Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The nature of a routine

Saw where Sports Illustrated polled 190 NBA players, asking them to name the best pure shooter they'd ever seen.

Ray Allen topped the list, earning more than a quarter of the votes. Reggie Miller, Larry Bird, Jason Kapono, and Peja round out the top five.

According to this column in the Boston Globe, Allen's shooting skills can be traced back to when he was a kid:

"The routine doesn't change much. That is the nature of a routine. Ray Allen will shoot in an empty gym. Got to make 10 threes from this spot. Got to make five midrange jumpers from this spot. In between, go to the line and make five. It goes back to when he was an 8-year-old kid in England. Allen's parents were ballers and when they gave up the floor to little Ray, he'd pledge to make five straight lefty layups, then five straight righty layups. They couldn't leave 'til he did it."