Do you want to be more confident in basketball? This drill can help you increase your self-esteem so that you can be more assertive on the court.
Jalen Rose is a CON man.
Seriously.
In his prime, he was so CONfident in his game (see what I did there). But in the first 5 years of Rose’s career in the NBA, he wasn’t a poised shooter.
The most he averaged per game in those seasons was 11.1 points.
But these early years in his career didn’t deter him. He knew he could be a better player and just needed to work on his skills.
So, in the summer of 1999, he linked up with Phil Weber, a former NBA assistant coach, who coached him with his shooting.
The following season (1999-00), Rose blossomed (pun intended) and won the Most Improved Player of the Year award.
He averaged 18 points per game on 47 percent shooting after averaging just 40 percent the previous season.
Additionally, he also helped his team, the Indiana Pacers, get the top record in the Eastern Conference (56 wins) and get all the way to the 2000 NBA Finals, where he continued his phenomenal play by averaging 23 points per game.
(On a side note, they lost in the Finals to the powerhouse L.A. Lakers, if you were wondering. Rose and Reggie Miller were just not enough to take down Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Anyway…)
You’re probably now wondering what drills Weber had Rose do during those training sessions.
I’m going to imagine that they did a bunch of different exercises. But the one drill that helped Rose the most was the CON Man Drill.
What is the Con Man Drill?
The Con Man Drill is a shooting drill developed by Phil Weber to help basketball players develop confidence in their shooting.
It does so by having a player shoot from one spot until they go on a streak, which will make them more confident.
I first learned about this drill in a magazine called NBA Inside Stuff.
How to do the Con Man Drill
This drill is a simple shooting exercise. You can do it by yourself, but having a person to rebound will make this drill a tad bit easier. However, it’s not necessary.
To start, pick your sweet spot on the court (preferably somewhere close to the basket).
Then, focus on getting hot from that spot. Make as many shots in a row as possible.
Try to aim for at least a streak of 5. Once this is no longer challenging, bump that number up to 10 makes. Then 15 makes.
Once you are gleaming with confidence and your shot is red hot, try doing this drill on a spot that’s uncomfortable to you.
I believe that once you conquer this difficult shot, your confidence will rise even more and so will your ability to shoot the ball.
Benefits of the Con Man Shooting Drill
The main benefit of this drill is obviously its ability to help you build confidence with your shot.
But another important benefit is that it will fortify your muscle memory for shooting because of all the repetitions you have to do.
By doing this drill on a consistent basis, your shooting form will lock-in so that when you are playing in games, it won’t falter.
This is important because once fatigue starts settling in, your shot form, normally, will get sloppy.
But if your muscle memory is strong and the mechanics of your shot are locked in, fatigue won’t affect your form much.
P.S. if you want to improve your stamina for basketball, read this post on Fred VanVleet’s workout.
Final Thoughts
Shooting poorly can be an impediment to your confidence.
But if you were to train yourself to keep going even when you are cold, your self-esteem will improve.
That’s why if you want to be more confident in basketball, like Jalen Rose, you have to do the Con Man Drill regularly.
