2 Quick Tips To Drastically Improve Your Shooting Percentage

Posted on March 10, 2017March 10, 2017 by morrisbasketballprogram

Struggling to keep your shooting percentage at an acceptable level or not able to raise it higher no matter how much practice you put in? You are likely experiencing inconsistencies in parts of your shooting technique. When it comes to shooting the basketball, consistency is crucial in all parts of your shot form. However, there are 2 key techniques that have greater impact than others, and even may be able to help you become the most improved player on your team.

Square Your Body To The Rim

Many players practice shooting hundreds of shots a day to get better and sadly a lot of young players are practicing with poor shooting alignment. Having your body square to the rim simply means your entire body is facing the rim from your feet to your shoulders. From the beginning to the end of your shot, your body needs to remain facing the rim. The benefit of this is that it removes unnecessary movement in your body during the shot. When you begin to twist your upper or lower body when shooting, you are adding in movements that make it impossible to replicate consistently and therefore it becomes EXTREMELY difficult to practice and get better no matter the number of reps you put in.

When practicing your alignment be sure to carry it through to every shot you take. Whether it be a perfect free throw or a jumpshot coming off of a screen, your first and last thought should be “was I lined up properly all the way through my shooting action?”

Get Your Elbow To Eye Level

A great way to increase your shooting percentage is to fine tune your follow through when shooting. It’s very common to see players shooting with otherwise good shooting form except when it comes to the release of the basketball. At the end of every shot you push the ball up towards the basket and flick the wrist to get the desired backspin on the ball. BUT if your elbow doesn’t make it above the level of your nose it’s an easy indicator that your shots will be flat and likely rim out a good percentage of the time. The simple fix of getting your elbow high enough, so that its even with your eyes at the end of your shot will help in a variety of ways. First, you will naturally increase the arc of your shot which is very important so that the ball has an opportunity to drop more vertically into the basket rather than coming in at a narrow angle. Second, you will begin to use the correct set of muscles for shooting(shoulder) the ball up, rather than your chest muscles to push the ball forward. Third, you will find it easier to shoot over taller defenders and players looking to defend you. You may not even notice, but these small changes will create a profound improvement in your shooting form and shot percentage.

By implementing these 2 simple techniques you can increase your overall percentage as much as 20-30 percent. A good way to self-test yourself is to use these tips while you try our top 4 shooting drills from 2016! Getting lots of reps with these 2 concepts done correctly is what creates good shooting habits. And with your hard work and attention to detail there is nothing that can stop you from becoming a knock down shooter for your team.

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Follow These 4 Steps To Get A Head Start On Next Basketball Season Now!

Posted on February 17, 2017March 31, 2017 by morrisbasketballprogram

This basketball season is soon coming to a close. This is a great time for reflection and self assessment. Whether you led your team to a tournament championship or found yourself riding the pine with a losing season you are the only person that can hold yourself accountable for your performance of lack thereof.

1. Be Honest with yourself.

What does it mean to be accountable to yourself? When talking about your skills and awareness on the basketball court you MUST have a critical view of your own performance. Did you have a problem committing turnovers? Or maybe your shooting percentage wasn’t what you hoped or expected it to be.

When having the conversation with yourself about what went well and what could be better it is vital that you do not sugar coat it; that you use the season that you are coming off of as tool to identify the areas of your game that need immediate attention.

2. Don’t Procrastinate; Get Better At Something

If you look at players considered the best at any level of play from high school through the pros you will see a common theme. Players that are considered the best are CONSTANTLY working on 1 or more aspects of their game. They understand that the off season isn’t for the players- it’s for the spectators. The time to get into basketball training for dribbling, shooting, running a fast break or applying pressure defense full court is NOW. Between now and November you have the opportunity to visualize the type of player you want to be and with that in mind you can put your head down and begin to grind out the bumps and smooth the edges of your game until you become the player you see yourself capable of being. Get to it.

3. Seek Out Help

We would all love to believe that we can figure things out on our own all the time but sadly that just is not reality. We all need help at some point to push us to the higher levels we reach for. Don’t let complacency or embarrassment hold you back from achieving your goals and feeling the satisfaction of reaching and surpassing your own expectations. Search for the resources that are available to you. There might be local basketball classes or private basketball training that you can take advantage of to get you on track for next season. The internet is a great resource to get ideas for training individual skill sets if you can’t find resources that are local to your area.

