I had a checklist of habits that I made up years ago so that I quickly evaluate a player’s shot in a ‘try-out’ or ‘NBA pre-draft” situation.
I had the shot broken up into different topics like “foot position”, “non-shooting hand”, or “follow-through”, and then I broke down each of those topics into all the potential habits a player could have.
I believe I had 15 different headings and 3-7 possibilities under each heading. The idea was that I could watch a player shoot several shots, check off what their habits were, then hours or weeks later, be able to recreate their shot and habits.
NBA pre-draft workouts were the situations I used this checklist the most. It was important to me to form an educated opinion of a player’s shot and their potential, so that if I was ever asked an opinion by a member of the front office, I would be able to give an educated opinion from my notes. I never knew what specific question a GM might have, but this checklist allowed me be able to answer specific questions even months after seeing them.
One of headings I had was “set point” and the options within were ideas like “square”, “triangle”, and “L-Shape”. This was one of the more important headings to me. I think the set point is crucial to shooters.
The shape a players arm takes at the set point plays a significant role in determining the shot shape and shot direction.
Let’s go back to the idea of positive power. Remember, there are only two directions of power that help us MAKE shots. At the rim, and straight up in the air. Creating energy in any other direction will actually increase the chances that you MISS shots.
The hand position on the ball at the set point and release point are huge determining factors for the ultimate direction of the ball. And the shape of your arm will determine where your hand ends up on the ball.
Since we want the ball going up and forward, we need out hand on the bottom and towards the back of the ball. This arm shape would resemble a square if you viewed it from the shooting hand side of the player. A triangle shape would put the ball back over a player’s head with a flat wrist, and in a position to shoot a flat shot.
I don’t use the checklist as much now, but it is something that update every couple of years as I continue to develop and refine my teaching.
I would encourage you to start building your own checklist. You don’t need a lot of headings and habits, just start with the things you are aware of, and start tweaking it as you go. When I started creating mine, I was updating it on a daily basis.
