!

Why don't you find someone who has the same dreams that you do - or a younger kid that wants to play high school ball.... and he feeds you and then you feed him.... it will take a little longer but to get something you need to give something.

Good luck and let us know how this process goes.

Do you have your own basket to shoot at? IF you do, rig up some netting that will send the ball back to you... thats pretty much what
The Shoot Away does. At least you wont be chasing the misses all over the place.

Here is a thought for you:

Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.(Lou Holtz)

Wow. Great advice, coaches.

Here a couple of other quick thoughts on extending your range:

I believe that you should spend about 10% of your practice taking shots outside of your comfort zone.. After you have warmed up with some form shots, close jump shots, and some mid-range jump shots, take a step back and try to extend your range. At first, only a few of your shots may even hit the rim. After a bit, you will start to be able to shoot the ball better with more accuracy. Don't worry if your shots are banging off the backboard, just focus on using the good form. After that, get back to taking some more shots within your range with good form. I believe that is important to do this before you are tired, because it is difficult to learn new skills in a fatigued state.

One thing that worked well for me when I was trying to engrain new form on 3-pointers is to shoot a few shots from 25 to 27 feet. Use good form, though. However, don't worry if you hit the rim or even make it. Just focus on the good form. Now, when you step to the 3-point line, the shot will feel smooth and effortless.

For your shooting, it is vital that you use your legs and bend your knees. However, one thing that is often forgotten is to DROP YOUR HIPS. A player can bend and bend his knees, but the hips are not in proper position to explode. Personally, I've had problems with this.

In order to get your hips to drop, I read an article I think by Brian McCormick that you throw a two-hand chest pass high into the air with a bouncy medicine ball (I'm guessing 4 to 8 lbs). Almost like you are shooting, but with two hands. If you don't drop and use your hips, the ball won't go very far.

Good thoughts Joe, especially this part...

Don't worry if your shots are banging off the backboard, just focus on using the good form. After that, get back to taking some more shots within your range with good form.

I believe that is important to do this before you are tired, because it is difficult to learn new skills in a fatigued state.

In our practices we always taught a new play, inbounds etc early in the practice while I still had their attention. :-)

ok thanks i'll give it a shot .

So far this is my shooting workout .

60 one hand form shooting under the basket
60 normal shooting under the basket
30 normal shooting 5-6 feet out
10 made free throws
50 jumpshots from each baseline
50 from each wings
50 from each elbows
50 from the free throw line jumpers
50 from the wings (3pt line)
50 pull ups(full speed from half court and pull up at the ft line )
50 one dribble jumpers left side
50 one dribble jumpers right side
20 lh floaters
20 rh floaters
50 pull ups ( full speed from half court and pull up hit a back board jumper from the block or 3 -4 feet further)
20 left hand layups
20 right hand and left hand reverse layups

tell me what you guys think and what more i can add to it

Sounds like a good and thorough shooting plan. Go for it!!