YouTube video (Ethan Khoza) presenting two core skills perimeter basketball players must master. The first skill emphasized is perimeter shooting — specifically catch-and-shoot three-pointers and one- or two-dribble pull-ups — which the speaker says covers roughly 90% of perimeter situations. The second skill is introduced as understanding "point five decisions" (quick, near-instant reads) but not yet expanded in this chunk.
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When it comes to being a great perimeter player, it's actually a lot simpler than people would think. Even though there's so many different skills in the game of basketball, there's so many different types of situations you can face, there's so many different types of movements, as well as different actions and types of drill moves and types of.
Shots that you can take.
You can be a really effective perimeter player if you have two areas of the game mastered. Let's talk about it now. If you've seen a lot of my videos before, you've probably heard me say this, but the number one skill you have to have to be an effective perimeter player is the ability to shoot the basketball from the perimeter. Everything else in the game is made easier if you're able to hit these shots, because defenses have to respect that, which is going to make the second point that we talk about even easier and more effective for you to do. Now, when it comes to shooting, I'm specifically talking about two main areas. The first one is catch and shoot threes, and the second one is one and two dribble pull ups. If you can hit those two types of shots with consistency, that's going to have you covered in about 90% of situations. When you're open, you can hit that catch and shoot three. When that defender closes out to you and takes away that three, you can get by them and get to the mid range for a pull up, assuming you can't get the full weight of the basket or hit a shooter who's wide open. So you can think of that pull up as the counter to your catch and shoot three. If you want to become a better shooter in these areas, I'll link some stuff above that will help you. The general point to understand though is that if you commit time to being consistent and trying to become a better shooter, you'll become a better shooter.
And being able to put the ball.
In the basket is going to make everything else, the game of basketball, so much easier for you. And the second point I want to make when it comes to being a great perimeter player is understanding point five decisions.
All that that means is that you're able to make a decision within half a second of catching the ball, and that's either going to be shooting it, passing it, or driving. And that drive can include a jab or a shot fake as well. The best advantage that you have is right when you catch the basketball because that's when your defender is still closing out to you so you can use that momentum against them to either be able to get past or if they're not able to close up quick enough, you have space for the shot. Generally when you wait, the defender is able to get in better position and therefore you lose that advantage that you would have had. Defenders are also most susceptible to a jab or a shot fake. When you make it within that 0.5 seconds of catching the basketball because of that momentum that's moving towards you. If they do jump or shift on a jab, then they're going to be out of position and you're going to be able to have that advantage using that momentum against them. Being a great point five decision player doesn't just make scoring easier for you, it creates easier scoring looks for your teammates as well, which makes you a very valuable addition to any team, which is why it's one of the most important skills for every perimeter player to have. Here's a couple ways you can work on these 0.5 decision making situations for this first drill, the defense starts at the elbow with the ball in their hands and and the offensive player starts beyond the three point line. The defensive player tosses them the ball and closes out and the offense has to make a read, decide which way to go and then finish the play. You can also add in a secondary defender to play help as well to add another level of challenge to it. This next drill, the defense will start at the elbow again. The offense started the three point line and they'll sort of slide out a little bit as I make this pass to them. That defender is going to close out and again it's live. The only rule is that that offensive player can't hold the ball. They have to catch it immediate, immediately, either shoot or attack. These are situations that players find themselves in all the time during games, so it's important that we work on the ability to read these different situations and make a quick decision as to attacking or shooting. Players start to naturally get a feel for when jabs and shot face are effective as well, which is another positive of drills like this. If you guys enjoyed this video, make sure you drop a like and subscribe. If you're new, click the top link on the description below to get my free Elite Perimeter Score workout. I'll talk to you guys soon. Peace.
