Wanted: Sharp Shooters, Snipers, Expert Marksmen

Dear Hoops Fan,

Do you remember when USA basketball’s Dream Team used to mop the floor with all comers and routinely bring home the gold medals?

Not so with Dream Team IV in 2004. I don’t know about you, but as a lifelong hoops fan I was totally embarrassed at that last Olympics. Our vaunted all-stars went down in flames and slunk home with a bronze medal, and didn’t it almost look tarnished to you? And do you know why we fizzled so badly?

Some say we didn’t send our best. More than a few super-stars did decline the invitation. Some were hurt. Others were worried stiff about security in the post 9-11 world. Still others didn’t want to start their season so early and lower their chances of winning an NBA championship. I remember one guy chose to get married instead of play. That’s all true, but I don’t think that’s the main reason.

Then Why Did We Lose?

Other countries had more practice time together? Had true full-time national teams? Our selection committee picked players not suited for the international game? The players wouldn’t listen to Larry Brown? Nope. I think the biggest reason we lost is we couldn’t shoot a jump shot and our opponents could.

Sure we had virtuoso athletes who could go to the hole one-on-one with anybody, and we had guys who could dunk all day long. We had fancy ball handlers, rebounders, and passers, but we didn’t have very consistent shooting, either of the 2 or 3 point variety.

What broadcasters call “The Lost Art of the Mid-Range Jumpshot” was on full display at the last Olympics. With our opponents clogging the paint and cutting down on entry passes to the bigs we just didn’t have:

The Right Stuff

Remember that movie and the determined space race of the late 50’s and 60’s. Russia got their “sputnik” in orbit first, we were totally embarrassed, and President Kennedy put us on the fast track to the moon. It was a matter of national pride to beat the Russians, and come hell or high water we found a way to get that done.

Now imagine seeing that happen in shooting hoops. I’m talking about a shout-hallelujah shooting revival. I’m talking about “tickling the twine”, “making string music”, “shooting the rock, babee” !

Coaches seldom have the time or the expertise to coach shooting, but they all desperately need better shooters. Coaches have to be focused on the big picture - defensives, offenses, conditioning, etc. Too often they depend on the players to either be natural shooters, or to figure it out on their own. Some do, but many, many, many don’t. I want to change that.

My personal mission is for this website to house the best shooting resources I can find. Coaches, for your team to be a winner you need sharpshooters. Parents, admit it. You want your kids to be stars. Being a great shooter will give them the best foundation. And players, you want to be the all you can be. That and much, much more is what I’m here to help create.

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What Qualifies Me For This?

There are a lot of great shooting coaches out there, and they don’t get the recognition they deserve. I’ll be able to pull together the best of the best so you can benefit. I’ll be doing research and writing. I’ll be reviewing and interviewing. I’m a basketball fanatic, and I’m fascinated with shooting.

Qualifications? I’m from Henderson, Kentucky. I love the movie “Hoosiers”. I've coached youth league boys and girls, and my uncle was the coach at Holy Name Catholic High School, my alma mater. Read my bio here.

The Dean of Shooting Hoops with the 2006 NCAA Championship trophy

I do need your help though. I’m going to be sending out a no holds-barred, no stone-left-unturned free newsletter, and I need you to sign up and tell your basketball friends about it.

Players, I want to see you rock your world and become an uncanny shooter, a shooting star. Coaches I hope you can work good shooting into the fabric of everything you teach. Maybe you could even consider hiring a shooting coach. What would baseball be without it’s hitting coaches? Parents I want to make sure you can provide your kids with the best instructional shooting information money can buy.

And what’s in it for you? Whatever you want, but results like this come to mind:

Oozing with satisfaction at having shot the lights out yet again

Brimming with well-deserved pride (the good kind)

Walking in self-confidence on the court and off

Having the popularity in school you've always dreamed about

Earning scholarships to schools that want you

Having much more fun meeting the opposite sex and dating

Achieving respect and status from your peers

Seeing your name in the media

Getting recognition from those you look up to

And much, much more.

From me you can expect fast hitting book reviews, insightful coaching interviews, the best in video training, anecdotes, helpful Q&A’s, tension breaking jokes, motivational quotes, bios of shooters and winners in general, and the best teaching, training, tips, techniques, inspiration, and motivation I can lay my hands on.

And I know the inner game, psychology, and mental attitude behind good shooting are absolutely critical. It may well be the most important thing, and I’ll cover that from every angle I can think of. Have no doubt. If you pay attention, focus, and practice the right stuff you WILL have the tools you need to be a shooting star.

Shooting is a deep dark mystery to way too many players, but it’s not something you’re born with. You CAN learn it. It takes work to make it automatic, but the basics are not as hard as you might think, and frankly, what’s more exciting than seeing that ball glide through the hoop time after time after time. You have a built in incentive to get better when you know the right thing to practice. Shooting percentages have been declining for way too long. It’s time for the light to come on and for things to change.

What About the Rest of the World?

You know I was just trash talking about the Olympics, right? I know there’s a wide, wide world of basketball out there, and I’m excited about that. We might have invented the game, but the rest of the world deserves it too. I love the game, and I want to see it played at the highest levels humanly possible. So if you’re from another country please, please jump right in. You might already have better shooting fundamentals than a lot of folks, but I say learn whatever you can, and bring it on baby, bring it on.

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean Delker
The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P. S. You can now learn to shoot hoops like a expert marksman. If you are a basketball player (or know one) let me help you become a shooting star.

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