4. Commit And Follow Through

This is probably toughest thing for many people to really accomplish. Sure you may have really analyzed your season and come to some tough realizations about where you need to improve. You might have begun researching the resources that are available to you and have a plan to put them to use but until you start the process, none of your preparation matters. Put a start date in your calendar and stick to that commitment. Taking the initiative and getting back in the gym to work on your game will put you a head of 75% of your competition when the next season arrives. So just showing up and beginning to work gives you and edge but in order to get ahead of the other 25%; well that’s a topic for another article but it starts where this one ends. Who knows, you might get voted as the Most Improved Player heading into next season! GET IN AND GET WORKING.

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Struggling So Far This Year? Save Your Basketball Season Before The Halfway Mark With These 4 Steps.

Posted on December 25, 2016March 31, 2017 by morrisbasketballprogram

The basketball tournaments during Christmas Break are a mile marker before the midway point of the season. There is still time to change the outcome of this season.

**1. Make Good Use Of Pre and Post Practice Time**

The time before and after practice can be crucial to your personal experience during the season. Don’t waste time heaving half court shots or playing a game of who can make a shot through the rafters. If you are lucky enough to have that time before a coach starts practice or afterwards to work on your individual skill set, DON’T WASTE IT. This time should be used for Form Shooting drills, stationary dribbling drills, working on the perfect free throw or even getting GAME TYPE shots in with a friend to increase your confidence and shooting percentage. Coaches love seeing their players focused and working on themselves outside of normal practice time. The results could be that your sheer dedication to improving puts you higher in the rotation.

2. Treat Every Practice As A Tryout

Congratulations, you’ve made the cut and aren’t sitting around wondering why you got cut from the team. Perhaps your team tryouts were a grueling 3 days filled with endless sprints and backboard touches that left your body weary for days afterward. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO LET UP. Many players go through this every year. Tryouts were extremely tough and now that you made the cut your hoping that you can ease off the gas pedal and get down to shooting the 3 ball and jogging in for that finger roll layup you worked on over the summer. If you can obtain the mindset that you are always being evaluated to see what your value is and ultimately how much you will play, you should have no problem pushing yourself in each drill or segment of practice. REMEMBER, your competing for playing time ALWAYS.

3. Speak To Your Coach

I hesitate to encourage this to all players because some players run the risk of BEING ALL TALK. Yes, your coach wants to see that you are interested in getting better and playing better for your team. You MUST not do this in vain, if you think a quick fix to your lack of minutes on the floor is having a sit down with your coach you are likely going to be disappointed. Coaches put a lot of time in to deciding who gets what time and your most heart-felt pleas for time will likely go ignored UNLESS you have been showing that you take initiative in your skill development by taking the above mentioned steps. If you need to understand plays or defensive schemes better then ask those questions and ask them until you are sure you know the answers but be sure to match your questions with the effort needed to perform at a high level.

4. As You Ascend Brings Others With You

Hard work undoubtedly pays off over time. I hope reading this encourages you to takes the steps to put in that work and get better. A very important aspect of being a part of a team is your ability to make those around you better. By working hard and giving all your effort at the practice or game at hand you will inevitably have an impact on those around you. It’s important to be sure you are making a POSITIVE IMPACT on your team. In fact, being a bad teammate is 1 of the Signs Of Being A Bad Basketball Player. It could be encouraging your teammates during sprints to push themselves harder or giving out high 5’s for any and every small accomplishment you see your teammates completing. Your teams season can be drastically different by injecting your positive attitude and working hard. The Great thing is that by putting together a great work ethic and positive attitude it becomes contagious and you may see yourself and your team accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Wrap up: Follow these tips and you can expect improvement in yourself and likely figure out How To Earn More Playing Time On The Basketball Court. Always pursue new ways of working on your skills and when possible take advantage of playing and practicing with advanced players and coaches. If you are unsure of how your situation on your current team is going, or if it is already going bad, signing up for a free workout with the Morris Basketball Program can be the first step in saving your season and career!

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4 Reasons You May Have Been Cut From Your Basketball Team This Year

Posted on September 29, 2016December 25, 2016 by morrisbasketballprogram

If you wasted your preseason you are already one step behind in the game.

