What's a GymAlien?

     I guess I should tell you all (ha, ha, like anybody really gives a damn) why I use the name GymAlien.

It's a three edged blade as it were.

     First:  As a little squirt I used to go to a Park in Long Beach California called Scherer Park.  I was mostly a  latchkey kid.  Mom and dad got divorced before I turned 2.  But unlike many, I lived with my dad and not mom. I saw my mom on holiday's from age 2 till age 5; then no more (sad, huh).
     Dad was Always at work during the day, leaving at about 6 am and Always at home at around 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  He was a Longshoreman, his dad was a longshoreman, and I eventually became a longshoreman too; but the point was that for several years I was at the park almost every day playing ping pong, pool and whatever organized sports I could.
     I played Flag Football, Volleyball, and Basketball.  I sucked at basketball!

 
     I did have to check in with a grandma in the neighborhood after school, so it wasn't really criminal (I didn't have a bad dad; just an emotionally crippling one).  Back to the park,  I remember one of the early days when I first started going to the park/babysitter at around age 8 or 9, before all the team sports.  I would often play on the swing set and kid things they had there in the sand (they even had gymnastic rings -you know the Iron Cross and spinning stuff the Olympic guys do).
     I met a little girl one day and she would follow me around; I think she was maybe 6 to my 8 or 7 to my 9 years old.  She was fun to play with if a bit hard to shake.  I remember pushing her on the swings higher and higher as boys would like it, but girls cry foul.
     Anyway to the point... One day she asked my name and I spelled it out in the sand: Jim Allen.  She said, "Really?".  "Yeah", I said.  And she persisted, "Really?".  I couldn't understand why she said it that way until she asked, "Are you really an Alien?"
     Don't ask me why but I played along and said, "sure...Yeah, I am.".  I could hardly believe she really meant it.?  And for maybe six months she would play with me at the park and I never let on that I wasn't really an Alien.  I even think of her as my first girlfriend (sort of).

     So, that is reason one; and here is the Second:  Jim Allen - Gym Allen - Gym Alien.  Do I really need to say anything more?

     Third:  I hate the term "Gym Rat" so I came up with Gym Alien to describe my life in the Basketball Gymnasium.  I was there most of my free time; nearly every day, for hours.  And if not in a Gym, then on the outside courts, in the park, or school, or at a friends house on the 'over the garage door' hoop.  It was the one sport where I had very little success.  And I wanted to understand why other kids could play Basketball well, but not me!  Then I could fix that problem/weakness.  I was pretty stubborn.

     The worst part was watching other kids my age make shots (especially Free Throws) but I threw up brick after brick.  It frustrated me to no end, for years and years.  Many would say my form was beautiful in junior high and high school. but I still couldn't count on my shot going in. Nor could I tell you why it wouldn't and didn't go in.

     I was by far the best athlete on the team when I got to high school.  but still, could have been called "clank" if it weren't for the fact coach called me TO.   OOOOh, how I hated that.  He'd come from playing college ball straight to coaching our basketball team.  And he just couldn't understand why I couldn't perform the fundamentals of basketball.  I had never been taught the fundamentals!  That's why.

     I ran circles around the other players; could out jump, out run, and out hustle All of them. But I didn't really know How To Play.  Dribbling was a big problem for me, at 5'9" that didn't bode well for my playing time at guard.  So, for him (coach) I was just a turnover machine with great hustle. Apparently, he felt he couldn't afford to put me in the game as a starter or at the end of a game. It soon became a self-fulfilling prophecy.  As I'd often instantly make a turnover when he put me in. Yet I was The Sixth Man.

       After my dad took me off the team as a junior because of a 'D' in history, I didn't even go out for the basketball team as a senior; choosing Track and Field instead.  And becoming MVP with all the School Records in Jumping when I left. One coach who was also with the football team said I was probably the best athlete in the schools' history. But I still couldn't shoot worth a darn. Actually, I could shoot great with a gun; just not with a basketball...lol

      But, that was just the start.  I still had the 'Jones'.  I shot for hours by myself, day after day. Year after year, until I joined the Air Force.  Then things took a change.  I started playing pick up ball with good players on a regular basis.  I was either in class learning how to fix computers or in the Gym.

