Make More Free Throws
– Think The Game Thursday –
Scoring more points can be as easy as making more free throws. Without changing your form or technique, discover key habits to become a more consistent free throw shooter including shortening your routine, stepping away from the line after a shot, visualizing first, focusing on feeling instead of targeting, and only counting your swishes in practice.
Think Deeper
5 Ways to Improve Your Game Today
Like most people, a lot of basketball players are looking for that one thing that will create an immediate impact for themselves and their team. Let’s take a look at five things any player can do to gain immediate improvement:
1. Take higher percentage shots
All basketball coaches love having a good shooter on their team. The way to instantly improve your shooting percentage is to eliminate shots that are difficult to make. If that seems simple, it is. It’s amazing how an athlete can appear to be a good (or better) shooter when they stop taking shots they don’t make very often.
To evaluate your shot, ask yourself these three key questions:
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Was your shot on balance?
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Was your shot within range?
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Was your shot in rhythm?
If the answer is ‘no’ to any of these questions, you have attempted a shot that will make you a less efficient shooter. In addition, the shots you are taking will cause your teammates and coach to lose confidence in you. Earn your coach and teammate’s trust through your shot selection.
It’s been said that it doesn’t matter how beautiful the swing a baseball player has. If he always swings at bad pitches, his batting average will be embarrassingly low. The same applies in basketball. It doesn’t matter how sweet your stroke looks if you constantly shoot poor shots. Eliminating poor shots during a game can increase your shooting percentage significantly. Good coaches love that.
2. Increase your activity on defense
Imagine before your next defensive possession, you step into a tray of bright pink paint. How much of your team’s backcourt would be covered by your footprints? I have the pleasure of observing high school and college basketball players across North America. The vast majority might only sprinkle a few footprints across their side of the court.
It’s amazing how many more steals, leather touches (deflections), bothered passes, altered shots, and tipped rebounds basketball players could get if they would just ‘PAINT THE FLOOR.’ Paint the floor with your feet, always be moving, and cover the court with your activity. This is the universal sign of a good defender. Your defensive coverage is immediately adjustable. It requires no training or practice. It only requires a commitment of focused effort. Become pretty in pink.
3. Increase your talk
Dale Carnegie has said, “Communication enhances every human experience.” Saying you’ll do something makes you more likely to actually do it. If I tell my opponent before a game that I won’t give them an easy shot all night, I’m more likely to be hell-bent on making their evening as difficult as possible.
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4. Hit someone
Here’s a quick list of statements no coach has ever made:
- Honestly, you’re just too physical.
- You’re too tough. You box out too hard and screen too rough.
- You are so physical on defense that I think you need to back it off a little bit to be more effective.
All athletes can find ways to be more physical. Tomorrow you can be a better defender, screener, driver of the basketball, and rebounder if you hit someone I don’t mean to haul off and punch anyone. I mean playing physical within the rules. Make contact with your hip, shoulder, forearms, and butt.
Basketball players who excel in this game thrive by learning how to create contact to create advantages. Bump, nudge, check, shiver, and move your opponent the entire game – both on offense and defense. This will make you instantly tougher to guard, more difficult to box out, more challenging to post up on, more frustrating to play against, and completely indispensable to your coach.
5. Question yourself
Few athletes constantly question themselves. Most just react to the situation or experience during a game. I will offer you – the motivated athlete – this challenge. At your next basketball practice question yourself each moment there’s a stoppage to breathe and think. Ask yourself, “Is there anything more I can do?” You will always get the same answer: Yes! Then DO IT. Do it immediately. Do it again. Make it a habit.
Average athletes are always satisfied with what they have done previously. Elite athletes live in a state where they are always asking themselves how they can increase their contribution. Become anxious and hold your feet to the fire. You will be amazed at how many things you recognize that you could be doing to improve your game. As you continue to perform better, the amazement will spread to your coach and teammates. Never fail to ask yourself this crucial question: “Is there anything more I can do?”
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Breaking News – 2024 PGC Fall Shooting College Schedule Released
Breaking News – 2024 PGC Fall Shooting College Schedule Released
Two Youth Basketball Organizations from the Jr. Nba’s Flagship Network Partner up to ‘teach the Game the Way It’s Meant to Be Played’
For the first time in history, two best-in class youth basketball organizations and members of the Jr. NBA Flagship Network – PGC Basketball and Pro Skills Basketball – have entered into an official partnership.
About PGC
PGC Basketball provides intense, no-nonsense basketball training for players and coaches. Our basketball camps are designed to teach players of all positions to play smart basketball, be coaches on the court, and be leaders in practices, games and in everyday life.
We combine our unique PGC culture with a variety of teaching methods and learning environments to maximize the learning potential of those that attend our sessions. In addition to spending 6-7 hours on the court each day, lessons will be reinforced through classroom sessions and video analysis.
Our goal at PGC is to empower you with the tools to fulfill your basketball dreams, while also assisting you in experiencing the joy of the journey.
To learn more about PGC Basketball, including additional basketball training tips and videos, visit our YouTube Channel or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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