It’s worked for me so thought I would share it

Knowing how to use a screen is important. Knowing when NOT to use it can be just as valuable. Rejecting a screen isn’t simply turning the other way. It’s a decision based on defensive positioning, spacing, help, and timing. There are a ton of reasons to reject: • The defense has loaded up to one side, leaving the opposite side open. • Your defender is overplaying or anticipating the screen, giving you a clean driving lane the other way. • A help defender is over-helping, creating an open shot or driving window away from the screen. • The defense is confused or misdirected, creating an advantage before the screen is even used. • The screener’s defender is sitting in a coverage that makes rejecting the screen more effective than using it. But here’s the important part: You have to sell the screen before you reject it. If you immediately reject, the defender may never shift their weight. Get into the screen. Change your pace. Make your defender believe you’re coming off it. Force them to open their hips, shift their weight, or fight over the screen—then attack the space they just gave you. This is where the real advantage comes from. From a movement standpoint, defenders are constantly reacting to cues—your eyes, shoulders, hips, pace, and path. A convincing setup can create a commitment from the defender before you change direction. Once their center of mass and momentum are moving toward the screen, rejecting it becomes much more effective. The screen is the threat. The rejection is the counter. Don’t just run plays. Read the defense. Manipulate their expectations. Create the advantage. Then attack it. Use the screen—or use the fact that they’re expecting you to. Trainer: @Logan Hinton, a former 5 year pro across three countries. Train Like a Pro!

Growing up, the goal was always to be the best player in the gym. But what if being the best player in the gym is actually holding you back? If you’re consistently the best player around you, you’re probably not being challenged enough. You can get comfortable. You can dominate without being forced to expand your game. And eventually, you start optimizing for being comfortable instead of becoming better. The best players do the opposite. They put themselves in environments where they’re going to get exposed. Where they’re going to struggle. Where they’re going to have to think faster, make better decisions, and find answers they didn’t need before. That’s what makes playing at the Indianapolis Pro-Am so valuable. You’re surrounded by players who are just as talented—or better. NBA players. High-level pros. Guys who force you to raise your level simply by being on the floor with them. And that’s the paradox: The goal can still be to become the best. But you can’t become the best by always being the best in the gym. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride, walk into a gym where you’re not the best player, and be willing to struggle. Because the right competition doesn’t make you feel like the best player. It makes you a better one. Research on skill development consistently points toward challenging, effortful practice, feedback, and working on weaknesses as important components of improvement. In other words, growth happens when the environment demands more from you than your current level can comfortably give. If you’re always the best player in the gym, maybe it’s time to find a better gym. Train Like a Pro!

Hey Guys, Hope everyone had a great day and weekend. I have a few questions for you. First off, thanks for getting us to 85+ members, that’s incredible! But, we’ve lost 3 in the last 2 days, does anyone know why? Have you still been enjoying the posts and content. I try to stay as active as possible and engage with everyone. If there’s anything I’m not doing / you’re not liking / something different you want to see, please let me know. Secondly, we are in the 50s in the Sports Category, that’s massive and a huge accomplishment for us, thank you! Lastly, thank you guys for all your support, please share. Win from your week below! ⬇️ Thanks, Hinton Hoops!

One of the best ways to punish a defense before it gets set. The goal isn’t just to run fast — it’s to use your speed to force the defender into a decision, then stop behind the space they give you. Try these: • Speed → hard stop → pull-up Attack downhill, get the defender retreating, then rise up when they give you enough space. • Push → crossover → pull-up Change direction as the defender starts to angle you off, then use the separation to get into your shot. • Hesitation → burst → pull-up Make the defender think you’re attacking the rim, then pull up when they drop their hips. • Reject the closeout → 1–2 pull-up If the defender is flying back toward you, attack their top foot and create a clean lane for the pull-up. WHEN TO USE IT: After a defensive rebound, steal, or quick outlet — especially when you have numbers or the primary defender is backpedaling. You’re trying to score before the defense can get organized. Research on basketball decision-making shows that factors like defensive pressure and shot distance meaningfully affect shot quality, so the skill is knowing when the pull-up is actually there — not forcing it. Watch Steph Curry. He’s elite at recognizing when the defense is retreating, using his pace to create hesitation, and rising into a pull-up before the defense is set. Train the move. Train the read. Then let the game tell you when to use it. Trainer: @Logan Hinton, a former 5 year pro across three countries. Train Like a Pro!