The most important fundamental skill a basketball player can possess is to be able to accurately shoot. Proper shooting can often make the difference between a player becoming successful or wallowing in obscure mediocrity. It can also take teams with average athletic skill and turn them into championship contenders.

Unfortunately most of today’s players don’t truly understand or have limited understanding the importance of accurate shooting. Often times youth and high school coaches have this same limited knowledge. As I have mentioned before the United States is clearly failing the overall shooting report card. Less than 5% of all North American basketball players from the 6th-12th grade levels are quality shooters. Coaches and players need to wake up and realize this 5% is unacceptable. If this was the percentage of quality students in today’s classrooms, there would be firings, investigations and newspaper headlines. Unfortunately, America’s poor shooting is starting to be accepted by coaches and the media.

IF YOU CAN SHOOT, YOU WILL PLAY

While my team is warming up before a game, I generally watch the other team shoot. What I’m looking for are the players that are “tickling the twines.” In other words, I’m trying to identify who the other team’s shooters are before tip-off. Here’s what I’ve discovered in all my years coaching from the fourth grade level through the professional ranks—the players who constantly stand on the perimeter during warm-ups and swish their shots normally don’t sit. If you can shoot, you will play. It is usually this simple. Of course there can be overriding factors such as when a player becomes suspended, is apathetic or lazy. Generally if you have a good attitude and can accurately shoot, you will see very little bench time. If players understood the significance of having a good shot and that shooters do play, you would suddenly see more players focus on the disciplines of shooting. For many players, having a good jump shot is near the bottom of the basketball skills totem pole of overall importance. I often hear about players that train with running coaches, but at the same time have limited shooting skills. Give me a player that can shoot the ball over a fast athlete who has a problem putting the ball in the basket, and I will beat you every single time. Running correctly is good; being fast helps; jumping high is an additional plus. Shooting the ball accurately, however, is easily the most important fundamental in all of basketball.