by Jim Smoot

Created on: May 25, 2007

There's an old saying that says "practice makes perfect". The problem is, if you're practicing the wrong thing, you could end up perfectly wrong.

If you watch enough basketball players take jump shots, you realize that every one of them have a different style. However, there are some things that many of them have in common. They may not all do all of these, but if you work on these things, your jump shot will improve.

1. Square up to the basket. Turn your body so it is facing the basket. As you jump up, make sure the elbow of your shooting hand is pointing toward the basket. Once you get used to doing this, you will greatly reduce the chances that your shot will go wide left or right. The shot may not go in, but it will be on target.

2. Look at what your aiming for, every time. No-look passes may be impressive, but no-look shots don't have the same effect. Get in the habit of looking at the basket before you shoot.

3. Follow through. You rarely see a great shooter that doesn't have a follow through. Your shot is one smooth motion. You push the ball forward, you release teh ball, then you continue the motion with your arm after the ball has been released. This helps you avoid any motions that will pull the ball off target before you release.

4. Start small. It's a mistake to start your shooting practice from the three point line. It's better to do some warm-up shots from 7-10 feet, then move back to the 12-15 foot range. Make sure you can consistently hit your shots from the shorter range before you move back to longer distances. As you move back, try to maintain the same form you used on the shorter shots.

5. Practice daily. There is a thing that coaches talk about called "muscle memory". It's when you do something often enough that your muscles remember how to do it without you consciously thinking about it. That's what practice does. If you practice good form, before long you will shoot correctly even when your not thinking about it.

Good form will carry you through shooting slumps. Every shooter has periods where their shots aren't falling, but shooters with good form have fewer slumps, and they don't last as long. Keep practicing good form, and eventually your shots will start falling again.

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