Ethan Khoza breaks down four catch-and-shoot threes every player needs: driving-kick threes, one-more-pass threes, pin-down screen threes, and flare threes. He covers the footwork and positioning for each, arguing shooting is the most important skill in modern basketball.
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For the majority of teams, catch and shoot threes are the most common shot taken in today's game of basketball. Many teams build their offense around shooting threes. And as the game has continued to transform and become more perimeter oriented, the ability to hit, catch and shoot threes is more valuable than it's ever been. Basketball, a lot of times is made out to be more complex than it really is. Simply put, teams need shot makers. So if you can make shots, chances are you'll play and get a lot of opportunities. Which is again why I always say that shooting is the most important skill in basketball. In today's video, we're going to go through four different shots off the catch that you've got to be able to hit if you want to be a great shooter. And stay tuned because next week I'll be dropping a workout that's going to hit these four shots. Let's get into it. The first kind of shot you need to be able to hit off the catch are driving kick threes. Modern basketball is a game of driving kick with the way that help defense is designed to protect the rim. Many teams drive with the intention of drawing a help defender in so that they can kick it to an open teammate for three. This is how the majority of catch and shoot opportunities are created. So if you can hit the shot consistently, it makes you a very useful offensive player. Specifically, you need to be able to hit shots off of relocation on a driving kit. When your teammate drives and your defender steps in to try and help, you'll usually need to relocate in order to create an open passing angle for your teammate. This in itself is a skill, being able to read your defender and decide where to relocate. But typically you'll either relocate up to the wing or down to the corner, depending on where you're starting at, in order to create that angle. Once you understand how to create that passing angle, it becomes a catch and shoot jump shot. Players who can hit the shot are exactly the kind of players who fit perfectly in today's game of basketball. So above all, be able to make these sort of shots. The next catch and shoot shot you have to be able to hit is the one more pass three. This is a shot that comes off of an extra pass. Many times it's a driving kick situation, but maybe the guy who catches it won't have enough time or space to get a shot off, so he makes the extra pass to the corner or up to the wing. Usually with this shot, you'll be in more of a set position, hands ready to catch the ball, and typically you'll have to be able to hit the shot quickly as you'll have a defender rushing at you. When it comes to hitting catch and shoot jump shots, many times it's all about being able to do it from different passing angles. Sometimes the pass will come from the middle, other times from the corner or from the wings. So it's important that you're comfortable hitting shots at these different angles. The third type of catch and shoot shot you have to be able to hit is off of a pin down. When you aren't getting a catch and shoot opportunity from a driving kick or an extra pass, chances are it'll come off of an off ball screen. Normally this will be a pin down and depending on the offense it could be a wide pin down or it could be a pin down happening at the top of the key or on the wing. But I don't just mean when someone sets a screen for you, this could also be when you set a screen for someone else. Again, depending on your offense, the screener and the pin down could pop out for the catch and shoot opportunity as well, depending on whether the other player curls around the screen or not. And when that happens, it many times creates an open shot for the pop gun. Being able to shoot out of these pin down situations Another crucial part of being a great shooter in a team context and the last catch and shoot shot I want to talk about in this video are shots coming off of flares or fades. Now many times these can come in those same pin down situations. Your defender jumps the screen so you fade back out to the wing or the corner. Some teams also set these fade screens, especially going across across the top where a team it'll come and set almost a back screen for you to go over the top for the catch and shoot three. This could happen at the top, but also could happen on the wings as well. So it's important that you can hit those shots coming from either direction. The footwork with this is a little bit different, but as we talked about earlier, so is the passing angle. So the better you are at hitting shots coming off different angles, the better you'll be overall as a shooter. If you guys haven't seen it yet, make sure you also check out the video linked above where I go through three shots off the dribble. You also need to be able to hit. And like I said, I'll have a workout coming on these catch and shoot shots next week. Going along with that next next Monday, April 26, I'll be releasing my new shooting program, the Elite Shooter System. Inside this program, we're going to hit all four of these shots, as well as those three types of shots, off the dribble and more. There's also going to be a complete in depth form walkthrough, so you'll be able to fix your form and finally develop your own best shot. There'll also be numerous film studies and breakdowns, as well as IQ and confidence lessons and some very exciting bonuses that I can't wait to share with you guys as well. So make sure you stay tuned to be ready for that. If you haven't grabbed my free Elite Perimeter Score workout, click the top link in my description below to grab that. Talk to you guys soon. Peace.
