The Mother of All Basketball Shots

I hear these words all the time from my players, "I don't have the time to shot 100 free throws Coach". I have too much homework. What..? Just be straight up with me. The truth is that you don't WANT to make time for this. Sorry, I thought everyone was given 24 hours each day. You are not willing to manage your time to get better. This could be the reason why you got cut from the basketball team. What are you willing to sacrifice to improve your game? If you pick up "Talent Is Overrated" by Geoff Colvin, turn to page 19. Certainly you can agree that success does not happen without hard-work or time invested.  

By age twelve, the researchers found, the students in the most elite group were practicing an average of two hours a day verses about fifteen minutes a day for the students in the lowest group, an 800 percent difference. So students could put in their hours a little bit each day or a lot each day, but nothing, it turned out, enabled any group to reach any given grade level without putting in those hours.(Colvin page 19)  

20 Minutes

Right now it only takes me about 23 minutes to shot 100 free throws. First, players if you can not find 60 minutes let alone 20 minutes in a day to work on your game. You are clearly not that serious about basketball in the first place.  The elite players are investing at least four hours a day on their game.


Secondly, I am talking about the mother of all shots the "Free Throw". Once you master the free-throw you can take your game on the road. Shoot-the-lights-out at that point baby! What kind of confidence would you have if you knew you could hit 92% percent from the free throw line. You would be looking for people to foul you, right. If you can handle the pressure of the game, it becomes an easy shot. The bottom line is that games are won and lost from the free throw line. It is a lost art for most of us, expect for a select few...guys like Dave Hopla can shoot hundreds in a row without missing. I am not saying that you are all world if you have a high free throw percentage. What I am saying, as a coach, I want you in the game at the end of the game if you can.

Ray Allen blew my mind last year during the 3-point contest. Everyone else was shooting these long bombs and Ray walks to free throw line (toe, knee, elbow, ready and release). Reggie Miller even said "Ray Allen shots the same way every-time." Did you miss that...? Was I the only one taking notes that day...? The best 3-point shooter in the game today warms up with free-throws. That's right he was not chucking up the first 3-point shot he saw. The first thing some of our kids love to do is chuck up a half-court shot. "Coach can I get a money shot today?" First of all you need to master all the shots below the 3-point line first. Balance, focus, bounce, footwork, ready, and release are all needed to have an effective shot. The free-throw shot provides you with a foundation or platform . This is why I call the free throw shot, "The Mother of all Shots".

I challenge you to get out there and shot 300 hundred shots, making 80% percent of them. I challenge you to spend more than 20 minutes on your game. We call know that you spend hours upon hours on Facebook and the Xbox.

I will leave you with this, Shaquille O'Neal scoreed amassed 28,596 points, but only shot.527 from the dreaded free throw line in his 19 year career.

Did he reach his full potential?

How often has a missed free throw cost you the game?

BackCourt Takeaways 

Take 20 minutes each day to shot 100 shots. MAKE 80% percent, if not shot another 100 shots. Focus on having your toe, knee, elbow, and ball all lined up with each other. Don't let the lack of diligent practice cost you the game.


BackCourt Basketball Academy - Training for the rest of us

 



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