Guide Hand

One of the most important parts of destroying a shot is the placement and use of the guide hand.  In basketball the proper shooting form involves shooting the ball with one hand.  Because it is difficult to manage a ball as large in size as a basketball one handed, players use what we call the guide hand to help take the ball thru the process of shooting.  The guide hand is on the ball from the gather, to the load, thru the shot pocket, and all the way up to the follow thru.  It is at the follow thru where the good shooters are able to take the guide hand off of the ball and shoot the ball one handed while the not so good shooters use the guide hand to aid the shot.  What these shooters don't realize is that the guide hand increases the risk of the shot being off left or right because the timing needs to be so precise with this follow thru approach.

Think of it this way, the proper way to shoot the ball requires a shooter lining up his body properly, finding the rim quickly, generating the proper power from his base and then shooting the ball.  A shooter can theoretically do all of the early steps perfect and still mess up the shot because the guide hand is on the ball too long and is used to push the shot up. This is because if you are ling up your shoulder, elbow and wrist the right way and your goal is for the ball to come off of your middle finger, it doesn't take much from the guide hand to mess things up.  If the guide hand is in front of the ball it can serve as a natural deterrent to power generated for the shot.  In addition, if the hand is used to help push the ball towards the basket all of your efforts to line things up properly are destroyed because of the misuse of the guide hand.

The ideal shot will come off the shooters hands with a nice backspin.  This shows that the shooting hand was behind the ball when released and the guide hand did not interfere with the shot.

To practice the proper use of the guide hand, you need to go back to form shooting.  Start with one handed form shooting and then as you push the player back go to 2 handed form shooting emphasizing the location of the shooting hand behind the ball and the guide hand on the side of the ball and not included in the follow thru.  Eventually go to simple close range jump shots and slowly push your way back.

It will take patience to redo a shot so it is best to do so in the off season.  It is also important to be patient.  Things may feel awkward at first but with time and practice the benefits will be worth it.

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