Abstract: The following study is a cohesive discussion about the common truths and myths regarding the development of technique and mental preparation in the game of basketball. The headings outlined in the article signify controversial topics chosen by the author that are up for debate. Topics include such things as race, learning methods, mental preparation and other myths and common fallacies connected to basketball development. Anxiety and technique are the terms that hinder the ability of shooting as well and will be mentioned as the writing progresses. This is not an article on how to become the optimal player but merely a collection of experiments that can open up ideas or elements that you (the reader) might want to incorporate or investigate further upon reading.

Review of Research: Misc. Truths and Myths: Basketball Shooting & Development

Anxiety

The term “Anxiety” will hold as the bookends of my research. I will referring to the term periodically as I review each piece of literature develops as it is one of the underlying factors of shooting the ball well in a game or in other pressure situation (i.e. a bet). Anxiety comes from our fear of success. Though we want certain things, there are obstacles in front of it (success). Essentially this happens when you are tested after all the training and practices and all of your hard work is put on showcase. There are psychological, physical and social demands in the game of Basketball that may affect individuals. Anxiety can be triggered from anywhere as easy as when someone watches as you type.  My own belief is that success comes from our predisposition of feeling anxiety and learning how to cope with it.

3 Types of Performance Anxiety

These are the major categories of Anxiety. Performance Anxiety can be triggered by a number of things such as intimidation, lack of preparation, low confidence or just overall anxiousness.   Cognitive Anxiety has to do with how you think. In short, this is your indecisiveness, confusion or negativity going on in your mind. Somatic anxiety is responses that your body has automatically due to anxiety (activation of the autonomic nervous system). In example, this is the perfuse sweating, yawning, adrenaline surge, fidgeting, or urges to eject waste via bowel movement or urination. Lastly, Trait Anxiety has to do with the outcome of anxiety while in competition. These are the behavioral response to what is happening to the body (cognitive and somatic). All play a huge part in performance (Weinberg and Gould, 2007). Anxiety can be the best friend of optimal performance or worst enemy.

Basketball Learning Methods

Making baskets is largely the hardest part of basketball besides defense (mostly at elite/college levels) in the game of basketball. You can have all the ball handling or passing skill and defense but that will never put the ball in the basket. In a game scoring is much more difficult. There are so many factors that make the game more difficult (Fontanella, 2007). In a game there will be defensive pressure, likely more intense then the defense at practice or in pick up games due to adrenaline and energy surges from the other team. Then there are physical things that prevent us from being shooters and scorers: Sore knees, lack of strength or balance, slow release, bad shooting mechanics (fingertips, rotation, etc). These will all alter the shooting aspect even more with the addition of fatigue (Fontanella, 2007). From a beginning standpoint, often how we learn things can determine our true knowledge or skill. Also the way we learn will ultimately determine the drawing board to go back to correct a wrong if it shall arise.

Explicit vs. Implicit Knowledge

What helps or hinders performance under pressure? Baumeister (1984) defined pressure as “any factor or combination of factors that increases the importance of performing well,” and choking as any performance “decrement,” or inferior performance under pressure circumstances (p. 610).” The purpose of this section is to identify which way of learning and which knowledge is better during high anxiety environment. The hypothesis here is that, "conscious processing hypothesis that, unlike explicit learners, analogy learners would show stable performance when placed under pressure (Masters, 1992).” 

Experiment: In the Lam, Maxwell and Masters (2009) experiment, Implicit learning has been broadly defined as the acquisition of skills in the absence of explicit knowledge of the underlying information that guides performance Twenty-four female undergraduate students from the University of Hong Kong volunteered to participate in an experiment (Lam, Maxwell and Masters, 2009). The participants were divided into two groups; an explicit group and the analogy (implicit) group (Lam, Maxwell and Masters, 2009). “The experiment consisted of learning and test phases. Each day of learning contained six blocks of 40 trials, with 5 minutes separating each block to for resting. The test phase was arranged in an A-B-A design (Retention 1—transfer—Retention 2), consisting of one block of40 trials in each test condition. The retention tests were used to assess learning, whereas the transfer test was used to assess performance under pressure.” The primary task required each participant to learn a basketball shooting skill using a standard ball (women’s size 7), while in a seated position a little under 10 feet from the basket on a lowered basketball hoop at about 6 feet and a T31 heart rate transmitter attached to a strap around the participant’s chest, and a receiver worn on the wrist (Lam, Maxwell and Masters, 2009).

