Shooting, Explained

Case Study

Aaron Gordon: Building a Free Throw

A rookie-year case study — 42% in college to 72% in the NBA — and the four decisions that made the difference.

7 minAug 2026

Practice Design

The 7 Faders

A mixing-board way to think about practice difficulty — seven faders you ride to keep shooters in the challenge point and build skill that transfers.

5 minAug 2026

Practice Design

The Missing Bridge

Why perfecting a habit in a simple drill doesn't transfer to games on its own — and the skill-adaptability training that bridges the gap.

5 minAug 2026

Skill Acquisition

Say Less, Change More

Internal vs. external cues — why the right few words change a habit faster than a full explanation, and how to find the cue that clicks for each player.

8 minAug 2026

Mechanics

The Two Connections

Once you've diagnosed a shot, where do you start? The two places I prioritize every correction — the hand to the ball, and the feet to the floor.

8 minAug 2026

Case Study

Dewayne Dedmon: The Shot He Rebuilt Himself

A 3rd-string center who couldn't be trusted to shoot became an 80% free-throw shooter with three-point range — much of it done on his own.

7 minAug 2026

Analysis

Start with the Ball

How I diagnose which one or two habits to change in a shooter — by reading what the ball does before I ever look at the body.

8 minAug 2026

Analysis

Understanding Release Quality

Spin has a direction, not just a speed — and the hidden tilt in a shooter's backspin quietly pushes shots off-line.

8 minApr 2026

Practice Design

Explaining and Adjusting Task Difficulty

How to match the challenge to the player — and adjust it on the fly to keep them learning.

6 minJun 2026

Skill Acquisition

A Balanced Look at the CLA in Basketball Shooting

Two experts on the Constraints-Led Approach — where it applies, where it has limits, and the weak-shooter paradox.

13 minJul 2026

Analysis

All About Video Shot Analysis: How to Break Down a Shot Like a Pro

Video reveals the gap between what a shooter feels and what they actually do, and a structured process turns that footage into real, correctable insight.

5 minAug 2026

Mindset

If I Coached U10 Basketball Again, Here's What I Would (and Wouldn't) Do

After 20 years of coaching, here's how I'd handle a youth team differently: more play, less drilling, and letting the game itself do the teaching.

3 minAug 2026

Practice Design

Drills Are Like Medicine

On the surface drills look like the cure for every shooting problem, but real development is layered, interconnected, and needs a diagnosis.

4 minAug 2026

Shooting Science

Practical Examples of the Shooting Sandbox

A closer look at four elite shooters and how each made an unconventional spot in the shooting sandbox work for them.

5 minAug 2026

Analysis

Variability in Free Throw Practice

Temperature, humidity, altitude, and even the weight of the ball all change how far a free throw travels, which is why practice should embrace variability.

5 minAug 2026

Mechanics

The Hidden Mechanics of Consistency: Why Synchronizing All Three Joints Matters in Shooting

Treating the shoulder, elbow, and wrist as one three-joint system shows why joint timing—not any single angle—is the real driver of a repeatable shot.

5 minAug 2026

Practice Design

Is Form Shooting for Pros, Not Youth?

Traditional form shooting strips away the context players need to learn, so who should actually be doing it, and what kind?

5 minAug 2026

Analysis

Launch Angle and Velocity in Basketball Shooting

Entry angle is a popular shooting metric, but players don't control it directly—launch angle and release velocity are the real levers.

5 minAug 2026

Mechanics

The Advantages (and Drawbacks) of Longer Levers

Why smaller players must adjust their shooting mechanics more than taller players when shooting from distance, and the trade-offs that come with it.

4 minAug 2026

Skill Acquisition

The Muscle Memory Myth: Why Great Shooters Don't Repeat One Shot

Muscles don't have memory, so the reps that build a game-ready shot are about adaptability, not etching one perfect motion.

4 minAug 2026

Analysis

The Optical Illusion of Ball Spin

The seams of the ball fool the eye into misreading a shooter's rotation, which is why measuring the true axis of spin reveals how the hand pushed the ball.

7 minAug 2026

Mechanics

How to Shoot a Basketball Better by Finding Your Optimal Stance Width

The shot begins with your feet, and finding the stance width that matches your body and each shot's demands is the foundation of a balanced, repeatable shot.

5 minAug 2026

Skill Acquisition

Oversimplify the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA)

CLA is not "just play games and don't teach skills"—a look at how the approach gets misused and how to apply it more effectively.

6 minAug 2026

Analysis

Basketball's Equivalent to Baseball's Pitch Design

Baseball's data-driven pitch design has a basketball parallel: using spin metrics to make invisible release flaws visible and fixable.

3 minAug 2026

Analysis

Quantifying Stability in Basketball: The Science Behind Optimal Stance Widths

A biomechanical look at how the feet, center of mass, and lateral force interact to define the stance width that maximizes stability without sacrificing mobility.

6 minAug 2026

Analysis

Quantifying Touch: Understanding the Relationship Between Arc and Velocity

Arc is only half the story; it's the relationship between arc and velocity that lets us finally measure the elusive skill of touch.

6 minAug 2026

Skill Acquisition

The Shooting Development Pyramid

A structured framework that prioritizes what actually drives shooting improvement, from the foundation of repetition up to the finer points of form.

6 minAug 2026

Skill Acquisition

Skill Acquisition, ShotMetrics... And Blackjack?

Skill acquisition principles tilt the odds like basic strategy, but ShotMetrics is the card-counting edge that changes the game entirely.

5 minAug 2026

Skill Acquisition

A Misconception in NBA Basketball Skill Development

The moments outsiders see NBA players train are preparation, not development, and copying them misleads coaches about what real skill building looks like.

6 minAug 2026

Mechanics

From Static to Transitional: Building Adaptable Shooting Balance in Basketball

Real shooting balance is multi-dimensional—static, dynamic, reactive, and transitional—and must be trained in the game contexts where it actually breaks down.

7 minAug 2026

Analysis

What is Release Curvature?

Measuring how much the ball's path bends in its final moments in the hand reveals a surprising key to better distance control.

3 minAug 2026

Mechanics

How I Work on Balance in a Player's Shot

Balance isn't the absence of motion; it's controlling energy so movement flows toward the rim, and different balance types call for different training solutions.

6 minAug 2026