Excerpt From Coach Godwin's New Book

Excerpt from the book “Everyone Hates a Ball Hog but they Love a Scorer: The Complete Guide to Scoring Points on and off the Basketball Court”

Release Date: November 10th Amazon.com

Graduating from Shooter to Scorer

The most potent basketball players are those that score with their mind. I likened it to the difference between being a shooter or a scorer. A shooter is someone who just goes out and solely relies on their jump shot to score points. There is no plan or direction, you give him or her the ball and they shoot it. A scorer is someone who takes his time and identifies the weakness in the defense and attacks accordingly.

It’s like playing the game of chess; every move is calculated and has its purpose.

Due to an ankle injury, my freshman year in college was a challenge but it showed me the importance of strategy. With limited athleticism I was forced to get back to the fundamentals that my coach taught me during those summer workouts in St. Patrick’s gym. Mastering coming off of screens and picking my spots became my trademark. Since I was a deadeye shooter the only thing stopping me from scoring was getting open.

Every practice was another opportunity to figure out how I was going to get my points. Playing Division I basketball in college limited some of the options I had in high school because it was next to impossible to get those rebounds that I made a living off of in high school without my athleticism. I recall playing against North Carolina and trying to get a rebound over 7’2” Brendon Haywood; I soon realized I needed to find a new way to score.

What I found was that there were certain spots and situations of the floor that were impossible to guard. In transition you are taught to stop the ball and protect the basket from easy lay-ups, this was the opportunity I was waiting for. In transition when my point guard got the ball I would sprint to the corner. I found that this is the one spot on the floor that no ones defend on a fast break and it was an easy shot for me because it is the shortest three-point shot on the court.

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