Ask the Coach: How to be a basketball sharpshooter with tips from Morro Bay’s Alex Engel
Want to learn how to be a sharpshooter like Steph Curry, Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson?
It all starts with footwork, said Morro Bay High girls’ basketball Coach Alex Engel.
Engel shared the fundamentals of good shooting habits with The Tribune as part of a new periodic feature called “Ask the Coach,” which will offer tips and guidance on proper technique from local coaches in various sports.
The advice can help players of all ages and in boys and girls sports.
We’ll have more coaches’ pointers to come in other sports, so send your requests to Nick Wilson at nwilson@thetribunenews.com on what types of tips you’d like to get.
Engel is a former Morro Bay High and Menlo College basketball player. He previously coached men’s basketball as an assistant at Cuesta College and Cal Poly, before taking over job leading Morro Bay’s girl’s squad.
Engel also hosted the “Pass First” basketball podcast with Atascadero High Boys Coach Augie Johnston, who played professionally overseas. They recorded a full segment on shooting.
“The first thing I look at is a player’s feet,” Engel said. “You have to have a solid base with balance because if that’s off, then it will be hard to shoot consistently well.”
Being a good shooter takes repetition, and confidence will grow with repetition in practice, he says.
Shooter’s checklist
Here’s Engel’s shooter’s checklist, which applies to players of all ages:
▪ Make sure you’re balanced with feet generally spread shoulder-width apart.
▪ Use your legs to generate power, especially when tired (practicing shooting while tired helps prepare for games).
▪ Don’t dip the ball down too far in the shooting lock-and-load position (a little dip is OK).
▪ Don’t allow your shooting elbow to tilt sideways; align it vertically toward the basket.
▪ Shoot with your lead hand and don’t push the ball with your guide hand (the guide hand, the left hand for right-handers, keeps the ball stable).
▪ The ball should be positioned on your shooting hand “like holding a platter” in the set position for best power and rotation.
▪ Roll the ball off the fingers with backspin (using the middle fingers touching the ball last before release).
▪ Hold the follow-through with a fully extended shooting arm until the basketball is “traveling almost to the basket” and then you can drop your arms.
Want some bonus tips? Engel suggests the following:
▪ Advanced shooters may consider working on catch-and-shoot without dipping the ball and can experiment with their release point (higher release points can help shorter players avoid getting blocked).
▪ The less overall shooting motion the better for consistency.
“When you’re practicing, going game speed is important so that you’re used to that speed when you’re in a game,” Engel said.
Alright, now let’s put Alex’s tips to practice.
Let it fly!
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