To become a high level basketball player you need to be able to shoot and pass the ball.
Shooting
Everyone’s shot looks a little different, but all great shooters need to do some things the same. Those 5 things are:
1- Eyes on the basketball hoop. (Bob Huggins once told me that most of the easy shots that are missed in basketball games at the D1 level are due to the fact that the offensive player was so focused on the defense that they never looked at the hoop.)
2- Have a balanced stance. (Feet should be comfortably spaced apart and pointed in the direction of the basketball hoop. This is often referred to as being “squared up.”)
3- Have a good grip on the basketball. (Fingers should be spread apart in order to be able to hold the ball with one hand. The ball should be resting on the pads of your fingers. Use the guide hand to bring the ball up, but do not use the guide hand when releasing the ball.)
4- Slightly bend knees and jump to generate force. (The ball will often start to move before the body does. Release the shot on your way up, not the way down.)
5- Release Ball / Follow Through / Finish Shot (Your dominant hand that you just released the ball with should be pointing at the basketball hoop. Try to land in same spot that you just shot from. If you are moving in any direction, it should be towards the hoop.)
The most important thing is to make sure the shot all one motion. Don’t separate the shot into individual parts. The shot should feel comfortable to the shooter on makes and feel awkward on misses. The shooter should know whether the shot is going in or not based on how it felt just after the ball was released from shooting hand.
Passing
All passes need to be On Time and On Target. Passing is more about court awareness than it is about technique. Once a player is comfortable on the court and can start anticipating where their teammates will be open, it makes passing much easier. Court spacing and ball handling are other major factors when evaluating whether a player is an effective passer. It is nearly impossible to get a teammate the ball if they are too close, too far away, or simply do not have the proper angle where a pass can be thrown. The same thing can be said for a player that dribbles with their head down. You can’t tell me that a player is aware of which teammates are open when they are looking at the ball as they dribble.
The following pictures show some of the greatest men’s and women’s basketball players I have ever witnessed pass and shoot the ball at the various levels of basketball.
