Let's Dispel A Myth, Part 2 Thursday, March 08, 2007
Scoring is important, but being a solid all-around player is even more important than just putting up big scoring numbers. Now don’t get me wrong: scoring the basketball is important. But it’s not the only part of the game.
And in a previous post, I told you I was going to cover part 2 of the myth. So here goes.
Part 2 of the myth is that scoring points is difficult. Well, the answer is that it is, and it isn’t. But let me give you a little secret: once you make up your mind that you can score, and that you will score, and then go out and work on your offensive game, you’ll start to realize that putting points up on the scoreboard isn’t as hard as you once thought it was.
When I was in high school, a 12 or 14 point game was a pretty solid scoring night. In college, I considered an 18 or 20 point game pretty good. Than as a pro, I considered a 30 or 32 point game a pretty good outing. So what changed? Why did I think a 12 point game in high school was good, but if I scored 12 points as a pro, I would have thought I had a pretty awful game?
My mindset changed. As I progressed through my career, I started to realize how to score, but more importantly I started to believe that I could score.
Don’t believe me? Break the game down and approach it this way:
- If you score 1 basket per quarter (if you play with quarters), you’re almost a double digit scorer.
- If you score 2 baskets a half, you’re almost a double digit scorer.
When I look back on my career, I can’t believe I ever averaged less than 10 points a game, regardless of what level I was playing. I mean, think about it: all you have to do is score 2 baskets a half, and you’re already at 8 points a game. Throw in another basket or a couple free throws and you’re at 10 points.
You’re probably thinking this is all pretty simple. Why am I even writing this? Because looking at the game this way makes you realize that you can become a double-digit scorer pretty easily. And that’s the first step in making it happen. And from there, you can move onto increasing your average into the 20 points per game range.
Here are some quick tricks to becoming a double-digit scorer (and being well on your way to averaging 20 points a game):
- Score early in the game. During the first few minutes of a game, players are still getting warmed up and getting into the action. If you can hit a few buckets early, before everyone else is really into the game, you’ve established a good foundation for a big scoring night.
- Don’t underestimate how important crashing the offensive boards is. If you can get a couple rebounds and put-backs shots (and score 2, or 4, or 6 points on high-percentage shots), it makes reaching double figures in scoring pretty easy.
- Work on your free throws. If you go to the line 3 or 4 times a game, that’s 3 or 4 points you should be able to put in the scoring column (if you’re a good free throw shooter). If you hit 4 free throws in a game, all you have to do it hit 3 shots and you’re in double figures.
- Run hard on fast breaks. If you don’t already know it, running hard on the fast break, and following teammates that are on the break, can get you an easy bucket or two a game. I’m always amazed at how many layups are missed on the break. But if you run hard and follow your teammates to the basket, you can get lots of put-back shots on missed layups.
- And finally, be sure to approach the game as a scorer. Expect that you’ll play well. Expect that you’ll score a lot of points. Raise your expectation level and you’ll be surprised at how that can effect how good a scorer you will become. If you don’t expect much, you probably won’t get much.
 Basketball Coaching DVD Shooting Scoring Moves Mike Meek Instruction video (DVD) |
 Scoring Without the Ball (DVD) |
 Better 1 on 1 Offense for Basketball ~ Sue Bird (DVD) |
posted by Brandon Schenz @ 5:51 AM,
