Going into this junior year, I was sure Sean was going to be a great shooter for us.

He would come in and shoot on the Gun almost every day, writing down his percentages each day.

On his 3's, he was consistently shooting around 60-65%. I was excited!

Then the season rolled around. Sean started slow and his confidence suffered. Over the course of that year, he shot 28% on 3's and eventually lost his spot in the rotation.

So what happened?

It's too simple to say it's just one thing. There were clearly a combination of physical and mental factors that contributed to his struggles.

But as I reflect on that, I know one thing I should have done differently... and that you should be doing differently as well to make sure you can knock down shots when they count.

Shooting Secrets from the NBA: The Importance of Contesting

I recently saw a tweet from someone who had observed a number of NBA practices. They noted one commonality in almost every shooting drill:

They added a contest. That's it. They didn't do a special drill or change someone's form. They just contested the shooter's shot.

Why? Because think about Sean. His form didn't change from shooting on the Gun to shooting in games.

It wasn't the shots he was taking - they were catch and shoot 3's both in practice and games. But one thing that did change was the presence of a defender.

But one thing that did change was the presence of a defender.

Of course, you want to shoot wide open 3's. That's the goal. However, you know that won't always be an option.

To be a really good shooter, you have to be able to knock down shots while being contested.

Of course, it's hard to do this if you're by yourself. There are some props you can buy (or use a broom) to simulate a contest.

What's far more effective is to have a partner, coach, trainer or parent contest your shot.

In a game, a defender's contest is a distracting stimulus. If you never practice under the condition of being contested, you are much more likely to be thrown off when it happens.

So, do the same workouts, do the same drills - just have someone put a hand up to contest your shot.

To make it even more effective, have them vary their contests. Sometimes contest from straight on, sometimes from the side, sometimes from behind. The more variable you make the contests, the more ready you'll be to tune them out come game time.

Here's an example of how you could do this. This comes from The Breakthrough Basketball Shooting & Scoring System. It's called Kentucky Contested Shooting Drill.

Next Level Progression for Contesting Shots in Practice

While shooting under a contest is important, keep this in mind. If you're being contested to the point of having to alter your shot, you probably shouldn't be shooting that shot!

So don't have your partner block your shot. Their contest should affect your vision but not your shot.

If you want to add another layer to this practice, try this. Have them vary the aggressiveness of their contests. If they contest especially hard, work on reading that and going by them off the dribble.

That makes your decision even more game like.

Hard Now, Easy Later

If you practice this way, your shooting percentages will probably go down. Don't let that dissuade you.

The goal is not to be the best practice shooter. The goal is to be the best game shooter.

And by practicing in a way that more readily simulates the game, you'll be preparing to make shots under the lights!

Related Resources

• Breakthrough Shooting & Scoring System With Jim Huber

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