John Wall And His Follow Through

i dont know if it’s encouraging or discouraging

He needs to have the spotlight taken off him so he can develop. He is not even the best point guard on the team right now. It is not just his shooting. He doesnt move the ball.

I hope he makes this adjustment you suggested and improves. I still think he has the desire and drive. But dont be surprised if he is like Jason Kidd and takes until he is nearly thirty to learn how to shoot the ball. If you are not a good shooter after your first twenty years in life, it doesnt get turned around “in a couple of years.” Alot of his shooting problems are mental. Didnt he light up the summer league? Who knows when that mental block gets lifted. JVM still has his mental blocks and he is in his fourth season!

that you know you have good shooting form when you hold your follow through and your elbow is straight. In all of the missed shots above, his mechanics look like Dwight Howard free throws. I think Mike is right, improving the follow through would be a significant step in improving his jump shot mechanics.

Follow through is one of several problems with his shot.

Notice that almost all of his misses are back rim. Back rim shots are typically caused three things.

1. Not getting your elbow high enough: Your elbow should be at eye level when you shoot.

2. No follow through: As noted in the article, you need to hold your fingers in the bucket until your shot falls.

3. Rotation: Good rotation on the ball will make those back rim shots fall. Good rotation is a combination of shooting with your fingertips rather than your hand and good follow through.

Now with all that said, John also shoots off balance. When shooting a jump shot, you should land balanced on the floor. Notice how unbalanced he is when he lands. He is almost falling down.Young shooters love to fade away when shooting the ball. You can get away with this when you have good form. See Nick Young.

What is most frustrating about all of this, is that John shoots square with no major hitches in his shot. Most of his shots are inline with the basket. These are all fixable problems. Hitches in your motion are not. So this tells me he is either being poorly coached, not putting in the reps, or is just plain stubborn. You tell me what the problem is.

I would add release point to the list as well. There is software that provides a side-by-side comparison of two player’s shots. I keep being told that the Wiz are a multi-hundred million organization and have stuff like that. I see no evidence of use of technology or coaching of shooting technique.

If you would run Wall next to Jordan (or whomever), you would see where his rhythm is off. The same applies to McGee’s foul shots, starting with his flat feet (i.e., weight not being forward on the toes).

This stuff is easy to fix. In comparison, no wonder why they don’t yet know how to play as a team (which is harder).

he knocked down shots against Toronto yesterday. Every elite athlete I know is elite because they master a skill they don’t have. I don’t think Wall is any different.

Wall uses his off hand too much on his shot. Im kind of surprised that this has been discussed before. Wall places his off hand over the top of the ball which can easily change or re-direct his shot. He needs to move his off hand to a more vertical position and I think he would see a drastic improvement in his shot. I would also say that shooting is a game of confidence, something that he is somewhat lacking. The wiz need to get Dave Hopla back in town.