Creating Your Own Shot
As players get older and the level of competition increases the ability to get off or create your own shot becomes much more important. We get asked all the time if we have ideas on how players can work on that or if there are any products that can help them. We have plenty of products out there that can assist or teach a player some moves but none better than the Better Basketball 7 Series. It will break everything down for you in great detail and is worth every penny.
However, let’s cover some ideas of moves that can be worked on to create or get your own shot. First, you need to have the ability to be able to get past your defender. If you can’t get past your defender in a one on one setting then that is a whole different story. If you are able to get past your defender in a one on one setting then a few simple things will give you the ability to get your own shot.
1st- Understand spacing. Understand that you need to create a distance between you and the defender. If you are standing straight up and not in a shooting position then you will get crowded by the defender. If that happens don’t be afraid to create space by getting into a basketball position by protecting the ball, getting your knees bent and making yourself a threat to drive past the defense.
2nd- Don’t be afraid of your jump shot. If you aren’t going to shoot the ball then nobody will even guard you and this post is useless. If you aren’t a great shooter then work at it until you have confidence. I played against a guy where when he got the ball i would literally turn around because he wasn’t going to do anything but pass the ball. It made it very easy for all of us.
3rd - Learn the ability to shoot off the dribble. Imagine if you’ve driven past your player a couple times and they feel you are about to do it again. You take one or two hard dribbles and immediately go up into a jump shot. This isn’t easy to learn and takes practice but the defender is often on their heels when you are going up for the shot. How many times have you seen Kobe have his guy leaning backwards when he is shooting? This is how he does it and it is done by players of all sizes and ages and is a key to getting your own shot.
4th - Learn the step back. This is done by creating space between you and the defender and was mastered by Larry Bird. He would take a hard dribble toward the basket while pushing back with his front foot to create space and give him the ability to get his shot off. Great move that must be practiced with each hand in order to be a threat from both sides of the court.
5th - Learn to be able to jump stop when driving into the key or when picking up your dribble. I say this a million times but players just don’t do it enough. When you drive past your defender be prepared to jump stop for the quick shot. Too many young players will drive past the 1st level of defense only to get to the 2nd level where the bigs are. If you can learn to get past the defense and jump stop for a short shot you’ll be much better off and you’ll draw the 2nd level towards you opening up all kinds of lanes for your teammates. JUMP STOP.
That’s all I have for today but please email me with questions and don’t be afraid to give me some opinions.
