STrib: Battle rebuilds her shot

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Amaya Battle wants to lead the Gophers — but first she had to fix her shot

In Amaya Battle, the Gophers women's basketball team has a point guard with a revamped shot and a determination to cut back on her turnovers.

www.startribune.com

Amaya Battle knew what the problem was. It wasn't like she needed to sit down, watch tape, ponder, try to figure out.

It wasn't a head-scratcher, but her shot was.

"I hated watching it on film," Battle said.

Head-scratcher. Those are Battle's words, the way she describes her shot from last season, her freshman year with the Gophers.

She would bring her shooting hand way, way back behind her head, her form looking more like a shot put than a typical jump shot. And, frankly, Battle — who didn't shoot like that as a high school star at Hopkins — isn't exactly sure how it happened. Her best guess:

"I always thought I wasn't strong enough from the three-point line," she said. "And you come to college and it's moved back. So I always wanted to get that extra push. So maybe that's where the shot put thing came into it. But that's long gone now."

 

[Frink]

I'm no basketball genius but that issue of bringing the ball behind her head was really obvious. Interesting to know it wasn't always like that and why it happened.