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THE ART OF SHOOTING

BY COACH JIM BAKER

THE FOUR PARTS OF THE JUMP SHOT

"B-E-E-F"

 BALANCE-ELBOW STRAIGHT-EYES ON RIM-FOLLOW THROUGH

To be a great shooter, one must master the four parts of the jump shot.  Each of the four parts fit together and require the preivous part to master the technique of a prefect shot. The base and most important part of the jump shot is BALANCE.  Without proper balance, the other three parts will not work.  The lack of a STRAIGHT ELBOW will cause the ball not to travel straight.  The EYES ON THE RIM helps to maintain good balance. And the proper FOLLOW THROUGH controls the flight of the ball and helps the shooter to adjust their shot.

The four parts of the PERFECT jump shot are described below.

"B"- BALANCE  Balance is the must important part of the shot.  Without good balance the other three parts of the shot will not work.  The balance is controlled by two parts of the body---the position of the head and the position of the feet.  The head must be in the center of the body and not leaning  back.  Focusing on the front of the rim with the eyes helps to keep the head from tilting back.  The position of the feet should be shoulder with apart and the right foot about 6 inches in front of the left foot (for a right handed shooter).  The knees are slightly bent as if the shooter is leaning against a table.  The balance of a shooter is the foundation and the key part to be a great shoot





"E"- ELBOW STRAIGHT In order for the ball to travel straight to the basket the shooter must have good balance and the elbow must be straight.  If the elbow is straight the ball will travel straight. With a straight elbow, the only adjustment the shooter must make on a miss is long or short not right or left. If a shooter has poor balance and the elbow is not straight the shooter will not know how to adjust the miss shot.  The shot will miss long, short, right and left. The shooter will guessing as to what to do on miss.  In addition, the further a shooter is away from the basket the importance of a straight elbow becomes even greater.  There is less room for error on the shot  The right toe, hip, elbow and right index finger need to be in a straight line to the basket.  If so, the ball must travel straight.

"E'- EYES ON RIM As stated above, the position of the head controls the shooter's balance.  If the head tilts back' the shooter's balance is off and the shooter now is leaning backwards. This is why it is key to keep the eyes focused on the rim before and during the shot.  Often shooters look a the flight of the ball to see if the ball is going in the basket.  When the eyes look up to see the flight of the ball the head tilts back and the shooter begins to fall back. This habit causes the shot to be short. Focusing on the rim before and during the shot helps the shooter to maintain good balance as well as to improve concentration. 

"F"- FOLLOW THROUGH For a right handed shooter the ball should rest comfortably on the fingers of the right hand.  The right index finger should be in the center of the ball.  The ball should not be on finger tips nor in the palm of the hand.  The fingers should be slightly spread and relaxed.  The left hand severs as a support-- much like that of a bookend holding a row of books in place.  With the right toe, hip, elbow and right index finger in a straight line the ball is brought off the right side of the head and shot at the highest possible point.  The stronger the shooter the higher the point of release will be. The shooter releases the ball with the right index finger being the last body part to touch the ball.  The ball sides off the left hand as the left hand stays perfectly still.  The shooter may snap the right hand as the ball leaves the hand--like Michael Jordan or the shooter may flick the right hand as the ball leave the hand--like Larry Bird. Either technique is correct.  The shooter maintains eye contract with the basket until the ball goes through the basketball.  If the shot is long, the shooter can adjust the shot by using less arm and possibly adding an little more arch.  If the shot is short, the shooter can add a little more leg strength or arm strength to make the shot.  The shooter looks at the front of the rim and shoots to get ball over the front.

Photos of Catawba Star Helgi Magnusson