Great basketball players practice at game speed. It's easy basketball find players that can shoot really well when nobody is guarding them or rushing their shots. Those guys are a dime a dozen. It's the players who can shoot the ball well under pressure and at game speed that move on to play at the competitive levels.
It's not likely that you'll ever get a shot during a game that you have all the time in the world to get set. Why in the world would you ever want to practice this way? This article explains shooting drills that will help you get use to shooting the shots you will get during a game.
Elbow to Elbow
This is a simple drill and can be done alone. Start out at either elbow, which is the far right or far left side of the foul line, and shoot the ball. Get your rebound and go to the opposite elbow to shoot again. I use this as a good warm-up for the intensity that is about to take place for me. Like I said, I believe in practicing at game speed basketball I'll shoot 20 shots (10 from each elbow) before I move on to the next phase of my shooting workout. I always immediately follow any portion of my drills with 10 foul shots. I keep track of everything. Once the foul shots are complete I write the totals in my notebook. Some people think that by doing that you will break up the flow of your workout. I disagree. If you're not keeping track then what's the point? You need to know how you're doing. Once you create the habit of writing in your notebook you'll immediately become comfortable with it.
Top of the Key
I'll just warn you that by 20 shots of this drill you will be tired. If you aren't tired, you are performing it incorrectly. This is the same as the elbow to elbow drill only using the top of the key as your markers. Why this gets so tiring is because you need to sprint after the ball and to your next shooting spot. The shot will go up and you will run in to retrieve the ball and immediately dribble out the opposite side to shoot again. Don't stop to rest or loaf after the ball. You'll form bad habits by doing it that way. Keep track of how many you make and miss. Once you complete 20 shots immediately step to the foul line for 10 free throws. Shoot them while being tired.
Baseline to Baseline
This is just like it sounds using the same principles that are taught above. I will stress that these shots don't need to be 3 point shots. They can be as short as you want them to be. It is completely up to each individual and their comfort level. This is done by shooting and retrieving the rebound and running to the opposite baseline to shoot another shot. It's a great drill. 10 shots from each side and then immediately get to the foul line and shoot ten foul shots. You can go through this drill repeatedly from all over the court. The key is to get used to shooting the ball at game speed and in game conditions. You want to get tired. You want to be sweating. Please keep track of your results so you can see improvement day to day.
Brian Schofield is a former division I college basketball player. He is a featured writer for HoopSkills.com, an online basketball training camp.
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