Sports in general (but more specifically basketball) are one of the things that are nothing like riding a bike. If you don’t use your abilities and try to constantly fine tune and improve your basketball skills you will most definitely lose them. You can’t take the entire off-season off, and step back on the basketball court and expect your game to be the same. A lot of time, effort, and sweat must be given in order to see real improvements in your game.

The preseason is considered to be the period of time from the beginning of the new school year up until basketball tryouts beginning during the end of the Fall. So we can consider the basketball preseason to last about three months. Three months is a lot of time in terms of basketball conditioning, but it is not when it comes to basketball skill training.. It takes many many hours to master a skill. It only takes a few weeks of heavy dedication to get into basketball shape.

Here are 4 things that can ruin your basketball season before it even starts:

1. Not Taking Training Seriously

In today’s basketball world, intense training is a given. Back in the day, you could probably get away with not training as hard as you could and still see some kind of success as a basketball player. But those days are over. There is way too much competition (who are probably in the gym training right now) to think you will be fine if you are not constantly pushing your game to new heights. The majority of players these days are in the gym consistently on their own, playing on multiple teams, and seeking out PRIVATE BASKETBALL TRAINING twice per week in an attempt to get an edge on the competition. So if you are in the gym training on your own regularly, you are doing just enough to stay one step behind your competitors.

2. Not Being In Basketball Shape

A lot of players underestimate the significance of being a well-conditioned basketball player. Players tend to understand why they need to improve their actual skills, but don’t see how being in tip-top shape can make basketball skill training easier. The better shape you are in, the more likely you are to perform your drills at game speed. The more you train at game speed, the better chance you have at translating your improved skills into the real game. A prime example of this is the ability to constantly MOVE WITHOUT THE BALL to tire out your defender and find open shots you normally wouldn’t be able to shoot.

3. Not Building Team Chemistry

A big mistake players (especially new players to a program, such as high school freshman) make is not taking the time to build chemistry with their teammates. Although this may seem small and insignificant, it can make or break your chances to make the team for the year. This is especially true if you are a newcomer to a team with a returning core group of players. You want to show you can fit in with the current system while also showcasing your skills! This goes hand in hand with #4.

4. Not Knowing Your Role For The Upcoming Season

Knowing your role on your basketball team for the new season is just as important as being skillfully prepared. If you are not aware of what your role might be, how could you properly prepare for it? Although everyone wants to be the star player of course, everyone has to start somewhere. Your role could be anything from being a top scorer to being a glorified practice player. Whatever your role is, you should take pride in the fact that you may have a spot on the team and have a chance to contribute. As long as you have a role, you have a chance at climbing the totem pole on your team and also you can know how to prepare in the off-season.

If you didn’t make the cut but still think you have what it takes, the Morris Basketball Program can help you to secure your spot on your team’s roster!

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5 Easy Signs That You Are A Good Basketball Player

Posted on July 4, 2016March 31, 2017 by morrisbasketballprogram

Ways To Tell If You Might Be A Good Basketball Player.

In today’s game, being a good basketball player means you possess certain qualities that help influence the outcome of each game in a positive manner. Bad players do just the opposite. If you have an eye for the game of basketball, you can usually spot a good player out from the crowd; something just makes them stand out above the other players. Here is a list of some qualities that give a player a reputation as a good player:

1. You Understand The Fundamentals

All good players have a strong foundation. They learn to play basketball with more good habits than bad. What are examples of good habits? Not making one handed passes, setting effective and useful screens, boxing out their defensive target before every rebound…the list goes on.

For good basketball players, it is easy to tell that they have had some coaching somewhere. They have had the fundamentals ingrained into their game from an earlier standpoint and it shows. Good basketball players usually seem a little bit more polished on the court, and make things look a little easier than the average player. If you have not had the proper fundamental coaching to become a good basketball player, we suggest you sign up with the Morris Basketball Program to sharpen your skills!

2. You Give More Effort

Good basketball players not only have the fundamentals down, they give maximum effort to get the most out of each play. There is a clear cut reason why it may seem like only some of the “lucky players” on a team get all of the meaningful stats– points, assists, rebounds, steals, etc. These players MAKE things happen through giving continual effort for the entire game. Whether your game is 32 minutes, 40 minutes, or 48 minutes, you can catch a good player giving it his all.

