There are three factors that must be considered when deciding on a shot:WHO: Again, one person might have a decent shot but we might have a better shooter open. Good shot selection will find us getting the ball to someone “who” is in position to hit a high percentage of the shots from that location. Sometimes we will have to “pass up a good shot to get a better shot.” Players also have to understand that what might be a great shot for one player will be a poor shot for another player. In other words, shot selection will vary from one player to another.
WHERE: Location is critical. We are working for a lay-up each time down the court. If we don’t get a lay-up, then we want an open shot for our best shooters in a high percentage area. The key is to again remember the “where” differs from shooter to shooter. It is important that each player not only knows her shooting range, but the shooting range of her teammates.
WHEN: This might be the most difficult to understand. When a shooter is really stroking the ball well, we need to know to get her open and get her the ball. The score and possession also make a difference on “when” to shoot. You might have an open 3 off the first pass of the possession. This might not be the best possible shot for us. But that same shot might come up in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock and it could then be a good shot. If we are up 10 with 2 minutes to play, an open jumper from the wing early in the possession might be a poor shot. But if we are down 6 with 2 minutes to play, that same shot would be a good shot for our team.
TEAM-ORIENTED SHOOTING PHILOSOPHY
A major key to shot selection is your ability to dictate roles to your players. They must understand that a shot is NOT her shot — IT’S OUR SHOT! We are far more interested as a staff in the field goal percentage of our team than individual field goal percentages. A player taking a shot is representing her teammates and our staff. It creates a level of ownership. It is common place at practice for me to stop and ask a player if another player's shot was a good one. "Is that the shot we wanted?" If they answer yes or know, I always ask them "Why?"
