Ball players - Do you look at the rim or the ball, on your release?

[AznCezi187]

Rim for me

 

[faustian]

I look at the ball and my feet when I gather then once I have my hand placement I'm focused on the rim

Source: I played HS hoops (A-level athlete)

 

[LionExMachina]

For me it's the rim.

But if you take a few thousand shots a day your muscle memory is gonna go with whatever method it's been trained for. Watching guys like Bill Cartwright and GranMaMA on the free-throw line is proof of this imo.

 

[faustian]

Also, there's different approaches for different kinds of shooting. What TS describes may work great for a standstill catch-n-shoot shooter but to pull up off the dribble you have to be focused on the rim in order to orient yourself to where you are on the floor up to the very moment you release the shot. If you're shooting a turnaround or fadeaway the rim is moving up until the ball leaves your hands.

 

[lakersfan45]

Usuallys rim. I used to be a decent outside shooter. When I am not playing in a game/ just shooting if I place my arm directly in front of my face when I shoot i cant see the rim but I shoot at a very high percentage. Im looking at my arm rather than ball but it works really well for me, although it doesent work in game for me, its takes a second longer for me to set up. So as of now in game I look at the rim. When i look at the rim i am a really streaky shooter . I tried to develop some sort of hybrid of it but it ended up being worse than either shot.

Cliffs
Rim streaky
Arm in front of face eyes much more consistent but cant pull off in game

 

[Andersons Foot]

Like i said earlier, rim for me. But, one time i played really high and felt weird shooting and just looking at the rim, i had to watch the ball as it left my hand or i felt off. I did have to look at the rim first tho to set myself.

 

[DrVanNostrand]

The ball at release

 

[MuyThaiTom]

Just because you've never heard of something before, doesn't mean you immediately reject it and claim what you know, as fact.

I had never heard of it until college, despite playing countless hours upon hours playing alongside someone that uses the technique.

Andre Iguodala had never heard of it until he was 28, despite having played basketball at the highest level, his entire life.

Don't shit on something just because you don't understand it.

I understand shooting a basketball. My credentials are meaningless because you cant fact check me. I know you'll never know whether im a fat kid in a basement or not but take it for what its worth from one anonymous poster to another, there is clearly a right and wrong answer to this question.

You asked for opinions, i gave mine

 

[Madmick]

There's three competing theories, and at least up until 15 years ago, there was no consensus on the theory. Learn the BEEF acronym. It's the second letter.

B= Base; Balance
E= Eye to the Rim
E= Elbow in (pointing at basket); the bend at a 90 degree angle
F= Follow through (i.e. achieving backwards rotation with the index & middle fingers the last fingers touching the ball before it leaves the hands)

The three theories were:

1. Look at the front of the rim
2. Look at the back of the rim
3. Look at a "magic spot" in the net

The last is sort of instinctual, but that's what I had done since I was a kid, so when I was attending shooting camps like Snow Valley, I didn't change it. Do not look at the square on the backboard as that one poster said (although I think he was joking).

 

[Andersons Foot]

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here. Looking at the ball sounds crazy to me but if doing that helps people then that's what they should do. But whenever i went to the camps that the WKU coaches held it was rim. No mention ever of watch the ball.

 

[Rico]

There's three competing theories, and at least up until 15 years ago, there was no consensus on the theory. Learn the BEEF acronym. It's the second letter.

B= Base; Balance
E= Eye to the Rim
E= Elbow in (pointing at basket); the bend at a 90 degree angle
F= Follow through (i.e. achieving backwards rotation with the index & middle fingers the last fingers touching the ball before it leaves the hands)

The three theories were:

1. Look at the front of the rim
2. Look at the back of the rim
3. Look at a "magic spot" in the net

The last is sort of instinctual, but that's what I had done since I was a kid, so when I was attending shooting camps like Snow Valley, I didn't change it. Do not look at the square on the backboard as that one poster said (although I think he was joking).

I was taught to beef it and look at the back of the rim

 

[Madmick]

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here. Looking at the ball sounds crazy to me but if doing that helps people then that's what they should do. But whenever i went to the camps that the WKU coaches held it was rim. No mention ever of watch the ball.

