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Definition of Pure Shooting

By Aim High Hoops

Click here for more information about Pure Shooting, our new basketball training video!

In the famous Seinfeld episode in which Jerry and George are pitching their TV show idea to NBC, George says: “I think you can sum this show up in one word: ‘nothing’”.  While George and Jerry eventually have to modify that message with the NBC producers, Seinfeld fans know that “nothing” is absolutely the perfect description for the actual sitcom.  While so much goes in to making that show popular, “nothing” is the one word that fits best when describing what the show is about.

Is Jerry Seinfeld the new spokesman for Aim High Hoops or something? We wish!

The connection here is that to define the term “Pure Shooting”, one only needs a single word: confidence.  Just like Seinfeld, our Pure Shooting training video took a lot of time, planning, and adjustments along the way. We use a lot of basketball terminology in the training video.  Mastering all of the teaching points requires patience and commitment.  

However, everything we offer at Aim High Hoops, from the Pure Shooting training video, to the Pure Shooting Clinics and Pure Shooter’s Report Card, is designed to help players learn confidence when shooting the basketball.  Having confidence means believing that ball is going into the hoop before the shot even takes place, because a foundation of good mechanics, plus a lot of repetition, has been built. Our training video and clinics teach good shooting mechanics, and we also share our ideas for effective shooting repetition, but ultimately, we want players to know what it takes to be Pure Shooters, and that is confidence.

Confidence is what we emphasize early on in the Pure Shooting training video, as well as at the Pure Shooting clinics, and we say in both instances that players, at the end of the respective programs, should know exactly what it takes to have confidence when shooting a basketball.  Whether or not players choose to do what it takes to earn that confidence is another story!  The ones that do what it takes are rewarded with an unshakable confidence that results in a lot of made shots every time they step onto the court.

Billy Lewis & Jonathan Schneiderman

Aim High Hoops, Inc.

www.AimHighHoopsOnline.com

Division I vs. Division III

By Aim High Hoops

“Division III players can shoot!” I remember that very clearly from my college coach, Bill Lavery, during my freshman season (1999-2000) at Rockford College.  I can’t remember the context but I have always remembered the quote and thought about it over the years.  It is not to say that Division I and Division II players cannot shoot; they certainly can!

What I have concluded from that simple quote is that what often times, but not always, separates Division III from Division I talent is athleticism, not skills. A Division I program is much more likely to recruit a great athlete whose jump shot needs development rather than a pure shooter whose quickness and jumping ability will never be up to that level.  Think about it.  If a player can shoot but will always be slower than he or she needs to be, he or she will never get open against great athletes.  A great athlete, however, can learn to improve his or her shooting at the Division I level in order to supplement the athleticism and compete on that stage.

If you compare my career shooting statistics to Division I players, they rank right up there with some of the best: 40% 3-point shooting and 84% from the free throw line are things I am proud of.  I played in over 100 college games to get those numbers and went against tough defenses. 

So why didn’t I play Division I?

Well, I suppose if I was completely set on it I might have been able to walk on at a lower level program, but if you want to know why Rick Pitino never called, I’ll try to get career dunk number 9 for you on film!  I was a good enough athlete to get shots in my games, but I’m not sure how many open looks I could get against someone like Kentucky’s Eric Bledsoe defending me!

The truth is, there are so many good players at EVERY college level these days. Stats may argue that shooting talent has deteriorated over the years, but that could have to do with the sophistication of defenses combined with better athlete’s in today’s game.  Scoring has become more difficult.  However, Coach Lavery was and still is right: Division III players can shoot!