| 05 April 2011
I have been very fortunate to have worked with a lot of players on the development of their shooting stroke. One such player is Kemba Walker. I worked with Walker at a basketball camp. During this week long camp about three years ago, I was able to work with him on multiple occasions. I want to share with you what I saw when I worked with Walker at that camp along with what I saw in him during Monday night's NCAA Championship game against Butler.
How will this translate to the NBA?
What I did during the UConn versus Butler game was the same thing I did the three previous seasons for the Portland Trail Blazers: I did a shooting chart. My shooting chart that I used was something that I made up during one of the preseason games during my first season in Portland.
The chart is simple. Whenever a shot is attempted I write down the time on the clock when the shot is taken - this also makes it easy to find when watching game film. Next, where on the floor that shot was attempted. I want specifics on this; right wing, 17ft, off the dribble, step back, up and under, and the like. I will keep three-pointers and free throws separate from regular field goals. Third, is the shot made or missed. If the shot is missed, how is it missed? Long, short, right or left. I want specifics on the miss because this will help me the following day when working with a player that may have had an off shooting night. When the game is over I may take a look at a particular player and study his misses. If there were a few misses to the left or right, that is telling me his hand may not be in the middle of the basketball. Or there is a chance his wrist is not straight (see last week’s article - What I Look For As A Shooting Coach).
You have to make the most out of any situation, good, bad or indifferent. I would go into the pre/post practice shooting session(s) following the charted game reinforcing things to get the shooter back on track, always focusing on the positive. Simply vocalizing the two or three performance cues that generally get the players feel on his jumper back in the groove. Making sure that the player did get back in his groove following a poor shooting game. If the player had a good shooting game, the shooting session would be short and sweet and in line with the players already established routine.
On the NBA level, this is what I found to work.
Kemba Walker was 5-19 from the field against Butler. Of those 19 attempts, Walker was 0-4 from beyond the arc. He was also 6-7 from the free throw line. Of his 5 made field goals 2 were layups.
When Kemba is in the NBA, his teams' shooting coach will make reference to two things after a statistical game like he had Monday night: One, his step back jumper at 18:31 in the second half and two, his free throws. Kemba will be shown through video analysis how the step back jumper got his shooting arm in line with the basket and because of that, how straight his follow through was on that shot. Also, the shooting coach will discuss how getting to the foul line can sometimes get his jump back on track. Again, game video analysis will be used to show how his wrist “hammers” back incredibly well on his free throws.
My recollection of Walker at that basketball camp those years ago is quite simply this: he worked.
He worked on his shooting. He already is a good shooter. In the NBA, he’s going to be an even better shooter.
Do your best to be a STR8 SHOOTER. I will check back here at “Beyond the Beat” next week where I hope to outline another phase of shooting.
John Townsend joins Beyond the Beat with his weekly column and an inside look at basketball from an NBA shooting coach. With over 22 years of experience between the CBA, D-League and NBA, Towsend now presents the STR8 Shooter and provides his positive coaching style around the country. He can be reached at his websitejtshooting.com and on Twitter at @JTshootingcoach.
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