Blog Post 8: Status Update

I have not mentioned before that I am suffering from a mild Chondromalacia, which is basically knee pains before arthritis. During this project my knee pains came back, so I had to take a break for about a week of practicing basketball. After a week, when I went back to the gym, I was quickly aware that my shots were off. I am still trying to get back to my usual rhythm.

This is a video from before I took my break. That week I was making about 50 percent of my 3 point shots (without any defense on me), I was feeling very good. I sweep my feet a little further than the shot from my previous status update blog post. I was able to create a much higher arch then when I started this project, which is a good sign because the the percentage of the ball going into the hoop increases with a higher arch. Another improvement that I have made is that I am able to achieve higher arch without losing the distance. Previously I didn't have much arm strength to shoot the ball with a very high arch while reaching the goal. So I resolved that issue by moving the ball more to my side and turning a little on my shot. 

Finally, I realized the importance of the shooting rhythm, or the flow of the body when shooting a jump shot. Before I began this project, I used to catch the ball, bring the ball above my head, and then I would pause before I continued shooting. Making a pause during a shot causes loss of momentum which results in loss of power. This overall caused me to lose my arch and range. However recently I have started shooting in a rhythm(or one motion) from the moment I square up my feet, to the moment I release the ball. 

Blog Post 7: Article ODE to Joy(Golden State Warriors)

I recently read an article from sports illustrated that explicitly explains the success of the reigning NBA champions; Golden State Warriors. The article explains how the Golden State Warriors are setting new records, and how the team's every individual "fits like a puzzle" to make a great team. The article also explained different events that occurred during the 2015-2016 season by actually interviewing the players. For instance, the article wrote about the play during a Knicks game where former NBA allstar Carmelo Anthony put his hand on Stephen Curry (Warrior's guard) head while defending him. Stephen Curry later said that he was actually pretty mad about the action of Carmelo and was going to say a couple words to him in the tunnel. But before he got a chance to do that, Carmelo came up to Curry with his son to give him a sculpture of Curry his son made in school. The article also talked a lot about the different stats of the Golden State Warriors including the most wins in a single season(passing the 96 Bulls), and the number of 3 pointers made in a season. The Warriors are currently my favorite basketball team in the league, and has impacted the game of basketball in so many ways (especially the 3-pointers).

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Blog Post 6: For my final project

 

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   For my final project, I have decided to simply record a video of me attempting multiple 3-point shots, and talk through what is good about them, or what more needs to improve. I also plan to show what kind of changes have occurred since the beginning of the project. I should be evaluated on the ideas and concepts that I have learned through this project, and also how my shooting form matches what I have learned. I have learned that 20 minutes a day for about a month was clearly not enough to make a significant difference in the way I shoot. However through the final assessment I plan to show what has changed over the course of the month, and how that made me better. I feel like the most important part of this project was the concepts I was able to learn(such as the sweep and sway, quick release, importance of the ball...etc), and therefore those should be weighed the most in evaluating the final assessment. I will make a video explaining step by step on how I have improved, and what has changed. I  will send the video, or link of the video via email so we would not need to schedule a meeting.