arthurracoon
The Cardinal Smiles
Suns' Jacobsen overhauling his 3-point jumper
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 25, 2003 12:00 AM
It has been a summer of change for Suns guard Casey Jacobsen.
First, he got married. A few weeks later he and his new wife, Brittney, said goodbye to Jacobsen's mother, Becky, who lost her battle with cancer.
"The highest of highs and the lowest of lows, all within a couple of weeks," Jacobsen said.
Through it all, Jacobsen was in a struggle with one of his oldest and closest friends.
That would be his jump shot.
Jacobsen, at the urging of coach Frank Johnson, is remaking his approach to shooting the three-pointer.
He isn't changing the way he holds or releases the ball. The changes are subtle to the untrained eye.
But for Jacobsen, it's a dramatic concession. He was a career 42.7 percent three-point shooter at Stanford and shot 46.2 percent from behind the arc in last year's summer league.
The regular season, however, was a different story. Getting spot duty in 72 games as a rookie, Jacobsen shot 31.5 percent from three-point range.
"We videotaped him early in the summer and showed him some things that will make his shot quicker, yet smoother," Johnson said.
Essentially, Jacobsen has made two major changes. He used to jump high off the floor on his shot, and relied on arm strength and his release to get the ball to the basket. He would jackknife his body as the shot went off.
Now, he's trying to reduce that jump to a short hop, going straight up without the jackknife, and releasing the ball on the way up instead of at the top of his jump. The idea is to get his legs under the shot more, even though he's using his legs less.
"I'm changing it to make it easier for myself," Jacobsen said. "The three-point jump shot is what I'm changing, and it will take a little while to get used to it.
"When I shoot three-pointers, I jump and I have a lot of body movement. I jump too high, I wait too long, and my shot is flat.
"I'm still jumping, but I'm trying to shoot on the way up and get more arc - more like a set shot. My other shots are the same. My three-pointer, I'm trying to make it easier and not use so much energy."
Jacobsen spent nine days before his wedding working on the changes, shooting about 300 three-point jumpers a day under Johnson's supervision.
"He had a tendency, trying to get so much height, to throw his timing off," Johnson said. "He was shooting too much with his arms."
Jacobsen believes the changes will make him a more consistent shooter - especially late in games - this season.
"Hopefully it will make a difference," he said. "I think it will help most when I get tired. It's still easy to shoot the new way. I don't have to jump, and I'm not shooting it as flat. Sometimes last season I did and sometimes I didn't. I was pretty inconsistent as far as my arc, and hopefully this will eliminate that."
So far, so good.
Through five games of the Rocky Mountain ***** summer league in Salt Lake City, Jacobsen has made 9 of 20 three-point shots going into tonight's final game against San Antonio.
He also has adjusted his position at the free-throw line in an attempt to line up his shots better there and improve on his 68.6 percent shooting from the line last year.
Johnson said that change was a matter of getting Jacobsen's release point aligned with the middle of the basket. That, too, is paying dividends in the summer league, where he has made 20 of his 25 free-throw attempts.
Jacobsen admits that shooters are reluctant to change their shots.
"If somebody told me to change the way I release the ball, I'd tell them to take a hike," he said.
But he believes the changes Johnson suggested are the right ones for him.
"I've got to reprogram myself," he said. "I'm sure there will be times in the summer league when I say to myself, 'Dang it, I reverted back.' I've been playing basketball my whole life, and I've been shooting the same way my whole life.
"I have to break old habits. I'm just trying to correct a couple of little things, but it's going to be hard."
Change is seldom easy.
----------------------------------------------
Frank's favorites
Suns coach Frank Johnson offers five tips for jump shots:
• Have your legs ready, in a flexed position, before you catch the ball. It helps get the shot off quicker.
• Have your hands ready to catch the ball and go straight up. Don't drop the ball down below the waist.
• Use your legs rather than your arms. By the time your legs are fully extended on your jump, the ball should already be out of your hand.
• The ball should never rest on your palm. The ball should be on the fingertips, with the elbows in.