Explicit Rules: Support ball with the hand of your non-shooting arm. Keep forearm vertical before shooting. Shoulder, elbow and wrist should be in-line with the rim before shooting.

During shooting, ball should move from below the chin upward and forward in the direction of the basket. Extend elbow fully at ball release. Follow through by snapping your wrist forward so that the palm of shooting hand is facing downward. Release ball with your fingertips. Hold follow-through (keep wrist firm) until the ball hits the rim.

The Implicit group used the analogy “Shoot as if you are trying to put cookies into a cookie jar on a high shelf (Lam, Maxwell and Masters, 2009).”

Analysis: Both groups were tested and there were no changes in the success of preparation. Both groups were put in pressure situations. Blood pressure and other anxiety factors were the same but the implicit group was able to thrive more. The problem with the explicit group is that there were too many rules to follow. Not to say that implicit knowledge doesn’t have its faults because in the game of basketball there is some room for explicit knowledge as well. Mainly explicit knowledge is good when you need to figure out exactly what you are doing. In the experiment it was documented that the explicit group were more likely to know what they did wrong. On the contrary of performance, explicit knowledge will help in correction of technique

I think explicit knowledge is key will boat better then implicit knowledge in the beginning. How the analogy they used even came about came from some sort of explicit direction. Due to time constraints in coaching you, explicit knowledge is needed for faster understanding of a system. Your understanding of explicit instructions can become internalized thus, you can create implicit instruction. That is why it is considered a strength because it comes with practice and experience. The more you experiment with explicit knowledge the quicker it can become implicit knowledge. As it is well documented in the Lam, Maxwell and Masters (2009) study, Coaches are better off limiting instructions and/or rules focusing on having more implicit instructions when teaching new things. However, which route you take (explicit or implicit) may depend on the experience of personnel.

The Hot Hand Myth?

This next subject up for discussion is rather the hot hand exists. The study was about what they observed from obtained videotapes from four annual shootout contests (1994—97) from the NBA 3pt Contest during All Star Weekend. The contests included three rounds (1st round, semifinals, and finals).The total data collected examined 56 sets of 25-shot performances from 23 contestants in four Shootout contests (Koehler, and Conley 2003).

A hot hand is a form of self momentum and it is slang if I might add. Momentum is very much documented in sports psychology. Basically, the focus of the study was to slander any perceived notion of a hot hand’s existence. I think what the Authors failed to realize that all this study did was prove points that are truly monotonous and already known. Some of the ground breaking results were the fact that players remained were somewhere around 57 after missing 3 shots in a row or making 3 shots in a row.  The idea of hotness is mostly interpolated in an actual game not a 3 point contest. I kind of gathered the feeling that they just wanted to take the fun a way from announcers when they say “He’s on fire”. Thanks for taking the fun out of the classic video game NBA Jam as well.

However, the moral to the research is to not dwell on past successes because that might not be indicative of future shots.  In contrast of hotness, you can be so out of it that you can miss all shots you can have all shots go your way in announcer jargon, this is called cold. But a type of momentum has to intervene in order to hit a lot of shots in a row or shoot a good percentage, which is what it means to be "hot". Think about Kobe Bryant’s 81 point game. Clearly there was some sort of variation of a hot hand. How could they argue that type of performance? Rather that was in his mind or his hot hand, he was in tune with the game and his responses were immaculate.  Recall that basketball is a nerve racking game and that maybe when all anxiety factors are under a persons control, maybe this is what a hot hand truly is. In the research of Koehler and Conley (2003), they goes on to say that only a hot hand should exist with high levels of arousal. The next section should offer some proof to that.

Hypnosis

The definition of flow is described as “High levels of athletic performance are frequently attributed to the experience of a mental state (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975).” The idea of hypnosis, according to the researchers, Pates, Cummings, and Maynard (2002), is that it can tap in to the ideal hemisphere (right hemisphere) of the brain that can increase personal control over flow which can enhance a player’s performance as described above. In the study they show how hypnosis can help the 3 point shooting of 5 collegiate starting players at a University.  Because of the experience of this players, their best performance could be condition by a natural trigger (a feeling they can recall experiencinb). The idea of tapping into the flow mindset would increase 3 point shooting.

