Do people enjoy shooting around?

[Pushxx]

I love shooting around, especially alone with loud music. I can freestyle shootaround for hours. I get in the zone and it really helps my muscle memory for when I play.

What about you guys? In my experience, people don't practice on their own much and I can see how much it affects their game.

[Rake2204]

I've spent thousands of hours over the years practicing by myself. I enjoy it, but I certainly prefer practicing with others. Everyone needs their own moments to walk through old moves, new moves, hypothetical scenarios, etc. However, it can be tough for me to get in a zone by myself unless I'm on a shooting machine.

The thing I'm not a fan of for lone shooting is the need to get your own rebound then attempt to poorly replicate realistic game-speed shots thereafter. If I have at least one shooting partner, suddenly things take a real step up. One person shoots, gets their own rebound, passes to partner who's either spotting up or on the move. Streamlines everything and pushes a little more out of you.

The most effective way for me to shoot around by myself is to set up small bursts of set drills. If it's just me firing away at random for an hour, I don't accomplish a ton. But if I break things down into something like, 10 shots from the baseline where I'm firing from one side, rebounding, then sprinting to the other side, I feel I gain a lot more from the solo outing.

So yeah, my biggest issue when shooting by myself is the inability to get myself to the second wind. I feel like I'm plodding the entire time unless I seriously plan it all out.

[Jyap9675]

Yep love it, I do the Steve Nash 20 minute shooting drill on youtube where it focuses on fundamentals.

[Jailblazers7]

I like shooting around solo because it is more of a theraputic exercise for me. Just me, the ball, and a hoop. It's helps me clear my head and think sometimes.

[Lebron23]

I practices 3 points and free throw shooting when I am alone.

[jamal99]

I do, and that's probably the reason why I'm shooting so well for my height. Shooting, especially 3's is my favorite part of the game, maybe because it was "forbidden" for me for years :lol

[ace23]

I love shooting around while listening to music. I shoot around about two hours a day; it's an escape for me.

[9512]

I am just like you guys, I like shooting alone as a form of therapeutic relaxation.

I work on my mid range shots like the elbows and free throw jumpers (From Pick and Rolls). Then it's the baseline corner pocket like Bruce Bowen. Then it's layups, post moves, wing moves, point guard moves... etc...

I do most of this at game speed.

When buddies are around, we reenact our favorite crunch time moments. It makes things more fun and I am a sucker for nostalgia. Mj's shot against Ehlo in 89, MJ's shot in 98, etc...

I think my passion for basketball started by doing just this. Shooting around alone. I will be 90 (if I live to be this old) and if I am still into basketball I will shoot around reenacting those same old moments.

[mobbdeep]

I think guys who are good jump shooters enjoy shooting around by themselves.

If u are not a good shooter, it can be very boring and u want to play pick up games.

For me, I'm a great shooter so I LOVE to shoot around by myself all the time and everyone else I know gets bored and thinks i'm crazy.

U can always challenge yourself by making like 10 shots in a row or try to make 100 3s until u can leave the gym.

That is what I do and if i have a friend with me, I will rebound for him and give him 20 shots and then he does the same for me.

[Rake2204]

I think guys who are good jump shooters enjoy shooting around by themselves.

If u are not a good shooter, it can be very boring and u want to play pick up games.

For me, I'm a great shooter so I LOVE to shoot around by myself all the time and everyone else I know gets bored and thinks i'm crazy.

U can always challenge yourself by making like 10 shots in a row or try to make 100 3s until u can leave the gym.

That is what I do and if i have a friend with me, I will rebound for him and give him 20 shots and then he does the same for me.
I'm not sure I agree with that. I consider myself a good shooter, I just don't feel I'm always able to draw as much out of a solitary shootaround as I should or could. It seems twice as hard to get my legs activated when I'm working out alone as opposed to have having at least one other person there with me. Granted, solo shooting is necessary and much of my development has stemmed from my alone time with basketball (of which there's a lot) but it's not as exhilarating as other forms of playing.

[mobbdeep]

I'm not sure I agree with that. I consider myself a good shooter, I just don't feel I'm always able to draw as much out of a solitary shootaround as I should or could. It seems twice as hard to get my legs activated when I'm working out alone as opposed to have having at least one other person there with me. Granted, solo shooting is necessary and much of my development has stemmed from my alone time with basketball (of which there's a lot) but it's not as exhilarating as other forms of playing.

