March/April 2019 - 14

THE ABCs OF
SHOT SELECTION
Making players conscious of good, tough and bad attempts
By Marc Comstock, contributing writer
One of a coach's toughest jobs is teaching shot
selection. To eliminate any confusion among our players,
we clearly identify the four areas on the floor from where
our shots should come. We define the acceptable shooting
percentages for those shots, how to create quality shots,
and break down how we chart them. We need players to
know the difference between good, tough or bad shots.
The DIAGRAM shows the four areas on the floor
where our shots come from. Our acceptable standards for
each of the five shots are as follows:
* 'A' shots: 90 percent
* 'B' shots: 70 percent
* 'C' shots: 45 percent
* 'D' shots: 38 percent
* Free throws: 70 percent
Like any team, our goal is to attempt and make as many
shots as possible. But I need players to understand how
shots in each of these areas are created.
'A' shots
These come from transition layups, offensive rebounds,
post scoring moves facing away from the basket, dribble
penetration, feeds off of penetration, cutting action layups,
screening action layups, and endline out-of-bounds plays.
'B' shots
These are transition spot-ups, offensive rebounds, post
scoring while facing the basket, soft area feeds from
DIAGRAM 1
B
C
D
C
D
A
B
B
C
D
penetration (short corner), out-cuts after screening, and
endline out-of-bounds plays.
'C' shots
We feel this is the most difficult shooting area on the
floor. Shots occur off the dribble, usually aggressively
contested and typically with poor balance. We want our
players to create A, B and D shots by driving through the
C area on the floor.
14 MARCH/APRIL 2019
March/April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2019
