Shooting Technique

I have questions about timing and coordination between the arms and legs. There's a sample shooting analysis of a boy and Stephen Curry on jump shot genie. During this analysis, the coach says that straightening knees while the ball comes up results in fluidity and having a struggle the arms and legs. I've been trying to also lower my arch because higher comes more physical effort and I have been told by Micah Lancaster that I have to much it. I'm not concerned about jumping, I'm concerned about rhythm.

This is hard to answer in written text. In regards to rhythm, Rick Penny's One Motion Shooting has some good info about coordinating upper body and lower body.
https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/store/shopexd.asp?id=136

Ball rises as knees bend. This is the correct timing for a one motion shot. Knee action is a quick down and up process. Once ball starts to rise, it DOES NOT STOP. Finish at Release Point. Quick and smooth.

However if you are a 2-piece shooter the timing of your legs and arms can be different. Generally coaches want the ball coming out of your hands right before you reach the top of your jump.

Well how would you coordinate the legs and arms? Should there be a connection between the straightening of your legs and the extension of your elbow?

Sorry but I'm not sure what you mean?

How would you coordinate arm and leg movement together?

You just move them at the same time. Right as you start to bend your knees your arm action begin around the same time.

In most cases players don't conscious think about this. You just jump and shoot and your body naturally learns how to shoot right before you reach the top of your jump. If the ball is coming out of your rights a fraction of a second before you reach the peak of your jump, you should be in good shape.

How would you develop a one-piece shot like Steph Curry and not have the "Shawn Marion effect"? I understand that it's truly impossible to have a true one motion shot because even Steph has two movements in his shot, the pause however almost goes unnoticed. I've noticed that the longer you pause, the less power you have from your jump. This is the reason that Steph can pull from anywhere with ease. The shorter the pause, the quicker the shot, the more power you have and the less you have to jump. It's the completely opposite when you start to pause longer.

Christianb28,

You asked, "How would you develop a one-piece shot like Steph Curry and not have the Shawn Marion effect?"

There is a way to do that and I'll explain. But first, a few comments on the "Shawn Marion Effect". Joe Haefner coined this phrase recently and it's a great description of what happens when shooters mix certain components of one-piece and two-piece shots.

One-piece shooters start at SET (ball located near chest level). When the actual shooting motion begins, the ball travels straight up, non-stop, as the knees bend and extend. This is the timing mechanism and it's a very quick process.

Two-piece shooters start the ball at or below waist level by dipping it. The timing mechanism involves bending their knees as the ball loops up & back and pauses/stops near eye level or higher. This process takes longer due to the looping action of the ball and the knee action (down & up) being a bit slower.

Shawn Marion combines the two techniques this way:

1. He begins each shot by dipping the ball below his waist (two-piece).
2. From there, the ball travels straight up, non-stop, as his knees quickly bend and extend (one-piece).

The end result is a rushed looking shot with a low release point and arms that don't fully extended above his head...that is the "Shawn Marion Effect".

You CAN have a one-piece shot without dipping! It's exactly what I teach with the One Motion Technique. It starts at SET and utilizes quick knee action (down & up) timed with a ball path that is straight up...no looping action.

The link below shows me from a few years ago plus two students performing One Motion Shots. Notice we don't dip and the ball travels straight Up & AT the basket from SET without looping up & back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MODjvOysGiA

Rick Penny
One Motion Shooting
http://www.onemotionbasketball.com

Concerning the Shawn effect, Mr. Haffner was saying players starting the jump their waist instead of starting the jump as they set position. Also do you believe that straightening of knees creates UpForce ?

If you're talking about the knees straightening on the jump, then yes, they create power for the shot...or as you say UpForce.

Thank you. There's two movements of the ball in a shot. One is the movement to set point ( generally where the back of the ball is in front of face) and the other movement is the release (extension of elbow). This holds true to almost 99% of basketball players. All basketball players have a pause in their shooting motion, some barely noticeable and others are very visible. This can be backed up by video evidence. The shooters that have a barely noticeable pause between the set and the release are closer to the one motion shot (i.e Chris Jackson, Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry, JJ Redick, etc.).

Christianb28,

I enjoy reading your posts!

We're in agreement that most shooters have two movements within their shot. The One Motion Technique only has ONE and that sets it apart from the rest.

With One Motion, the ball never pauses or stops throughout the entire process. This holds true for shots off the dribble, from a pass, or those that are stationary.

One Motion has a different SET point than the one you described in your last post. What you call the SET Point (near eye level) is what I call the Explosion Point. That is the location of the ball when the knees have fully flexed and are about to extend to propel the shooter off the floor.

With One Motion, the SET point is lower (chest level) and the ball travels straight up and goes through the Explosion Point (what you call SET) non-stop. This is why there is only ONE movement with One Motion and the link I posted on Oct. 7 shows that.

The One Motion Shooting Video discusses and demonstrates all of this and information can be found on my website.

Rick Penny
One Motion Shooting
http://www.onemotionbasketball.com