Jump Shot vs Quick Set Shot

Shooting is a beautiful thing. My son is a jump shooter. When he shoots it is pure and natural. He always jumps. He is in the 9th grade and is 5’8” with a slender build. He can shoot for 30 minutes and, when he is on, he will rarely miss. Except for free throws, he always jumps.

This works fine when his legs are fresh at the start of a game or when we are just shooting around at the gym but this causes him difficulty when he has to guard a talented player on defense or when he needs to play a quarter or two at the point guard position. He gets tired and his shots suddenly do not go in like they do when his legs are fresh. His shot gets flat and has quite a bit of backspin on it from his arms having to propel the ball at the rim. It is frustrating for him and it is frustrating for all of us because we know what a good shooter he is.

One of the best shooting coaches today is an old-school shooting coach named Tom Nordland. Tom spent a lot of time analyzing shooting techniques and has discovered that the shooting method that delivers the most consistent results is to generate power with your large muscles in your legs that tend to not get tired, line up with your front leg, elbow, wrist and shooting eye aligned with the basket, use a loose wrist and let it fly. His technique is called The Swish Method and I like it. The video he sells looks old school but the results are fantastic. I suppose the old school look is likely because this is the way that I was taught to shoot (I actually copied Kyle Macy’s form). You can get to Tom’s web site by clicking back to our main site at www.HoopAids.com or go directly to the link at The Swish Method.

I was taught to not jump unless there was a need to because it adds more variables into the process of shooting. If you are in the lane and your shot is contested, then you have to jump but other than that, be quick to shoot. I was taught to play the game very low – to come off screens quickly at a semi-crouched height with your hands up to catch a pass. The advantage to already being low when the ball is caught is that you can then quickly use your legs to generate power for your shot and you do not need to jump high, if at all, to get the shot off. You will beat your defender coming off the screen and the ball will be in flight towards the hoop before they can even get there to get a hand in your face. I worry that my son catches the ball standing upright and then goes lower to generate power to jump, allowing the defender time to catch up, which means he has to jump in order to not get his shot blocked – the defender has that split second to catch up. The good news is that he has a solid fundamental form that should be able to easily adapt to a new technique with a little off-season practice. That way he can have the confidence to shoot however the situation dictates and have the game come to him.

While watching the high school basketball previews of local teams last Friday evening I noticed that most of the high school 3 point shots are indeed quick set shots. The boys catch the ball, square up and shoot quickly most times without hesitation. The best ones look like they are shooting a long free throw when you view them in isolation away from the rest of the game. Whether you shoot a jump shot or a quick set shot, when done correctly - Shooting is a beautiful thing.

Yours in Hoops,

Coach Chuck

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