I guess it's different for everyone. If I get bored shooting, I will try to work on new moves. A different crossover, work on my dribbling, working on weak hand layups etc. I'm always creative with stuff like that so I don't get bored and I also improve.

If I keep making NBA 3s, then I will just extend my range and try for deeper shots. Always something I can change up and improve on.

[76ers]

I love to shoot around. 3PTers are my best, in the corners just money, so I love to practice em a lot. Especially when I got two consecutive free periods in school. I don't usually shoot with music, but I can if I am feeling it. I like to play 21 with the older players in my school, but I do like to shoot around with the girls, especially outside school. 5'10" SG/SF, you know me, love to grab the rim.

[Rake2204]

I guess it's different for everyone. If I get bored shooting, I will try to work on new moves. A different crossover, work on my dribbling, working on weak hand layups etc. I'm always creative with stuff like that so I don't get bored and I also improve.

If I keep making NBA 3s, then I will just extend my range and try for deeper shots. Always something I can change up and improve on.
True enough. I'm not sure I'd call it boredom, maybe it just doesn't feel as thorough and productive as it would in a partner workout.

That said, as I acknowledged prior, I do indeed feel solo workouts serve a purpose. For instance, most moves I incorporate into my game likely began at some point on the hardwood while I was shooting around on my own. So it can be a productive experience, just a lot of time it pales in comparison to other forms.

For instance, putting up jumpshots alone isn't too shabby, but having to chase down my rebound, then retreat to a spot on the floor and shoot again doesn't feel nearly as productive as partner shooting (or using a shooting machine). So in that respect, it doesn't work as well for me. But I totally recognize it has its good points. There's just usually certain times when I'm shooting by myself where I hit that point where I'm trying to push my body but I know by body is only kind of loose because there's no forced movement or reaction, then it leads to non-game-speed jumpers and it just gets all sorts of blah.

[LikeABosh]

I can shoot around for hours. Just put in some headphones and good music, it's relaxing for me.

[Rake2204]

I'm also surprised by how many of you guys are able to play with music. If you use headphones, how do they stay in while you shoot? If not headphones, how else do you supply music? On rare occasions when I was much younger, I remember lugging my boombox to the court in my front yard, but that was about it.

[Pushxx]

I'm also surprised by how many of you guys are able to play with music. If you use headphones, how do they stay in while you shoot? If not headphones, how else do you supply music? On rare occasions when I was much younger, I remember lugging my boombox to the court in my front yard, but that was about it.

I can't play with headphones. I bring a battery-powered iPod dock. If other people come by they like the music anyway.

[Djarum]

When you play with headphones, you are encoding your successful muscle and neuronal memory to the state you are in (aka listening to music). When you play an actual game, without music, your recall of the abilities and decisions you make won't be as good as if you practiced without music.

Source: Neuroscience.

That being said, I love shooting around.

[ace23]

I'm also surprised by how many of you guys are able to play with music. If you use headphones, how do they stay in while you shoot? If not headphones, how else do you supply music? On rare occasions when I was much younger, I remember lugging my boombox to the court in my front yard, but that was about it.
I just run the earphones from my phone up my shirt to my ears. They've come out maybe three times in the past year.

[Rake2204]

Earlier in this thread, I questioned how you guys listened to music while shooting around. I couldn't picture using headphones and I'd never been anywhere in public where I would have felt comfortable setting up a boombox. So of course, I showed up to a court today where one other guy was shooting (between 19-23 years old) and he looked like he didn't have a bad skill set, but he had a boombox there, and he was blasting the 1960's oldie "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

Upon my arrival, he began turning the volume down dramatically, before changing to a radio station playing 2000's flashback hits. So, I spent a portion of my shootaround today playing to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", "Hey Ya", and Usher's "Yeah!". It was a different experience to be sure.

[PullupJay]

I love shooting around. I can shoot for 3-4 hours alone and time will fly. I come up with new moves, create scenarios, and just relax and work on all aspects of my game. I set challenges for myself like i'll tell myself you are not leaving until you make 6 3's in a row or 15 free throws or something. Shooting around with a friend could be more convenient because you get each others rebounds.With a friend there are many games you can play. Horse,around the world,21,taps,1 on 1,etc...but sometimes shooting alone is more productive, at least for me.