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Improve Your Shooting Arc
(This material is copied from Tom Nordland's
Basketball Shooting Newsletter Issue 28 - Aug/01, which you can
subscribe to safely (based on this web site's personal experience) by
clicking this blue link and completing the form http://www.swish22.com/newsletter.html
)
Q: I've heard that Arch is very important in
shooting. How
much Arch is needed and how does one get it?
...G. Larson, Brainerd, MN
 Picture from www.shoot-a-way.com
web site
A. The greater the height or arch of a shot, the steeper the
angle coming down and the larger the basket appears to the
ball in flight. (Note in the picture the higth of the bottom of
the
ball is ABOVE the top of the backboard.)
The bigger the landing area, the greater the
chance of a ball going in. The largest landing area would
look like an exact circle 18" inside diameter, and would be
that for a ball falling straight down from above the basket.
A shot taken from just under the basket and very high, would
approach this 90° angle. Since shots are usually taken away
from the basket, the angle is less than 90°. Flat shots come in
at 15-30° above horizontal. What might be considered a
medium high shot is in the 35-45° range. And over 45°let's
call "high" arch. I've heard that some studies indicate
that
~60° is the most effective attack angle. Others say 50%.
Most players' shots rise only a few feet over the basket
(a reference for the bottom of the ball), maybe from 1-2 feet
above the rim. Few are as high as the top of the backboard (3').
This trajectory gives them low to medium low arch, creating
flat, "hot" shots. A shot is hot because gravity has not
had a
chance to slow it down, and such shots will easily bounce or
spin out.
The shots of most great shooters fly high, at least 3' and often
4', 5' or more above the rim. Try it! Take some shots with
different arches and observe the results. If you're shooting
almost entirely with your arms, hands and fingers, your shots
will be more horizontal (with low arch). If you shoot from the
upward drive of legs and body, from what I call UpForce, your
shot will automatically become more vertical. It's also harder
to block. Experiment with shooting earlier in your jump.
You'll see the shot goes higher without trying, and you will
probably feel a sense of "effortlessness." Shooting high
gives
you both a larger landing area and a softer, more forgiving
shot. Who wouldn't want to shoot that way for best results?
HOME EXERCISE: Sit on a chair about 10 feet from a cylindrical
waste basket. Note the shape and size of the opening. It
appears
as a flat oval, doesn't it? That is what the ball sees if it's
coming
in at a flat angle (20-30°). Now stand up and move toward the
waste basket. Note the shape and size of the oval as you approach.
Do you see it get larger and larger as your eyes approach from a
high angle? (You can do the same thing with a coin on a table
top.) When you're about 8' away, that might be like a 45° angle
shot coming in toward the basket. When you get 6' away, that
might be like a 50° angle, and closer will show you 60°, 70°, etc.,
very high shots. Can you see how a ball coming in from a high
angle has a larger landing area?
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