How to Make A Jump Shot
The Jump shot:
In the game of basketball, great shooters are hard to find. If you want to be a great jump shot shooter, all you need to do is commit to practicing until you make your jump shot on a consistent basis. First, you must perfect your fundamentals thru practice shooting. All this requires is good coaching and hours of practicing your jump shot. Second, you must practice at game speed. This means you approach your shooting workout with the same intensity you approach a game. It is much better to take 100 jump shots at game speed than to take 500 lazy shots that a good defender would never let you shoot anyway. Finally, you must understand that working on your shooting is just like putting money in the bank. If you don't put anything into it, you can't expect to get anything out when you really need that jump shot later on.
Strategic Coaching Points
1. The basketball should sit on the finger pads of your shooting hand and not on the palm.
2. Your wrist should be flexed all the way back so that you can see wrinkles where the back of your hand meets your arm.
3. Your non-shooting or guide hand should be on the side of the basketball for better ball control.
4. Your elbow is bent and should be directly under the basket ball. If your elbow is out away from your side it will hurt your accuracy.
5. When waiting for the pass, you should be in a "ready position," knees bent, feet pointing at the basket, hands ready with fingers pointing up, prepared to receive the basket ball. Good defensive basket ball players recover quickly, so you must be ready to shoot the ball and make every shot.
6. Eyes should be locked on your target. Some people shoot their jump shot for the back of the rim and some for just over the front of the rim. Whether you concentrate on the front or back, keep your eyes on that point and DO NOT WATCH THE BALL.
7. As you jump, reach up, and release the basket ball with a flick of the wrist and a good follow through. The follow through will give you good reverse rotation and make your shot soft on the rim.
NOTE: A good basket ball player must shoot the ball well off both the pass and off the dribble. When shooting off the dribble, make the last dribble hard and high to help you move directly into your shot. When receiving a pass, run the ball into your hands and catch the ball with knees bent each and every play.