The #1 Basketball Shooting Myth
Today I have a guest blog post from Taylor Allan all about basketball shooting, and the secrets that you can use to take your game to the next level. There is some VERY important information in here, so read it carefully!
By the way, Taylor has a great program called Prolific Shooting that is VERY comprehensive as far as basketball shooting goes. Check it out here:
Enjoy!
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Hey, it’s Taylor!
I just wanted to first of all thank everyone at Sport Speed, Etc. for having me!
In this article, I want to dispel a really big myth about basketball shooting that I’ve gone through during my career. I know that my writing style is a little brash, but I just get really worked up when it comes to this stuff – I’m very passionate about the game.
So bare with me if I go off on a tangent, but I hope this information truly helps you take your game to the next level and beyond!
Now, to open up this post, I’m not going to be shy or beat around the bush:
I am a shooter. Period.
This is flat out my bread and butter, what I pride myself on, so I feel no need to be humble. When it comes to basketball shooting I’m confident that I can hang with the absolute best.
Yes, there are parts of my game that aren’t quite up to par (my defense could use some work). But at the end of the day, I will always command the best defender on the floor because I am always the deadliest player on every team, every time.
Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not saying this to be cocky. Not at all. The truth is, you can (pretty easily) achieve the exact same results, and you will probably end up being even better than I am.
And in the next five minutes, I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it.
But before we get into that, you have to understand where I’m coming from.
You see, I used to slave away for hours and hours each day, struggling to hone and perfect my shot, only to find out at game time that it was significantly less than perfect.
I used to try to “shoot 1000 shots per day” (sound familiar?) only to get severe elbow tendonitis later on in my career.
I’ve done the 6 hour marathon sessions, I’ve done the so-called “NBA workouts”…
When it comes to stupid basketball shooting workouts, I’ve pretty much been there and done that. Over, and over, and over.
I’ve been overtrained, run down, beat up, and in the hospital. I’ve wasted entire off-seasons on painfully terrible basketball training programs that did absolutely nothing for my game (except for leave my body banged up and bruised by the time the “real” season rolled around).
I don’t want this to happen to you. In fact, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. There is no worse feeling than slaving away for hours in a gym only to find out that you wasted every second of it going backwards. Trust me – it is complete and utter misery.
So I am going to share with you the biggest key to basketball success that I’ve learned over the course of my career, and then the 5 principles that you can apply immediately to your game to get to that next level.
Knowing that this will cause a little bit of controversy, here’s the truth about basketball shooting:
The “Pure shooter” is DEAD.
Prolific shooters are the new breed of scorer, and if you’re going to survive – no, thrive as a shooter, then pay very close attention to the rest of this article.
What’s the difference between a pure shooter and a prolific shooter?
Pure shooters are the old breed – the Larry Bird’s of basketball (no disrespect to Bird, one of my favorite players of all time, but there’s no way he could survive in the game today). Pure shooters are probably not that athletic, can hit open shots at will, but can’t truly make things happen on the floor.
Prolific shooters, on the other hand, are absolutely deadly.
Because of their uncanny ability to get shots off at will, and hit ridiculously tough shots over and over, it’s virtually impossible to stop a truly prolific shooter.
Take away their shot and they will break you down off the dribble, put you on their hip before stopping on a dime for a lightning quick pull-up. Give them an inch and they will bury it in your eye. They can pull the trigger from 30 feet out quicker than you can blink, but if you play them close they will blow by you in a split second faster than you can say “layup lines.”
There are 5 things you absolutely need to master in order to become a devastating prolific shooter:
1.) Have unlimited range out to at least 25 feet, if not 35 – this is the number one thing that has exploded my effectiveness as a player. Become a player that the defense has to guard skin tight at half court (do you know how hard it is to stay in front of someone for 40 feet??)
2.) Have a lightning quick release off the catch and off the dribble. Absolutely master the transition from the catch or bounce into the shot.
3.) Become prolific off of the pull-up dribble and step back dribble. Learn to balance your body off of any move and break opponents down. Have backup secondary moves off the pull-up as well.
4.) Master coming off screens, fading, curling, and popping. Master shaking your defender strait into oncoming screens, and even using your defender’s teammates as screens (MJ did this better than anyone).
5.) Become more athletic. Seriously, the days of lazy players jogging up the court and shooting a set shot are over. Players are becoming more and more freaky athletic every day, and you need to keep up. You don’t have to be LeBron James, but you need to be strong and quick enough to create space – something everyone is capable of. Keep up to date on the information here at SSE and you’ll do amazing!
Here’s the bottom line: Prolific Shooters will ALWAYS be the deadliest, most respected player on any court, at any level.
Become the best, most prolific shooter on any team you play on (it’s easier than you think), and you will have a spot on any team even in the highest levels of basketball.
You will be the most sought after player by recruiters, coaches, and VP’s, you will always command the best defenders, and get the most respect from other teams.
You will become a limited commodity in the game of basketball because most players don’t hold these secrets.
Use them to your advantage, apply these 5 principles to your game, and take action!
Train hard,
Taylor
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There’s some important information in that article that should really hit home for a lot of players.
Check out Taylor’s full Prolific Shooting training system, here:
It’s a really great training system – very comprehensive.
Yours in Speed,
Lee
Taylor,
I am very eager to see what you bring to art of shooting. I was that prolific shooter that you describe. I will have to disagree with you on the subject of Bird and the pure shooter. Larry Bird was a prolific shooter by your definition and according to the 5 attributes you describe in this article. He would still be a great player in today’s game.
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