       I got better by leaps and bounds. No pun intended, but I got better at jumping too!  I could slam with either hand, reverse, and I could throw it up on the backboard and dunk.  I could dunk with my heel on the Free Throw line too.  I was 21 and becoming a Man. On the court anyway.  I got to the point where I wanted the contact from a defensive player during my shot. I used to be really strict about fouls, but now you could bump me on the way up and it just made me even more accurate. The nice form I had, turned into an unstoppable shot.

     Unstoppable by someone else that is. I could still stop myself. I was far from perfect.(like my grammar and spelling, lol)   But, Unlike this one guy I knew... Seriously, this guy did not miss a jump shot.  I mean Never!  It was unnatural how well this guy shot.  Always the same; Always went in.  And, I am not exaggerating at all.  If his team knew to pass him the ball, they would not lose.  I swear to you, this guy did not miss EVER.  Until I got good enough defensively to block his shot that is.

     I had gotten pretty good with my shot.  But, until I could block his shot I was not going to win, over this guy.  I loved the struggle.  The Challenge drives me if you couldn't already tell.  For several months I would spend around 4 hours a day in the gym. First I would be there alone shooting around by myself. Then this guy would come in and we'd play one on one.  Then the bigger guys and others would come and we'd play half court then full.  'Till the time came to go back to the dorm and sleep.

     Basketball was my joy, my release, fun and love all rolled into one.  Yes, I Love Basketball.  The Gym was the one place where I felt at Home.  Yet I still had much to learn in the way of Shooting a basketball.   I'll go into that further later on.  I think I've rambled on enough for this post.

     So, there you have it,      I Am  GymAlien

Free Throws: Why Big Men Can't Shoot 'em

Shaq, Wilt, Dwight Howard, it goes on and on....

     Why can"t the Biggest players on the court make a 13 1/2 foot shot?
   
   I'll give you my two reasons that Big guys have a harder time than most making their FREE Throws.

      First they are spoiled. Yeah, I'm sayin that! The big guys get picked first weather they can play or not (this from a 5'10" white guy-lol-).  There is always a spot on the team for a 7 footer.  Did you ever see Mark Eaten (spelling?) play?

      All they have to do is be able to catch the ball near the basket and dunk. Why (they feel) do they need to learn how to shoot a basketball?

      You'll notice a guy like Lew Alcindor had to learn how to shoot. The rules of college basketball were changed to keep him from dunking!  So, he had to learn something else.

      That's when the most dependable and unstoppable shot in the history of basketball was born the "Sky Hook".  Further he became an excellent Free Throw shooter. Now Called Kareem, he is an exception to the 'rule'.

      There are others, Dirk Nowitski and I remember Jack Sikma, Dan Issel were outstanding shooters.  But for the most part the taller a player is/was the worse their outside shooting percentage is/was.

    Ok, so I said they just plain didn't need to learn how to shoot to play the game.  Whereas the little guy almost has to shoot well or not play at all.

     The second reason is the fact that they are so tall, makes their release point very high.  That gives them the feeling that they don't need to shoot up.  Rather, they shoot at the basket with a low trajectory. They don't 'get' that the lower the trajectory the smaller the opening is for the ball to go through.

   Imagine holding a ring between your fingers. Now look through the hole.  Turn the ring so that the hole appears to shrink into a different shape. An Ellipse rather than a circle.  And the more you turn it the smaller that opening gets until it looks like a straight line; with no hole at all.

     Can you see that the lower the trajectory of the basketball the less chance it has of fitting through that space.  Yes it's still a circle, but you have made it nearly impossible to put it through there if you don't get it up and over the front of the rim. In fact there is an optimal trajectory (Science is Good 'm kay).  And that trajectory is much higher than most folks understand. I had to learn that after long years of shooting incorrectly.

      In fact I completely transformed my shot several times in my quest for the perfect jump shot. That is no easy task, let me tell you.  That's another reason guys like Shaq couldn't figure it out.  They simply would not take the time necessary to change those bad habits and recreate a more perfect shot.

      There comes a time when one realizes everything they've learned is a bunch of bull @#$& !  And that's when you find that there is nothing left to do but Scrap it ALL and Start Over.   Ah, but more on that later...

GymAlien Said So!