• Focus on the back of the rim. A lot of kids will follow the ball instead of focusing on the rim.
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 25, 2003 12:00 AM
It has been a summer of change for Suns guard Casey Jacobsen.
First, he got married. A few weeks later he and his new wife, Brittney, said goodbye to Jacobsen's mother, Becky, who lost her battle with cancer.
"The highest of highs and the lowest of lows, all within a couple of weeks," Jacobsen said.
Through it all, Jacobsen was in a struggle with one of his oldest and closest friends.
That would be his jump shot.
Jacobsen, at the urging of coach Frank Johnson, is remaking his approach to shooting the three-pointer.
He isn't changing the way he holds or releases the ball. The changes are subtle to the untrained eye.
But for Jacobsen, it's a dramatic concession. He was a career 42.7 percent three-point shooter at Stanford and shot 46.2 percent from behind the arc in last year's summer league.
The regular season, however, was a different story. Getting spot duty in 72 games as a rookie, Jacobsen shot 31.5 percent from three-point range.
"We videotaped him early in the summer and showed him some things that will make his shot quicker, yet smoother," Johnson said.
Essentially, Jacobsen has made two major changes. He used to jump high off the floor on his shot, and relied on arm strength and his release to get the ball to the basket. He would jackknife his body as the shot went off.
Now, he's trying to reduce that jump to a short hop, going straight up without the jackknife, and releasing the ball on the way up instead of at the top of his jump. The idea is to get his legs under the shot more, even though he's using his legs less.
"I'm changing it to make it easier for myself," Jacobsen said. "The three-point jump shot is what I'm changing, and it will take a little while to get used to it.
"When I shoot three-pointers, I jump and I have a lot of body movement. I jump too high, I wait too long, and my shot is flat.
"I'm still jumping, but I'm trying to shoot on the way up and get more arc - more like a set shot. My other shots are the same. My three-pointer, I'm trying to make it easier and not use so much energy."
Jacobsen spent nine days before his wedding working on the changes, shooting about 300 three-point jumpers a day under Johnson's supervision.
"He had a tendency, trying to get so much height, to throw his timing off," Johnson said. "He was shooting too much with his arms."
Jacobsen believes the changes will make him a more consistent shooter - especially late in games - this season.
"Hopefully it will make a difference," he said. "I think it will help most when I get tired. It's still easy to shoot the new way. I don't have to jump, and I'm not shooting it as flat. Sometimes last season I did and sometimes I didn't. I was pretty inconsistent as far as my arc, and hopefully this will eliminate that."
So far, so good.
Through five games of the Rocky Mountain ***** summer league in Salt Lake City, Jacobsen has made 9 of 20 three-point shots going into tonight's final game against San Antonio.
He also has adjusted his position at the free-throw line in an attempt to line up his shots better there and improve on his 68.6 percent shooting from the line last year.
Johnson said that change was a matter of getting Jacobsen's release point aligned with the middle of the basket. That, too, is paying dividends in the summer league, where he has made 20 of his 25 free-throw attempts.
Jacobsen admits that shooters are reluctant to change their shots.
"If somebody told me to change the way I release the ball, I'd tell them to take a hike," he said.
But he believes the changes Johnson suggested are the right ones for him.
"I've got to reprogram myself," he said. "I'm sure there will be times in the summer league when I say to myself, 'Dang it, I reverted back.' I've been playing basketball my whole life, and I've been shooting the same way my whole life.
"I have to break old habits. I'm just trying to correct a couple of little things, but it's going to be hard."
Change is seldom easy.
----------------------------------------------
Frank's favorites
Suns coach Frank Johnson offers five tips for jump shots:
• Have your legs ready, in a flexed position, before you catch the ball. It helps get the shot off quicker.
• Have your hands ready to catch the ball and go straight up. Don't drop the ball down below the waist.
• Use your legs rather than your arms. By the time your legs are fully extended on your jump, the ball should already be out of your hand.
• The ball should never rest on your palm. The ball should be on the fingertips, with the elbows in.
• Focus on the back of the rim. A lot of kids will follow the ball instead of focusing on the rim.
