Thursday, April 2, 2009

The Art and Science of Shooting a Basketball

I came across this great article about basketball shooting this morning and had to share it with you. Its written by legendary UNLV coach, Jerry Tarkanian. Tarkanian led the "Runnin' Rebels" to the NCAA title in 1989-1990 with a line-up that included future NBA players Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon (one of my favourites) and Greg Anthony.

In the article, Tarkanian identifies the elements that are key to becoming a great basketball shooter. These are practice/technique, stance, grip, timing, concentration, confidence, soft touch/finesse and shot selection.

Click on the title below to read the full story.

Basketball Shooting - The Art and Science of Shooting a Basketball

Basketball Shooting Is Both Art and Science
Fundamentals of Shooting A Basketball

By Coach Jerry Tarkanian

Shooting a basketball is both an art and a science. Basketball shooting is an art form because it involves finely tuned hand-eye coordination rather than gross motor skills. For example, unlike such skills as the defensive stance and pivoting, which are relatively invariable, shooting form is highly individualistic. There is no one correct way of shooting a basketball, although there are certain elements of basketball shooting form common to all good basketball shooters that may be identified.

Shooting a basketball is also a science because it involves such mechanical processes as depth perception, velocity, angle of release, and trajectory of the ball in flight. The comic strip Mary Worth once featured an episode about a brilliant mathematics student who became an outstanding shooter on his basketball team because of his analysis of the scientific principles involved in shooting a basketball. Though the episode is rather far-fetched, it illustrates that an awareness of the scientific bases for good shooting can help to improve a player’s shot within the limitations of his ability and time spent practicing his shooting.


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