Jim Larranaga's Shooting Drills to Improve Accuracy and Shot-Making Under Pressure

with Jim Larranaga,
University of Miami Head Men's Coach from 2011 to 2024;
2023 Final Four;
2x ACC Coach of the Year;
2013 AP College Basketball Coach of the Year;
2013 Naismith College Coach of the Year;
2013 Henry Iba Award;
2013 Adolph Rupp Cup;
2013 ACC Regular Season and ACC Tournament Champions;
George Mason University Head Coach from 1997 to 2011;
2006 Final Four with George Mason;
2006 Clair Bee Coach of the Year

In this video featuring coach Jim Larranaga, you'll see how to improve the accuracy and efficiency of every player on your team with a varied and challenging series of drills. These drills are designed to work all phases of shooting, including making players better from key 3-point spots and off the dribble.

Goals and Habits

Coach Larranaga will show you how to create specific goals to challenge and focus your players. One of the biggest challenges for coaches is to help their team effectively transfer improvements in practice shooting to games. Throughout the video, you will learn how to emphasize "game shots in game spots at game speed" to make sure that practice improvements show up in game results.

Larranaga begins by discussing the importance of developing habits when working on your shot. Footwork, balance, follow through and focus are four keys he hits upon as he works players through these drills.

Drills and Competition

The on-court action begins with a great drill called "Six in a Row." This drill is as simple as it suggests, but players are challenged more than you would think. Shooters must be able to execute proper footwork while going back and forth while constantly trying to hit six shots in a row from game spots. This is not only a challenging drill that will help your poor shooters realize they need to put more work in, it's also a fantastic warm-up drill to get your players ready for practice. Coach Larranaga passes on nine other great shooting drills that also challenge players while giving them a great workout.

Another great aspect of Larranaga's shooting workouts is how he consistently has players compete against either themselves or their teammates. This competition is so important to prepare players to hit big shots in big moments. In one drill, Coach Larranaga adds a defender against two shooters to force players to make good decisions while preparing to shoot. So often, players practice shooting without any pressure and then aren't prepared for clutch situations in games where shooting under pressure is a given.

Don't miss your chance to see how one of the top college coaches in the country approaches the most important player development skill - shooting!

52 minutes. 2020.