Like many of you out there I play pickup b-ball on a semi-regular basis. I usually play with a regular group of guys so we all know each other's styles. I'm generally a spot up shooter who takes outside shots but recently in the past few months I've been dribbling more and driving to the hoop more often. I've also been taking the ball down the court more and looking to penetrate rather than pass like I used to do when I would play point. The other day I was playing and having a pretty good game but the other team started trapping me and forcing me into more turnovers. In the middle of the game one my teammates told me "stop dribbling and pass the ball!" At that point it struck me that I'm turning into Steve Francis. Has anyone else realized you've been influenced by the Rockets for good or bad in basketball?
When I was a kid, I loved trying to mimic the shooting styles of Allen Leavell (elbow sticking out) and Purvis Short. My friends and I would always have a rainbow jumper contest. Whoever's shot had the highest arc and actually went in, won. We took out a few birds doing that. I also tried once to shoot a jumper like Buck Johnson, but hurt my elbow trying to copy the hitch in his shot.
Me and my friends used to try and emulate Ralph Sampson's "shot" during our pickup games. Never could pull it off.
I think all of us consciously try to emulate Rockets but I'm also wondering if anyone has found themselves subconsciously imitating the Rockets and even picking up some of their bad habits?
there was an old randall's commercial on during rockets' games. it was of a kid playing around at night on his driveway hoop...and gene petersen was doing the "play by play" "the rookie gets the ball at midcourt....he lets it flyyyyyyyyy...." anytime i'm goofing around shooting hoops, i will almost certainly say "he lets it fllyyyyyyy"...it became a standard joke for putting up a desperation shot among me and my friends growing up.
That kid played on my basketball team for North Shore. I loved the purvis short rainbow. I had a tree branch hangin over some of my b ball court as a kid and if you shot it too high it would hit the branch and mess up your shot. Whenever someones shot was messed up by the branch we would say the Dream got it.
I still always say "Blocked by Olajuwon!" when I block someones attempt at throwing something away etc.
Whenever we play a series of games to 11, we usually break it down like a series, and usually I end up saying, wow, this is just like the Rockets/Magic Finals. (I'm usually the one claiming to be the Rockets)
i refuse to pass to our centre and when i reluctantly do i stand and wait for the pass back to shoot the 3... i also walk the ball up the floor and play no D... but the fans love me
Hakeem fadeaways. I'm pertty strong for my size, if I post someone up, I always pop in the high arching fadeaway.
Earlier a few years ago in early High school days, i used to try and play like Barkley. I was probably the shortest, but would go up and get the boards, and then i would post up more than most PF's and I ran the point...
Back when i was short (and played on a regular basis) I could never shoot inside shots. It's not that I had trouble making them, it's just that being so small was quite difficult in driving in. So I basically practiced outside shots (which eventually turned out to be easier than layups for me). On the occasions in which I was going through a 'slump', I would try different things such as the Kenny Smith shot where I would basically fling it from my chest. Then I tried the Eddie Johnson form which worked quite well. All it entailed was turning my right foot inward at a terrible angle. Don't really know why it worked. ♥