Procedure: From the top of the key (the three point line perpendicular to the baseline) participants were asked to run from baseline to baseline and then shoot a three pointer. They shot the ball 10 times Scoring scale: 1 = complete miss 2 = a rim & miss 3 = bank shot 4 = rim and in 5 = swish. After the testing phase participants underwent a 15 min muscular relaxation technique. On the second stage participants underwent a staircase induction consisted of a journey, one step at a time, down a flight of stairs. The participants were then lead down the stairs in there mind to a comfy place and then to a place of relaxation. The third stage was suggestive to help players reminisce about past performances; they need to activate all sensations of this feeling. When memory was accessed a trigger was introduced to help associate trigger (basketball) and optimal performance. As an extra additive to gage accuracy of performance data and information they tested the flow experience on a Flow State Scale questionnaire developed by Jackson and Marsh (1996). Also as a test prerequisite, if the participant was able to remember the emotions associated with that particular event then they could complete whole trial.   

Each of the five participants had a large increase in shooting performance from the testing to the intervention. Therefore the study increased each ones experience of flow. Statements made by the participants such as “shooting was easy I felt like I could will the ball anywhere I wanted,” “my shot was automatic, I forgot about technique and relied on my self confidence”, “my mind went blank and everything became automatic” Pates, Cummings, and Maynard (2002). Thus, adding some proof to the hot hand theory. In the hot hand theory report there isn’t any solid evidence that deems feasible to notion that the hot hand doesn’t exist (Koehler, and Conley, 2003), the hypnosis experience however (Pates, Cummings, and Maynard, 2002),  takes you into the mindset, and all other intricacies of what it means to be hot. Case closed.

Also, an important approach used by Pates et al. (2002) was hypnotic regression. This technique allows the individual to go back and relive some of the moments of optimal performance with out the thoughts of the future at all. This allowed access to the mindset that allowed them to be great while in the present and into the future. Regressing back to a mindset of total focus is a key element in anxiety control. Also, this type of routine could cut down stress in everyday life.

Superstitions or Pre-Performance Routines

In my humble opinion I believe that superstitions have a positive effect on shooting performance. There are plenty of superstitions that go unnoticed but to name a few; game time rituals preparation can be a superstition, Karl Malone’s constant mumbling at the free throw line is a superstition, headbands, even the armband that Kobe where’s on his non-shooting elbow or bicep is a superstition and there are several others that go unnoticed. Though it hasn’t been tested, there is no reason for the elbow armband on the non-shooting hand. It does not help shooting, nor does it protect from injury, because arthritis of the elbow most likely occurs on the shooting arm as a result from shooting too much.

Experiment: The Foster and Weingand (2006) studied 22 males with 4 years of experience of basketball. All participants were checked prior to the study in a one-to-one consultation to make sure of their superstitious nature. Trials consisted of 20 basketball free-throw attempts using a regulation basketball on a regulation court and hoop. Each trial was separated by three weeks. The first test used superstitious behavior. Then the second test was without superstitions. The third test implemented a new prepare free-throw shooting techniques.

With the effect of superstitions the groups did rather the same. When they took away the superstitions from the experimental group, it took away from their success. Then they implemented a Pre-Performance Routing (free-throw regimen) that was identical for all participants in the experimental group. The effect of new method of shooting free throws brought their shooting scores back closer to normal.

Analysis: Could superstitions be a Myth? It is likely that it could be due to the fact that it was replaced by a predetermined method and showed not too much change in results. It was slightly lower but that could have to do with how little time each player practiced the new way of free throw preparation. This tells me that superstitions give players a type placebo effect. Superstitions are used to combat anxiety or any other stresses in the sport. It is the placebo to help the player feel calm and collected. Superstitions can also put performance in the hands of fate which is essential in visualization.

Basketball Economics: Whites vs. Blacks Myth

Research: Were people really bread to become athletes? What’s race got to do with it? People should not be fooled the ratio of the black population in sports. I think whole slavery/athlete relation was a joke initially and then it manifested itself throughout the minds of impressionable people as the truth.  In the Johnson, Hallinan and Webster (1999) experiment they discussed African American athletic superiority. 248 students from the south where involved with an average age of 20. Most of the participants were white, and only 12 percent were black and the other groups fractioned off at about 6 percent. The study was to test the common stereotypes of black athletes and white athletes. The participants were shown head and neck shots of collegiate athletes and they were supposed to determine what physical or mental advantages that each player had. The results showed that chose that blacks had more innate/genetic talent where whites were more calculative/hardworking. This experiment gives proof to the belief that certain Darwinistic stereotypes apply to certain races as some sort of innate attribute already pre-assigned by nature. These results remained constant in plenty of other research I found as well.

