Hello, I don't post much here but this is my most frequently visited site. I play high school basketball and was wondering if anyone could help me with shooting. I can make a lot of shots but my form isn't that good and everytime I shoot I get sidespin instead of backspin on the ball. I have no idea what's causing it and it's getting really annoying. So, if someone could please give me some info on how to correct this problem or any advice that could make me a bettter shooter it would be appreciated.
When you set up to shoot make sure your hand is on the back of the ball. Then just let the ball roll off your fingers. This should give you the desired spin. It's likely that your hand is angles across the back of the ball and that will cause sidespin. Good luck.
Kenny Smith shot most of his shots straight on a line with plenty of sidespin. It never really bothers me if I play basketball in a way that is not seen as traditional, as long as it works.
If you make a lot of shots, then why mess with your form? I say just do what works for you, if Bill Cartwright can do it, then so can you! Seriously, check out this page, has a good guide. http://www.coachesclipboard.net/JumpShot.html If that doesn't work, you can always use Physics.
Hand position: Take the ball in your hands. Assuming your right hand is your shooting hand, put your right hand on top the ball and your left hand on the left side of the ball. All fingers should be comfortably spread out, and all fingers except the thumbs should lay on the ball with a cup in the palm of both hands. The pad of the thumbs should be on the ball with no other part of the thumb resting on the ball. Now look at your thumbs. The right thumb should be pointing at the middle of your left thumb. Keeping your hands in the same position, rotate the ball so that your left hand is on top and your right hand is on the right side of the ball. You thumbs should form a "T". The thumbs should not be touching, but you get the idea. Body position: First, square your body to the basket. Feet shoulder width apart. Bend your knees so that you have a bounce in them. Drop your left foot back about 6 inches. Arm Position: Your right elbow should be pointing to the line of the basket. Upper arm should be parallel with the floor. Lower arm slightly cocked back. Shooting hand is cocked back retaining the cup in the palm. Hand position remains the same. Note that left thumb is pointing straight at you. Shot: Bend knees, and extend. Keeping elbow in line with basket, extend arm and release ball. Make conscious effort to keep left thumb pointing at your body. There should be absolutely NO rotation of the left hand on the shot. The left hand is a guide. The right hand, after the release, should have your four fingers pointing straight down into the bucket of the basket. Finish high on your toes. What did I forget?
I used to shoot pretty crazy. I think it was sidespin, too. (sorry, I didn't really watch the ball much.) I got in a crazy Free-Throw streak where I kept making them, even with the weird style. My coach just said usued whatever worked. Over the summer, I tried to make 100 shots, making me shoot a bunch. This changed my style to a backspin, since I was trying to do it right. I think every once in a while, I revert to my old way, but I'm pretty much have changed. Still miss a lot, though...
Early in his career, Jeff Hornacek had the exact same problem. To get rid of this habit, he taped the four fingers on his shooting hand together when he practiced. Then, while shooting, he would follow through by flicking his wrist down directly at the basket when he shot. Eventually, his hand got used to the motion and shooting that way became second nature to him. It got rid of the sidespin, and helped him become one of the greatest pure shooters of all time.
Thanks for the help. I'm going to try taping my fingers together while I practice and see if that helps. I'll also try everything Falcon mentioned. I'll let you know if it works.
