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My junior year of high school I played with a guy named Zac Keeney. Zac was a heck of a scorer. So good that he was first team all-conference and went on to play college basketball.

My job was to...

• Look up the floor and get the ball to Zac.
  
• Penetrate and kick to Zac.
  
• When the defense collapsed on Zac, find an open spot, and hit the open shot.

Towards the end of the season, we had a big game against Maquoketa.

Maquoketa’s Coach Bill Fleming was a high school legend in our area and was known for winning a lot of games and producing college players left and right… not bad for small town Iowa with a bunch of farm kids.

What was Coach Fleming’s game plan for Zac… Box-and-1.

He took one of his strongest, quickest, and slightly taller players and just stuck him right in Zac’s face the entire game. The defender never even looked for the ball. And all of the other defenders shaded to Zac and always knew where he was at.

Our coach Kevin Barnes responded with having Zac stand in the corner.

He believed we had a better chance to win playing 4 on 4 on offense and playing 5 on 5 on defense.

Zac finished the game with 4 points and we ended up winning by 2 points.

It was also a huge benefit to me as I scored 37 points and had 15 assists. Just kidding...

Actually, I had 17 points and 5 assists, but the numbers only get bigger with time... Right?

But even though my stat line was better than Zac’s, he was our MVP.

He made everything easier for the team. Here’s why...

Why You Can Only Score 4 Points and Be Game MVP

If you’re a great shooter like Zac, your presence can have a tremendous impact on the game. Just think about what it does to the defense...

• Your team only has four defenders to beat rather than five.
  
  The defender won’t leave you (the shooter) to help. This makes it much easier for your teammates to beat the defense.
  
  
• Your team shoots a higher percentage.
  
  The defense shades towards you (the shooter). This gives your teammates more open shots. Study after study shows that open shots lead to higher shooting percentages.
  
  
• Your team gets more lay ups with more open driving lanes.
  
  If your teammates knock down a few open shots, the defense is now sprinting at them on defensive close outs. This makes it nearly impossible to stop the dribble drive. As mentioned above, you also have one less defender to beat.
  
  Your team will get more open lay ups and more open shots, two of the most efficient shots in basketball. In other words, your team scores more points.
  
  
• You get more college looks and a better chance to earn a scholarship.
  
  Here’s the bottom line… if you’re a great shooter, your team will be better. Teams that win games attract college scouts.
  
  Coaches aren’t stupid. They’ll see the effect you have on the game.
  
  One year that I coached at the high school varsity level, we had a player who only scored 8 points per game but earned a full ride college scholarship.
  
  Why? He played for a great team. We made the state championship game and were even nationally ranked in the top 30… not bad for a public school team.
  
  
  

This is one of the reasons that we dramatically increased the number of shooting camps this year.

Turning into a great shooter can elevate your game and elevate your team in so many ways.

Shooting is a great equalizer. It helps average athletes compete against great athletes. It helps great athletes become elite players.

In our shooting camps, we give you the tools & knowledge to be a great shooter.

In turn, you put in the work to become great.

Here are a few things that we will teach you…

• How to build confidence and mental confidence of a Stephen Curry
• How to develop a quicker release to get more shots off.
• The proper shooting progressions that you should do every day.
• The Michael Jordan 1-2 Step
• Rhythm and pace dribbling to improve your shooting off the dribble.

And much more…

Shooting Camps Sell Out Quick.

Click here to view the entire shooting camp schedule.

Also, if you want to see other camps, you can scroll up and down from the same page.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Zac Keeney says: 12/16/2018 at 8:05:06 AM Thanks for the love Joe! Still try to get buckets when I can. Going to shoot is like meditation for me. Keep up the good work, Zac Like   1 reply   login   register Joe Haefner says: 12/16/2018 at 11:03:05 AM Thanks, Zac. Getting buckets was never an issue for you, my man! Like     login   register Marcus says: 6/6/2016 at 9:40:29 AM Great article. Would like to note that I have a team of young players ....... 5th Graders to be exact. I'd like them to participate in camps such as this. Two questions: Help me understand the reason the camps start at the 7th Grade level and that Virginia Beach (which is surrounded by several other cities/counties nearby) has only one time slot versus others like Roanoke that has 2 for these camps. I believe that starting early will develop long-term skills that should be mastered by the 7th Grade level, with consistent and dedicated training. Besides, all of the players on the team love Steph Curry anyway and want to shoot "lights out" like him. Mj Like   1 reply   login   register Joe Haefner says: 6/6/2016 at 11:21:54 AM Thanks for the questions, Marcus. The camps that start at 7th grade require more physical and mental maturity to get the most out of the camps. The three camps in Virginia are like that, Elite Guard, Elite Guard "Next Level", and Attack & Counter. Most of our shooting camps start in the 5th grade. And our "Complete Player" Youth Skills Camp starts in 4th grade. Why the Shooting or Youth skills camp is not any of those locations, I do not know. There are so many factors in scheduling that there might not be a good reason, except that's where the pieces fell. However, thank you for letting us know! This helps with planning and scheduling. We're already working on the 2017 calendar. If we get a lot of requests to a certain area, we tend to be more likely to go there. Also, if you want to host a camp fundraiser, you can learn more here: https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/camps/campfundraiser.asp I think there might even be a few slots open for the fall. Like     login   register Stepan says: 6/6/2016 at 8:47:20 AM Great article, I've always felt the same way about not trying to force the ball into the hands of your best player... Let the game come to him/her. The problem is — what if you just can't beat them 4-on-4? If your star is the best player on the floor, but otherwise the opponents are superior in terms of their talent and skills? It might cost you to take him (and his defender) out of equation in this case. More power will be probably lost than acquired. Anyway, it is not the main point of the article, and the main point is that everybody should be a good shooter to be really effective, not a couple of players on a team. ☺ Which is just true, and I agree completely. Steph Curry mentioned in the article wouldn't be half a star he is without all that abundant complementary shooting around him. Like   1 reply   login   register Joe Haefner says: 6/6/2016 at 11:25:32 AM Great point, Stepan. You definitely have to analyze every situation. If I can recall correctly, I think our coach made the adjustment because their strategy was effective and we came out flat. Fortunately, for us, it worked. We had multiple players who could shoot, pass, and dribble. However, he always told us that we were too nice. So I'm guessing we just got too passive and depending on our best player and this adjustment helped the team get out of that mentality. Like     login   register

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