Why would people think that? In a study on Genes done by David Epstein (2010), who is a geneticist, he dispels any type of gene factor in building athletes. The truth is… Who knows? As far as sport genes are concerned, those are considered myths because there is no way to prove it. Genes that were found in say an athlete like Colin Jackson, a world class sprinter, were found in a geneticist named Pitsiladis according to Epstein (2010). Certain things become social stigmas. I believe that basketball’s popularity in the Black Community is a major influence on African Americans that increases their involvement in different sports. A lot of Rap Music has direct correlations to basketball, and blacks that are in the NBA are thought of as heroes. To say things are the way they are by some sort of Gene is clearly inconclusive by logic.

Analysis: There are factors that will give people an extra sense of urgency or need for an escape that can in turn enhance the focus of a young basketball player. However it is important to know understand that minorities are less likely to participate in physical activity then that of Caucasians as documented in Martin and McCaughtry (2008). Also, gangs vs. basketball are a very pertinent issue in the black neighborhood (Atencio and Wright, 2008). Playing basketball granted some people a sense of safety. Basketball is coveted and highly respected in the black community according to the case studies done by Atencio and Wright (2008). The social backing that athletes get is remarkable in what people would consider bad neighborhoods. So this along with the weight of societies pressures offer at the least an explanation of why things happen.  In my opinion being one of the unfortunate ones gives an advantage due to the predisposition of pressure already bestowed upon certain individuals in order to survive. This may be where the sense of urgency comes from there-fore making the black population in sport so high.  I hope this disposes of the notion that only white people can shoot or all blacks are athletic behemoths that were born to do 360 dunks. To play ball you need to well rounded or how they put it “calculating and hard working.” Genes will never suffice for the actual hard work and desire needed to learn a new skill or be great at something because we all come from black genes according to Epstein (2010). No excuses.

Conclusion

The main idea associated with this article is anxiety control.  It is imperative to a serious competitor that this is under control of self. Throughout the paper, there are several beliefs that will gage or steer one to the right direction. It should be noted that anxiety affects everyone in a different manner. Ultimately, how we gather our minds is up to ourselves. However, this is the general over standing of how to deal with it from a simple and generalized stand point. It is possible that anxiety may not even be a factor in some players depending on the personality of the person (Weinberg and Gould, 2007). They say that the game is 90% mental and 10% physical. But that may only apply to elite players. The biggest moral of this piece, is the ways how to get to that mindset of 90% mental or the highest of a person's potential. People forget that it is just a hoop that we put a ball through. Too many outside influences deviate from the actual simplicity of the game. As aforementioned in the article, there is a correlation between the mental function and success as opposed to physical external elements such as the Implicit vs. Explicit experiment by Lam, Maxwell and Masters (2009). That is essentially what this paper is about, gathering your mind, getting back to understanding the self, and being reflexive instead of thinking too much. In my opinion, those are the main struggles in life and in sports. Just throw the ball in the hoop. Swoosh! Simple instructions.

Atencio, M. and Wright, J. (2008). “We Be Killin’ Them”: Hierarchies of Black Masculinity in Urban Basketball Spaces. Sociology of Sport Journal, 25, 263-280

Baumeister, R.F. (1984). Choking under pressure: Self-consciousness and paradoxical effects of incentives on skillful performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 610–620.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond Boredom and Anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Epstein, D. (2010). Sports Genes. Sports Illustrated, 112 (21), 53-65

Foster, D.J. and Weigand, D.A. (2006). The Effect of Removing Superstitious Behavior and Introducing a Pre-Performance Routine on Basketball Free-Throw Performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 18: 167–171,

Jackson, S.A., and Marsh, H.W. (1996). Development and validation of a scale to measure optimal experience: The Flow State Scale. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 18, 17-35

Koehler, J.J. and Conley C.A. (2003). The "Hot Hand" Myth in Professional Basketball. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 25, 253-259

Lam, W.K., Maxwell, J.P., and Masters, R.M. (2009), Analogy Learning and the Performance of Motor Skills Under Pressure. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 31, 337-357

Martin J.J. and McCaughtry N. (2008). Using Social Cognitive Theory to Predict Physical Activity in Inner-City African American School Children Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 30, 378-391

Pates, J. Cummings, A. and Maynard, I. The Effects of Hypnosis on Flow States and Three-Point Shooting Performance in Basketball Players The Sports Psychologist, 200, 16, 34-37

Weinberg, R.S., Gould, D. (2007), Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology 4th Ed. (78-79), Printed in the United States of America