Master the Advance Quick Pick Up: Develop a Deadly Pull-Up Game
Great shooters aren't just accurate from a standstill; they are lethal when transitioning from the dribble to the shot. The Advance Quick Pick Up is a fundamental drill designed to bridge the gap between your ball handling and your shooting mechanics. It focuses on the critical "pickup" phase—the split second where you gather the ball—teaching you to stabilize your body and release quickly in tight spaces.
How to Perform This Drill
- Setup: Position yourself 5 to 6 feet away from the basket in a low, athletic stance with the ball in your dominant hand.
- Initiate: Execute a hard, aggressive pound dribble to establish rhythm and control.
- Advance: Immediately snap the ball between your legs while taking a slight step forward, simulating an attack on a defender's top foot.
- Gather: As the ball comes through, execute a quick pickup, bringing your guide hand to the ball instantly to form your shooting pocket.
- Stabilize: Perform a controlled jump stop, landing on both feet simultaneously while ensuring your hips and shoulders are square to the rim.
- Finish: Rise up smoothly without pausing and release a high-percentage shot with perfect follow-through.
Why This Drill Works
This drill isolates the most common point of failure for shooters: the transition from dribbling to shooting. By forcing you to execute a complex move (between the legs) followed immediately by a jump stop, it trains your nervous system to organize your feet and hands under pressure. This builds the "kinetic chain" efficiency required to generate power from the ground up, ensuring that even when you are moving on the court, your shot remains balanced, consistent, and quick enough to beat a contest.
Pro Tips
- Pound the Leather: Don't be gentle with the ball. The harder you dribble, the faster the ball returns to your hand, leading to a quicker release time.
- Stick the Landing: On your jump stop, imagine your feet are gluing to the floor. If you drift forward, backward, or sideways, your shooting percentage drops. Balance is everything.
- Eyes Early: Locate the hooks on the rim before you even pick up the ball. "Target acquisition" needs to happen while the ball is still moving so your brain can calculate the distance instantly.
- Hand Speed: Your off-hand (guide hand) needs to meet the ball aggressively on the pickup. A slow guide hand results in a fumble or a slow shot mechanics.