“If you can shoot, you can shoot. It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or boy; it matters the heart that you have.” ~ Sabrina Ionescu​, New York Liberty

Hey Reader!

Passing is the easy way out.

It’s funny how coaches preach “ball movement” and “finding the open man,” but if everyone on your team passed first, you’d literally score zero points. Basketball is a game of points, which means to win, someone has to be willing to take the shots.

And, everyone loves a pass-first player. Coaches love them. Teammates love them. Parents cheer for them because they’re playing the game the “right way.”

I see so many players (who can shoot) who think they are being unselfish when they pass up a shot or immediately move the ball. But a lot of the time, that isn’t unselfishness. It’s fear.

Being a pass-first player is safe. You catch the ball, you have four teammates, and, at most public high schools, one of them is usually open.

Now, think about what it actually takes to be a look-for-your-shot-first player. It takes guts and a lot of risks. You have to fake. You have to jab step. You have to be willing to shoot and miss. You have to figure out if you need to take a floater over the tall center or pivot and use a fadeaway. You have to learn how to manipulate your defender. You have to be willing to take tough shots. You have to hunt mismatches and transition opportunities and free throws…

Or you can just catch the ball like a hot potato and pass it to the guy who only trains his game a fraction of the time you do.

If you pass the ball, you can’t get your shot blocked. You can’t airball. You can’t get called for a charge.

A lot of players think a “good shot” is a wide-open 3 or one where, if you get past your man, you have an easy finish close to the basket. But if you want to be a scorer, a good shot is any shot you have practiced thousands of times and have the guts to trust in a game.

Going from a pass-first player to a shoot-first player isn’t easy, and it’s not just about doing more drills. You can practice all those floaters and step-backs for hours, but if you don’t change your mindset, they are useless. The only way to fix this is to start the possession with the intent to score and make the defense prove you can’t, rather than waiting for permission to shoot.

Stop taking the easy way out. Stop hiding behind the pass.

HLA Alicante Spain Pro League

P.S. We’re building a new course called Dominate, all about aggressiveness on both ends of the court. If you want me to email you when it opens, sign up for our waitlist here!

3 Hacks From Me

Hack 1: Stop saying “my bad” when you miss a shot.

It draws attention to the failure and trains your brain to think missing a shot is a mistake. This leads to hesitancy and deciding it’s better to just not shoot. Everyone misses. Go get back on defense.

Hack 2: The Film Test.

Go back and watch your last game. Every time you caught the ball, pause it. Did you look at the rim first, or did your eyes immediately scan for a pass? Count how many times you passed without even considering a shot. That number is how many scoring opportunities you're giving away.

Hack 3: Visualize the Miss.

Most players visualize making the game-winner. Instead, visualize yourself missing a shot, and then immediately sprinting back on defense with your head up. If you mentally practice the worst-case scenario (missing) and surviving it, you won’t be as scared to pull the trigger in a real game.

*View all of our past emails at hackinghoops.kit.com/posts​

2 Questions for Growth

1. In my last game, did I pass that ball to create a better shot for my teammate or just to get rid of the pressure?
2. Am I playing to win, or am I playing not to mess up, not to fail?

Reply to this email and let me know!

1 Video to Watch

​The Uncomfortable Truth for Young Basketball Players | Tucker Richardson

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Best,

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