3. You Understand Time/Score

Solid basketball players are always aware of the Time/Score of the game. I’m not just talking about when theres under 10 seconds remaining and the game is on the line. Good players are aware of this facet of the game from the opening tip until the final referee whistle. Eight times out of ten, if a player understands time/score, they will have a sturdy grasp of #4.

Good basketball players understand when there is a need to milk the clock to stretch out a small lead. Conversely, they understand how to play with a sense of urgency when time is running out.

4. You Play Within The Ebb & Flow Of The Game

An easy way to tell a good basketball player and a bad basketball player apart is to watch how they react to situations within the flow of the game. Normally, good players will either blend in with the flow, and rack up their solid plays/statistics seamlessly in the game, or will only stand out for having more spectacular plays than bonehead plays. The opposite holds true for bad players. Bad players stick out, whether from turnovers due to #1, or maybe they stick out in a negative way for being too lackadaisical on the court. This is also very easy to notice.

5. You Work On Your Weaknesses

This one is simple. Good players stay in the gym, and are constantly sharpening their skills. We have alluded to this in previous articles, and there is just no way around this. If you want to be good, you have to put the time in. No one ever accomplished anything great with zero effort. The Most Complete Individual Basketball Workout is a great way to nurture a well rounded game. Developing your game takes time, patience, determination, and a desire to see incremental improvements! Another way to work on your weaknesses would be to watch your favorite player, or another player whose strengths are your weakness! Youtube is a great option for watching more experienced players play.

So there you have it. If you know anyone who exhibits these qualities in the basketball world, you know a good player. If only a few of these qualities describe your game, you may just be an average player. Or if not many or none of these qualities at all describe you, you may need to know the 5 Quick Signs You Are A Bad Basketball Player. If you are a bad player, we recommend you join our program to increase your skills. If you are already a good player, we encourage you to attend our Sunday Workouts and challenge yourself against better players.

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Why Moving Without The Ball Can Improve Your Basketball Career

Posted on February 17, 2016March 31, 2017 by morrisbasketballprogram

Why players who know how to move WITHOUT the ball are more successful.

By The Morris Basketball Program

Whenever you imagine yourself playing basketball, 99 percent of the time you are in a situation where you have the ball and have your heart set on creating something, whether it be your own shot or an opportunity for a teammate. No one really imagines setting themselves up for the game winning shot by not having the ball to begin with. But in reality, this is where most uncontested shot opportunities begin. Being able to create a shot for yourself is important, but it is not everything. Having to create for yourself and your teammates can be rewarding, but it can also be very frustrating if things are not going your way. Being able to always find the open space on the court and make yourself available to an open pass for an uncontested shot is just as effective, and requires minimal effort if you are in great basketball shape. This is one of the easiest ways to Earn More Playing Time.

A perfect example of a player of this nature would be Ray Allen (in the latter years of his career). After all the athleticism left his body, he still found ways to be an effective shooter and scorer on the court, to remain a valuable piece to his team. He kept his body in great condition, to allow him to have a high motor to find open spots on the floor with non-stop movement. When you move without the ball, you will realize you create opportunities not just for yourself, but you will open up more opportunities for your teammates as well.

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5 Steps To A Perfect Free Throw

Posted on January 29, 2016March 31, 2017 by morrisbasketballprogram

How To Become The Best Free Throw Shooter On Your Team!

By The Morris Basketball Program

All basketball players have lived this moment in their heads at some point in their career- down 1, 1 second left, with two free throws to seal the game for your team. You step to the line, ice flowing through your veins, and drill the first shot like you could have done it with your eyes closed. The crowd goes crazy. You step back to the line, poised as ever, ignoring the screaming haters, not even noticing your family and friends in the stands. You take that deep breath you take before you know you are going to become a hero, bend your knees, hold your follow through, and watch as the ball flows softly through the net to seal the win for your team. Everyone goes wild and carries you off the court to go celebrate!

If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, sealing the deal at the free throw line not only takes impeccable mechanics, but mental toughness, discipline, and a lot of tunnel vision. Here are 5 easy steps to increasing your free throw percentage:

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