This is another one of those hot twitter debates that people focus on. Just like rotating your feet when you shoot, in my opinion it is the difference between “does it happen” and “should it happen”?
I’ll start by admitting this. I look up at the ball on occasion when its released from my hand. I’ll even admit that a lot of great shooters look up at the ball in mid-air. But whether it happens or not isn’t the question in my mind. The question we should be asking is “does looking up at the ball offer any value to a shooter?”
If that is the question, the answer is no. The ball is already out of the shooters hand, so looking up at the ball won’t help them make the shot any. I’ve heard a couple of people argue that looking up at the ball forces them to align their hip properly as they are shooter, or something to that effect. Personally, when I hear these reasons, I think they are simply justifications of why they teach something. I don’t think it’s actually true. Logically, I can’t understand how looking up at the ball in mid-air will help you do something physical with another part of your body that has already occurred.
The more important question is “is there a possible detriment to teaching players to look at the ball”? There is no question in my mind that the answer is yes.
If you encourage a player to stay focused on the target throughout their shot, and well after the ball has left their hand they sneak a peak up at it, there really isn’t harm in that. BUT, if you encourage players to look up at the ball in mid-air, you run the risk of players looking earlier, and potentially looking up at the ball before it has even left their hand.
I gave this reasoning to a coach on Twitter, and he replied that was crazy. No one would do that! In the summer of 2018, I researched 12 different NBA players that I might have a chance to work with. They were all weak shooters. 3 of them looked up at the ball, still in their hand, when they were shooting free throws. I’ll say that another way. 3 NBA players took their gaze away from their target and focussed it on the ball before the ball had even left their hand! That isn’t good.
Keep in mind, whether you are a player, parent, or coach, sometimes coaching isn’t about steering towards the thing you want. Sometimes it is about steering away from something you don’t want.
