Seriously, this blog is about feet. Your feet when shooting a basketball. As many of you know I’m very particular about shooting and the form it takes to be successful. Your entire shot starts with your feet- and you don’t want start off on the wrong foot. Get it?

OK, so where should you have your feet. First they should be pointed at the hoop. The feet are the compass of your shot and the ball tends to follow where your feet are pointed. What happens is your feet will turn your knees, hips, core and in turn your shoulders to where they are pointed. If they are not straight then you have to fight everything else back to square.

Your feet should be shoulder width apart, not too wide and not too close together. You should think of about doing a squat in the weight room. You know what a squat is right? I hope kids are still doing those. If you squatted with your feet too wide or too close and your feet crooked what would happen? You’d be at the doctor’s office. There is a reason why you squat with your feet straight ahead and shoulder width apart. It’s where you are the most powerful. Wouldn’t you want to be the most powerful in your jumper as well?

Most people know the ½ inch rule, where your shooting hand foot is ½ an inch in front of the other. I think whether your feet are equal or ½ inch is doesn’t matter but you definitely don’t want to be over two inches from each other. That will start to throw off your shoulders and everything else.

Lastly and probably the most important part- your weight placement. Your weight needs to be balanced and equally displaced. If your weight is too far forward it will push you off balance and make everything lunge forward and push the shot path flat. If your shot is flat you have a much lower chance statistically to make the shot- that is a fact. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone shooting off their heels but if you do, don’t. From a balanced position you rise up through your toes. A great tip is to jump stop before your shot and think about your feet, notice where your weight is and then correct it to be balanced. Close your eyes and think about your feet and how that balanced position feels- then lock in that memory and repeat it.

It’s important to start out your shot right and everything starts with your feet. Build from the ground up and start with the right processes. There is a completely separate topic about feet and that is footwork, this blog is about feet placement. Stay tuned in the future for shooting footwork and the process of developing solid footwork. When it comes to feet placement be balanced, just as in life a balanced approach is usually the right way to go.

Keep hooping. #FeetPlacement #ThePocketShootingSystem #SquareisBetterThanCrooked #IKnowIUsetoShootCrooked #AskRose

That must be true otherwise you wouldn’t have taken the time to even read to this point. Well great, did you head to the web? YouTube maybe? I’m sure that left you only scratching your head. Dip the ball, twist slightly this way, lean back and let that sucker fly right? Nah. Not cool.

I’ve played some hoops, changed my shot a ton of times and what has worked for me is using what I call “The Pocket Shooting System” trademark pending… someday. If you want to check out my blog on that follow this link- https://joshwilsonbasketball.com/2014/10/23/basketball-shooting-form

That may seem easy and simple but it is a ton of work, both mentally and physically. People have all these crazy notions when it comes to shooting, not wanting to mess up this beautiful shot that does not exist. Newsflash- if you cannot make 60% of your shots by yourself in the gym you need to do something different. Good high school players shoot 60-70% by themselves, good college players 70-80% and pros are at a 90% clip. If you want to see where you’re at as a shooter, keep track of your stats while practicing. My point is that you have to be willing to change your form. It will feel terrible but I promise you have to work through it and find your shot. To me it’s a great metaphor for life, get over the fact that it might not feel great- it’s what you should do.

Outside of form is the second part of the equation which is reps. You have to dedicate yourself to doing it right and shooting over and over again until you master it. Shoot until your shoulders burn. There are some out there that are pure shooters, there are some out there who have worked to become good shooters but the great ones can marry both together.

Take the time to perfect your form and get high quality reps. If you want drills just send an email to joshwilsonbasketball@gmail.com. If you want to see where your form can improve send a video of your shot. I’m happy to help and give you my opinion. My guess is you dip, push off with your off hand and don’t properly sit down. That’s just a guess though.

Take care and keep hooping.  #ThePocketShootingSystem  #ShotTransformation #FormandReps

I have heard several arguments lately that Stephen Curry and the way he plays is ruining youth basketball. I’ve heard this from people I respect but I’m going to say this- you are wrong. You are crazy wrong.