No, looking at the ball is incorrect. Looking at the backboard is incorrect. There is consensus here. You should be looking at your target. It's the same as in golf; your head stays motionless, and you maintain eye contact with the golf ball. Watching the club would be retarded. So is the notion of watching the basketball.

I was taught to beef it and look at the back of the rim

Probably your coach's personal preference. I was taught by (among many others) B.J. Armstrong's shooting coach from when BJ played in Chicago.

 

[Andersons Foot]

Yeah it sounds stupid to me too but if it helps then why not do it? I wouldn't think that there were NBA players who looked at the ball but if someone like Steve Kerr did it then obviously it can work.

Messed up the quoting, don't know how to fix it.

 

[faustian]

Yeah it sounds stupid to me too but if it helps then why not do it? I wouldn't think that there were NBA players who looked at the ball but if someone like Steve Kerr did it then obviously it can work.

Steve Kerr is a guy who shot the same wide-open shots from the same spots on the floor every game. His approach is not practical for 99% of basketball players.

 

[Andersons Foot]

Steve Kerr is a guy who shot the same wide-open shots from the same spots on the floor every game. His approach is not practical for 99% of basketball players.

Plus Reggie Miller, not sure if i believe that though. Too good of a shooter for such a small issue. I don't look at the ball, it sounds bizarre to me, but if it helps you should do it. Look at Shawn Marion, his shot looks beyond broken but it works for him. I say if it works do it.

 

[Madmick]

Yeah it sounds stupid to me too but if it helps then why not do it? I wouldn't think that there were NBA players who looked at the ball but if someone like Steve Kerr did it then obviously it can work.

Yeah, I'd like to see a video of that to hear them explain that, or at least talk about it in more detail. Kerr is the greatest sharpshooter in history, and Reggie is generally regarded as the 2nd best (some still consider him the best) overall shooter in NBA history. The idea that they would look at the ball flabbergasts me.

Nevertheless, as in all sports, there are athletes who succeed despite doing things that defy the accepted theory of fundamentals; some succeed because for whatever reason their method better suits their particular anatomy or style, but most tend to simply succeed in spite of it. It may seem counterintuitive to call a certain method "wrong" when the ultimate measuring stick is simply success, but we still do.

It's generally a very good idea to shed a bad habit rather than to retreat to it on the basis of severe outliers. There is a tremendous adage in the world of shooting basketballs: "Repetition is the divider."

 

[MuyThaiTom]

There are exceptions to every rule. There are top quarterbacks with unorthodox throwing motions, top golfers with weird swings. But these motions have science behind them. Just because Ali beat Foreman with rope a dope doesnt mean that is what we should teach young boxers. Those that getaway with bad form usually have some exceptional strengths or abilities to make up for it.

 

[Andersons Foot]

I looked at pictures and i don't see any of those guys watching the ball. The rim is obviously what you should do, but if the ball, for some reason helps, do that IMO.

 

[faustian]

Plus Reggie Miller, not sure if i believe that though. Too good of a shooter for such a small issue. I don't look at the ball, it sounds bizarre to me, but if it helps you should do it. Look at Shawn Marion, his shot looks beyond broken but it works for him. I say if it works do it.

I can picture off the top of my head Reggie looking at the ball during the gather, but I guarantee he was looking at the rim on the release. I devoted a lot of attention to his shooting form when I was a kid in the 90s.

Spoiler

EDIT: I will say Reggie did seem to follow the ball on his FT attempts. Which goes to my point about focusing on the ball during uncontested standstill shots.

 

[Madmick]

I looked at pictures and i don't see any of those guys watching the ball. The rim is obviously what you should do, but if the ball, for some reason helps, do that IMO.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Were they asking what they asked that they watched after the release? In that case, it's not nearly as big a deal. They still teach you to continue watching the rim after the release, just as- to plunder golfing again- most golfing coaches teach you to keep your head down after contacting the golf ball with your swing (at least until finishing the follow through), but I've seen numerous golfers who lift their heads almost immediately. I've NEVER seen a golfer who didn't keep his head down to the point of contact, though. NEVER.

And that's what I would consider analogous to watching the ball while you're undertaking the shooting motion in basketball. You should NEVER do it.