The video below can be used as a lesson in how to shoot a basketball. I’m definitely not someone who would claim to know THE way to shoot a basketball. If you are someone who already knows a lot about shooting, there should be some information in the video that could make for an interesting discussion.
Lots of times, a player or coach knows that the shot is messed up, but they don’t really know how to start improving. This video contains some questions that should help a coach or player to analyze a shot. The questions are embedded in the video and there is a link to a Google Doc provided below.
For a blank Google Doc template with the questions for analysis, click here.
For my written commentary on my daughter Charlotte’s shot, click here.
Kent Chezem is the new head boys basketball coach and dean of students at North Judson High School in Indiana. The hire was approved at a school board meeting on Tuesday May 19, 2020. Coach Chezem joined the Torg Stories Podcast to discuss his new jobs.
The interview is available in video or audio form. You can also listen by searching for Torg Stories in the podcast app on an iPhone.
Click this link to access the YouTube Video of the Interview
Click play on the audio player here or look for the Torg Stories Podcast via the podcast app on your iPhone.
Click on the player above for audio and HERE for YouTube video.
I first met Kent when we were teammates at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois where he is the all time leader in assists and 8th in steals. Teams Kent played for at ONU won three conference and district championships.
Coach Chezem with his son Cade after Loogootee’s Sectional Championship
Kent’s head coaching stops include Clinton Prairie where he went to high school, Covington, and Loogootee. His teams won three sectional titles when he was at Covington and one during his time at Loogootee. In 2014, Kent was named the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association District II Coach of the year.
Kent’s dad Myron, mom Janice, son Cade, daughter Avery, and wife Dara
There will be some rivalry at the Chezem household during next year’s basketball season. Last January, Kent’s wife Dara was hired as the superintendent of Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation in nearby Winamac. The two schools are twenty miles apart and have often competed in the same basketball sectional.
You can connect with Kent on Twitter @KentChezem and he plans to soon launch a program website, BluejayBasketball.com.
In this post, I’m sharing what my 14-year-old daughter Charlotte does on a typical day of basketball workouts. Perhaps there will be something here that you’ll be able to incorporate into your own workouts. I also mean for this to be an example of how I work with players to develop their skills. I mean for this video and post to be a part of a larger conversation about basketball training.
I’m including a video with examples from the workout. I have taken time in the video to explain some of the philosophy about why we do what we do.
When I watch basketball or strength and agility workouts online, I know I often find myself taking notes. I have to take notes, type up notes, and then print out the workout to take into the weight room or on the court. I have created a Google Doc for this Workout and uploaded a PDF for your convenience.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a lot more time on our hands. This has meant that we’ve spent a lot more time working on basketball together. Most days, this work does not feel like a grind but something my daughters and I enjoy doing together. One of the benefits of all of this time we have is that we can space out our workouts during the day. For example, we might do the on-court workout that takes close to 90 minutes, and then we can rest up before we run our hills. On this day there were four sections of the workout:
On Court
Hill Running
In the Weight Room
100 Free Throws. We like to chart for
If you’re interested in learning about shooting technique, I recommend you go to YouTube and search for “Dave Love” and “Manitoba Basketball.” There are two free clinic sessions you can watch and learn a lot about shooting. Dave’s website is here.
Quite a bit of what we do in the weight room comes from two sources:
Tim Grover’s bookJump Attack. Tim was famously Michael Jordan’s trainer.
An online presentation I heard from Jacob Hiller. Click here to reach his website.
My daughter Charlotte and I have been trying to get her to shoot the basketball with more arc. If she shoots the ball higher, she increases the room the ball has to go through the hoop.
To shoot the ball higher, she needs to make sure her hand is under the ball, and she needs to lift her elbow. She needs to shoot the ball more up and to the hoop than, say, pushing it out and toward the hoop.
Charlotte needs to build some new habits (especially elbow lift), and so we have added a form shooting segment to our daily workouts to try and build a new habit. Research suggests that she needs to focus on the new habit she is trying to build for approximately thirty days. For the form shooting segment of her workouts, we are thinking pretty much only about arc and elbow lift. The downside of form shooting everyday is that it can get pretty boring.
Sometimes, I think players have to get over being bored when the are trying to create a new habit. However, one way to beat boredom is to create a competition. My kids and I came up with the following “game” for form shooting:
5 shots from short, medium, and long for a total of 15 shots
1 point if the ball has high arc (we look for over the top of the backboard or the roofline of our house)
1 point if the ball goes in
1 point if the ball swishes
As soon as we implemented this point system, the girls started making more shots and showing more enthusiasm for their work. As soon as form shooting became a game, the girls’ focus improved.
Greet the players enthusiastically as they enter the practice space.
Huddle up for (in non coronavirus times) high fives, fist bumps, and talk about what’s important for the day.
Encourage players to be positive vocally, physically, and with their body language.
Get loose by starting slow and facilitate or make space for small talk that builds relationships.
Handle the ball, pass, and catch. Practice these skills on the move.
Finish fast break layups, offensive rebounds, post moves, and pay extra attention to the weak hand.
Teach and practice shooting from a set position, on the move, and off the dribble.
Teach BBHS offensive tools while practicing defensive situations. BBHS stands for Basket cuts, ball screens, handoffs, and screens off the ball.
Use dummy (non-live) situations into live play. Drill a concept such as playing a switch in a ball screen until it looks like you want it and then call, “live.” Allow for at least one trip down and back of live play. Much of a basketball game is played by converting from one end to the other.
Offensive 5 on 5 play with restrictions. The offense must meet a restriction before shooting. An example of a restriction might be three good screens off the ball or a post touch before a shot. Players should always get layups when they can.
Defensive slides into live play. I’ll take one of our defenses such as man to man, a full court zone press, or a 1-3-1 zone and slide versus an offensive pattern until I call, “live.” Again, I try to convert at least one down and back.
Practice live out of bounds plays with conversions.
End the practice on a positive note such as a player scoring, a great pass, or a standout hustle play.
Huddle up for more fist bumps, slaps, and take time to look back on the practice and look ahead to whatever is next.
Torg 