"THE ONE/TWO DRIBBLE PULL-UP."

On the offensive end of the court, there is one technique that I feel every great scorer must possess-that skill is the pull-up jumper. The pull-up jump shot is a lost art in today's game. Most young players either want to get all the way to the basket or rely on taking a three pointer. On the high school level that may work, but defenses are just too good in college and the pros. Without a mid-range game you will become too predictable as an offensive player. If you're a good penetrator, working on your pull-up will allow you to keep the defense off balance. As the defender is moving his or her feet to cut you off-there is nothing they can do when you rise up to shoot. Great scorers only need one or two dribbles to get off their shot-any more dribbles than that will allow a good help defense to collapse and take away your shot.The one/two dribble pull up is very easy to execute, but like anything else it will take many hours of repetition before you master it. The good thing is that you can use this move from anywhere on the court. Here are a few things to remember about the pull-up jumper. Step

1-Make a move @ full speed.When you're being guarded on the perimeter you have to get by the defender with a dribble move. It can be a single move (crossover, thru the legs, behind the back or stutter) or a combination move (in and out/crossover, crossover/thru the legs, or behind the back/in and out). The point is to get by the defender @ full-speed. The move won't work if you go half-speed!

Step 2- Stay low on an angle.As you get by the defender, your goal is to stay low so that you're already in a "triple threat" position to shoot. It makes no sense to make a great move and then rise up once you get past the man guarding you-when it's time to shoot you have to bend your knees again anyway. It just takes too much time to get your shot off. To avoid that, make your move and stay low to the ground. The second phase is to stay on a sharp angle to the basket. Go toward the basket and not away from it. You may have heard the term "north-south" being used in basketball. When a coach says that, he wants you to attack the basket as opposed to going "east-west" or left and right. Maintaining a sharp angle will make it tough for the defense to recover once you beat him.

Step 3- Stop on a dime and pull up.As the defender is trying to move their feet to recover after being beat, your job is to stop on the dime and pull-up. There is no way that the defender will be able to recover and be able to block your shot. As he or she is sliding, you're in the air taking your jumper. The only option that the defense will have will be to swipe @ the ball-so make sure that you protect it. Before you can take the shot, your footwork has to be right. If you are dribbling to your right-you always want to plant with your left foot first. As you plant with your left you immediately follow up with your right foot and jump straight up and down on your shot. Dribbling to your left you want to have a right-left pivot. (Just remember to plant with your inside foot either way you dribble). You can also use a jump stop, but I suggest working on the 1-2 step first. Either way, you have to stop right on a dime and pull-up.

Step 4- Make the shot.The move can look great-but if you don't make the shot it doesn't matter.As I mentioned earlier, adding the pull-up jumper to your arsenal will only make you a more explosive scorer. You won't perfect it overnight though. When you're watching footage of Michael Jordan-notice how many times he scored off of this move. Today's game is no different. Top scorers like Kobe, D Wade, Paul Pierce and Lebron all use this move effectively. Defenders know what's coming but they still have no way to stop it. By working on your pull-up jumper you are working on your overall midrange game. I laid it out for you, now it's time to get it done!

"IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON THE COURT OR IN THE GAME OF LIFE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE FUNDAMENTALS."-ERIC HARRIS