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Secret to Scoring More Points in Basketball-Creating Your Own Shot-

hoopskills.com

Becoming a Prolific Scorer Part 1 - Creating

Your Own Shot

-by Coach Andy Louder

http://www.hoopskills.com

So you've spent countless hours in the gym

perfecting your shot. You've had a few breakout

games but you are still struggling to find a way to

consistently score more points. Sound familiar? If

it does, you certainly aren't alone. There are lots

of good players that go through this phase. The

key is to understand that it's not a permanent

phase and that you can move past it with the

right training and understanding.

Here's one of the main things you need to

remember... if you become a good shooter you

can't keep it a secret for very long. The focus of a

good defensive team is to try and force the other

team to shoot the ball as far away from the basket as possible. To encourage

this they usually sag off. They try and take away any opportunities you might

have to drive towards the basket to get a closer shot.

In other words, they encourage the other team to shoot jump shots. This is why

when you first become a good shooter it's a lot of fun! You get a lot of open looks

from the outside and have the opportunity to score a lot of points. However the

honeymoon doesn't last long. Once a team figures out that you can hit the open

shot from outside they completely change their strategy. Instead of sagging off

they get up in your face and never leave you alone.

This is where a lot of players fall apart. They get really frustrated by the pressure

defense and can never get a shot off. To try and score points and contribute they

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Secret to Scoring More Points in Basketball-Creating Your Own Shot-

hoopskills.com

end up forcing shots. Things get worse and worse because they miss most of their

shots and start losing their confidence. They go from having a few games where

they score a lot of points to barely putting up 4-6 points a game.

Write this down. If you are a one-dimensional player, you are very easy to guard.

Unless you are over 7 feet tall you are going to have a very difficult time scoring

points by just being a good shooter. You've got to be able to get by your defender

and create your own shot. If you can do this, a world of opportunity opens up for

you.

Think about this? You get the ball and the guy guarding you knows you are a good

shooter but also remembers the last time you had the ball you crossed him up

and got a lay-up. How is he going to guard you? He knows that if he leaves you

enough room you'll just shoot a jump shot over him but if he guards you tight

you'll get around him for an open shot. Now you're in the driver's seat. This is a

much better situation to be in than just hoping somebody sets a good pick for you

or that the defense will play a soft zone so you can get an open three-pointer.

Here are some great NBA players to watch who all do a phenomenal job of

creating their own shot: Lebron, Kobe, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Deron

Williams, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry. Watch them on television and pay

attention to how they break down their defenders when they pressure them.

They don't just score their points when someone passes to them while they are

wide open. They have the ability to make things happen.

How to Get Started

Start simple when begin trying to create your own shot. The worst thing you can

do is get so excited about it that you play out of control and force the issue. If you

do this you'll end up committing turnovers and taking bad shots and that is never

good. The key is to start small by practicing just one move.

Once you master one specific move that allows you to get open, then you can

start leaning others. Maybe your one move starting out is just a quick jab-step or

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Secret to Scoring More Points in Basketball-Creating Your Own Shot-

hoopskills.com

a cross-over dribble. It doesn't need to be fancy at all, it just needs to be

something that puts your defender off-balance so you can make a move to get

open. You'll be amazed how much a difference just knowing one move can make.

It's also important to note that you should never attempt anything fancy until you

have it mastered in practice. So once you decide on the first move you are going

to learn, don't do it in a game until you've done it in practice several times and

had success doing it.