If Your Jump Shot Breaks Down, Call AAA

“B.E.E.F.” All basketball coaches are familiar with this acronym that lists four key ingredients for shooting the basketball properly: Balance, Eyes, Elbow, and Follow-through.

“Balance” means you are steady so that, when you jump, you will go straight up.

“Eyes” means your vision is fixed on either the front or back of the rim.

“Elbow” refers to your forearm being perpendicular to the floor and in line with the hoop.

“Follow-through” means your arm and wrist continue “through the shot.”

When teaching novice basketball players, this is an excellent place to start. Drill it in until all four ingredients are automatic. However, this checklist addresses little about the mechanics of the arm itself, the actual instrument that helps lift the ball toward the release. Balance, eyes, elbow, and follow-through are important, but it is when the arm is lifting the ball that most errors are made. When a player finds his shot has broken down, he should call AAA. Chances are, he error is made by the elbow.

When John Wooden taught shooting, he addressed the position and movement of the elbow more than anything else. It is the elbow that determines where the shot will go (direction and trajectory). During my basketball career, whenever I had a problem with my jump shot (and that was often), I always referred back to John Wooden’s AAA approach to shooting. Invariably, my error was caused by a deficiency in one or more.

Above the Knee
As soon as you catch the ball, while you are regaining balance (bent position with back straight, feet a little wider than the shoulder, and every joint flexed and relaxed), get the elbow directly above the knee. It must be in position before the shot begins. Not doing so means you will have to straighten the forearm during the shot, causing excess movement not in line with the shot.

Accelerate All the Way to the Finish
Accelerate the elbow all the way to the release. In other words, the elbow keeps moving up and doesn’t slow down or stop along the way. Many players today are guilty of doing this, especially the more athletic ones. If the elbow stops accelerating, the ball will also. Acceleration is key to keeping an object moving on the intended line. Any slowing will throw it off line.

Above the Ear
After the release, the elbow should be higher than the ear with the fingers pointed to the floor. For Coach Wooden, this was very important. To teach it, he used “Imaginary Shooting,” a drill where we had no basketball and were simply working on shooting form. After the imaginary release with the elbow above the ear, he had us bring the shooting arm back to its beginning position (elbow above knee) by reversing the movement. In other words, when we came down from the shot and back in position, it looked exactly like someone rewinded the film.

Conclusion:
So, if you find your jump shot has broken down, Call AAA. Check to see if you have the elbow above the knee, that it is accelerating up to the finish, and it is above the ear at release. Chances are, you’ll find the error. Do you have your AAA card? Just copy the acronym on a little card, and laminate. Oh yes. There’s one more thing: Practice, Practice, Practice.