Steph plays the game the way he does because he has mastered it. While I understand that kids copying Steph, making crazy moves and shooting deep threes can turn them into a fundamental nightmare, you are missing the point. You are missing a golden opportunity to teach. Steph Curry can do that because he has worked harder than anyone else in the NBA on his skills and quite possibly more than anyone ever.

Steph has been the product of great skills coaches, great team coaches and the most important part- an unstoppable desire to become better. He feels the burn every day to prove all of those that told him he was too skinny, too short and not strong enough wrong. Not only has he silenced all those critics but he continues to defy all expectations of the player most thought he would be.  The best thing about it is Steph continues to improve. Take a step back and look how he prepares for each and every game.  Rather than walk onto the court and hope he plays well he takes the time to warm up his ball-handling skills, shooting mechanics and finishes. He prepares and leaves nothing to chance.

Steph Curry is the worst thing to happen to youth basketball? How about we all take a step back and look at how he got here- hard work and dedication. Do you think that teaching kids if you work hard enough you can do things no one ever even thought was possible is a bad thing? Didn’t think so. I’m pretty sure that might correlate to life.

Jump on the wagon.

#KeeponKeepinOnSteph #ChangetheGame #LeadByExample

It’s been a very long time since I last posted on this blog. I’ve had a battle back and forth to whether I’ll even continue playing the great game of basketball as a professional. Getting to this point has been a lifelong dream of mine, one I have pictured over and over since I was a little kid, so to hang up the sneakers now seems surreal. But it appears that I may not have a choice and I’ll let what will be, be and know that it will work out. So here is why I’ve come to this point.

After hitting the deer in Hungary I thought it was best for my family and I to play somewhere else. The accident not only left me with a fear of deer on the road (or brown bushes) but cost a lot financially. The Hungarian government tried taking away my license for 3 months, making me pay for the deer I killed (up to $5,000) and also threatened to make me pay for the teammate that was riding with me hospital bill. They said I was liable because there was a deer warning sign a few KM back and because I was liable I also had to pay for the car I just totaled. Apparently insurance wouldn’t cover it.

So after that great experience I went to Finland. I wanted a change in scenery and hopefully springboard my career to where I could get a good job for next year. Unfortunately I chose the wrong situation to do so. While my team was talented, we were unfortunately not compensated in a timely matter. The financial strain on my family (wife and 2 kids) was too much after the accident and not being paid that we felt it was best to leave Finland on the flight that was already purchased from Hungary. This was a very tough decision for me but I could not put my family at risk any longer being so far from home without a reliable income.

I have now moved to plan B, C and maybe even D. I have my door wide open to continue playing for the right situation. My family and I love to travel and would jump at the opportunity to continue living abroad. That is plan A. Plan B is not so bad either. I have started a management company with my Dad which owns and operates three companies. I was able to come home and get right to work which has been a major blessing.  It’s been a lot of fun putting my MBA education to work in a legitimate business. My basketball academy, Roots Basketball, has unfortunately suffered because of the other business but is starting back up next month. We will have clinics in the months of Sept and October and we are expecting over 40 kids. Lastly, if I can’t play overseas I want to start an IBL team in my hometown and run it under a European model, sponsors on jersey’s and rely on advertising for income not only ticket sales. No matter what I’m going to find a way to keep playing competitively.

As August comes to a close I get a major itch to take an offer.  So far I have had Hungary, Turkey, Romania and few other small leagues make offers but nothing that will pull me away from my business endeavors. Below are updated highlight tapes and game film for those who want to check it out. I finished with 17.9 PPG and 5.9 ASST in Hungary while averaging 13.3 PPG 3.1 ASST on 55% from the field, 48% from 3 and 93% from FT in Finland. The year was a great learning experience and I look forward to whatever may be next in my life.

Highlight Tape

31 pts 9 assists @ Szolnok (Euro challenge team)-

29 points in Finland-

2011-2012 Hungary and Finland Highlight