Layups, Jumpstops and Jumpshots

This is something that just about every team everywhere does no matter the age of the players.  It is two lines, one on either side of the rim.  One line is the shooting line and the other is the rebounding line.  The shooting line player dribbles into the basket and does a layup, jumpstop or jumpshot depending on what type of shot is being done in the drill.  Once the ball is shot the rebounding line player rebounds the ball and dribbles it out around to the next person in the shooting line.  The shooter goes to the rebounding line after the shot is taken.  And the drill continues in this way for as long as the team wants to do the drill.

The three shots are the first three shots that every player should learn.  They depend on good footwork that is used for the rest of the player’s career.  The rest of a player’s offensive move set starts with a good foundation of layups, jumpstops and jumpshots.  So, it is important for every player to learn how to do a proper layup, jumpstop and jumpshot.

A layup is when a player dribbles towards a basket usually at an angle.  This is usually starting from a wing position and dribbling at the basket.  If the player is on the right side of the basket, then the player will jump off of their left foot as they get to the basket.  The right knee will rise up helping with the jump.  The ball will be in the right hand as the right arm extends upwards towards the basket and finally releasing the ball to complete the layup.  An approach from the left side is exactly the same but everything is reversed.  The player will jump off the right hand and shoot with the left hand.

At a young age, the players might not be strong enough to shoot a layup and get the ball all the way up to the rim.  This is where a jumpstop comes into play.  As the players get bigger and stronger, the jumpstop becomes much more of a dribbling tool, but the jumpstop can still be used around the basket to create space and add stability to a player.  The jumpstop is when a player dribbles in towards the basket and jumps before getting to the basket and landing on two feet.  The feet should be in an athletic position shoulder width apart or just slightly wider than shoulder width.  Once the player lands on two feet, they should then be able to take a normal shot up close to the basket.  The two feet should give the player more strength using both legs to be able to shoot the ball.

The jumpshot is the final shot a young player should learn.  The jumpshot is the shot that is used most often as players continue getting bigger and stronger and start shooting farther away from the basket.  The player dribbles in towards the basket.  As the player is dribbling right-handed towards the basket, the player is going to plant their left foot.  The right foot is going to follow and stop into a good shooting position.  As the two feet are getting set the player will pick up their dribble and put the ball in a good shooting position.  Finally, the player is going to shoot the ball by transiting from the dribble straight into the shot.  At a young age this is going to be about 5 feet away from the basket.  As the player gets bigger and stronger this distance is going to extend away from the basket farther and farther out.

If the player is approaching from the left side, then the player will be dribbling with their left hand.  The right foot will be planted first, followed by the left foot as the ball is picked up and put into the shooting pocket.  The player will then use the momentum of dribbling to help give them more power to shoot from farther away. 

These three different shots form the foundation for all shooting as the player ages and progresses in basketball.  Good form taught and learned at this early stage in life is only going to benefit the player later in life.  Likewise, bad form here at this early stage is only going to enforce bad habits later in basketball.  These bad habits can continue for a long time and make it harder for the player to remove those bad habits.  It becomes harder to break these bad habits the longer the player continues to use them.  A good fundamental shooting form early will allow players to continue to improve with the right habits as the players continue to get bigger and stronger.