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Tyson Etienne’s game-winner for Shockers looked like a bad shot. Here’s why it wasn’t
Joey Burton has been working as an NBA skills development coach for years now and he hasn’t come across a college player like Etienne. The two linked up in Indianapolis this summer when Etienne was going through the pre-draft process for NBA teams. It always stuck out to Burton that Etienne wouldn’t want to end a workout on a dunk or free throws, but rather 30-foot bombs. It was the same process every time: from the left side, from the center and from the right side. So when Etienne decided to pull from 32 feet, almost exactly where he takes the practice shots from, Burton couldn’t help but chuckle. “It was totally deja vu,” Burton said. “I immediately thought, ‘This is what he prepared for.’” While Burton noticed the rhythm dribbles, the detail he was the most proud of Etienne for was the arch he used to perfectly splash the ball through the net without grazing the rim. “A lot of players who shoot that deep will shoot the ball with a different motion or a different shooting mechanic,” Burton said. “There was none of that with Tyson. He shot the ball high and got the ball to the back of the rim. We worked this summer on Tyson shooting the ball up and getting the ball high and gravitating toward the rim. I always explain it like a quarterback throwing a hail mary. They don’t throw it at the receiver. They throw it high and let gravity take it to the receiver.” Burton has worked with NBA players. He knows better than most what constitutes a good shot from a bad one. Is a step-back, 32-footer a bad shot for a lot of players? Yes. But is it a bad shot for Etienne? Burton doesn’t believe so because of the repetition he has from that range. “You can debate all day if it was a good shot or a bad shot, but at the end of the day, one team went home with a loss and one team went home with a win because of that shot,” Burton said. “At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
Tyson Etienne’s game-winner for Shockers looked like a bad shot. Here’s why it wasn’t
Joey Burton has been working as an NBA skills development coach for years now and he hasn’t come across a college player like Etienne. The two linked up in Indianapolis this summer when Etienne was going through the pre-draft process for NBA teams. It always stuck out to Burton that Etienne wouldn’t want to end a workout on a dunk or free throws, but rather 30-foot bombs. It was the same process every time: from the left side, from the center and from the right side. So when Etienne decided to pull from 32 feet, almost exactly where he takes the practice shots from, Burton couldn’t help but chuckle. “It was totally deja vu,” Burton said. “I immediately thought, ‘This is what he prepared for.’” While Burton noticed the rhythm dribbles, the detail he was the most proud of Etienne for was the arch he used to perfectly splash the ball through the net without grazing the rim. “A lot of players who shoot that deep will shoot the ball with a different motion or a different shooting mechanic,” Burton said. “There was none of that with Tyson. He shot the ball high and got the ball to the back of the rim. We worked this summer on Tyson shooting the ball up and getting the ball high and gravitating toward the rim. I always explain it like a quarterback throwing a hail mary. They don’t throw it at the receiver. They throw it high and let gravity take it to the receiver.” Burton has worked with NBA players. He knows better than most what constitutes a good shot from a bad one. Is a step-back, 32-footer a bad shot for a lot of players? Yes. But is it a bad shot for Etienne? Burton doesn’t believe so because of the repetition he has from that range. “You can debate all day if it was a good shot or a bad shot, but at the end of the day, one team went home with a loss and one team went home with a win because of that shot,” Burton said. “At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
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