Do you want to improve your shooting? Do you want to become a better clutch shooter? Try the 99 Shooting Drill –a drill that NCAA legend and WNBA player Kelsey Plum does on the regular.
Kelsey Plum was one of the best scorers in the NCAA.
She was so good, as a matter of fact, that in 2017, her final year as a collegiate player, she received all 10 of the awards for athletes (USBWA Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, and AP Player of the Year, to name a few).
She also became the NCAA all-time women’s leading scorer, amassing a total of 3527 points throughout her 4-year career.
That’s super remarkable!
But how did she do it? How did Plum become such a phenomenal shooter?
Well, as I say in the majority of my articles, she’s got the fundamentals down. Her shot mechanic is top-notch and she has good shot selection.
She also challenges herself often with the 99 Shooting Drill.
What is the 99 Shooting Drill?
The 99 Shooting Drill is a basketball offence drill that works on your ability to catch and shoot from various spots on the perimeter and shooting while fatigued.
It also helps you work on your focus so that you can make consecutive shots (or catching fire).
How to do the 99 Shooting Drill
First off, this is a two-player drill. The reason you need a partner is that you need a rebounder.
It’s much easier to do the drill if you have a person rebounding and passing you the ball. Doing it solo won’t be as effective.
As you can see from the video above, all you have to do in this drill is shoot and slide, and shoot and slide.
As you progress through the course, you slowly move across to the opposite side.
So, here are the rules to this drill:
- You get 3 points for every shot made
- The score accumulates as you sink shots
- If you miss one shot, that’s fine. There is no penalty for this
- Buuuut, if you miss 2 shots in a row, then 3 points will be deducted from your total score
- If you hit zero points, then you lose and have to start over again
- The goal is to reach 99 points
- You can time your performance, but it’s not needed
The drill is pretty simple and straightforward. However, if you’re pretty new to basketball or aren’t a good shooter, I highly recommend that you start this drill off with mid-range jumpers.
You can do it just outside of the key or you can do it in the long mid-range area.
By doing it this way, you’ll gain confidence and, more importantly, get an opportunity to work on the mechanics of your shot.
You’ll get to get comfortable with your shooting form while gaining shooting confidence, which is what Plum has plenty of.
Kelsey Plum Makes NCAA History
On February 25, 2017, Plum scored a PAC-12 record of 57 points.
She made a ton of shots (obviously) from everywhere. She attacked the basket, posted up smaller defenders for easy drives to the basket, and sank a bunch of 3s and mid-range jumpers.
There was this one play in the second quarter where she came off a high pick-and-roll and sank a long 3-pointer on a bigger defender as the clock was winding down.
Then in the fourth quarter, against the same bigger defender, she executed a hesitation that stunned the defender, which led to Plum getting a wide-open lane for a drive.
You can watch her handiwork below:
Benefits of 99 Shooting Drill
This drill is good for working on your shooting mechanics, especially from the catch-and-shoot position.
But the biggest thing that it works on is your ability to shoot under pressure for a long period of time (or making clutch shots).
You have to try to not miss consecutive shots and try to make as many consecutive shots as possible.
This will improve your stamina and shooting dexterity, which should translate well into your game performance.
Additionally, if you combined this with Skylar Diggins-Smith’s point guard workout, you’ll be able to work on multiple skills necessary for being a complete player (on the offensive end, anyway).
Final Thoughts
Kelsey Plum is an extraordinary scorer who ended her NCAA career averaging 25 points per game on 44 percent shooting.
Her skills are excellent.
So, if you want to score like her (and become a scoring legend), you have to do the 99 Shooting Drill and continuously progress your score and number of shots taken.
