The Reason for Scheyer's Shooting Struggles

[greybeard]

Jon's movement tells me that there is something wrong on his left side. His pelvis, when he is running, watch the left side as he lifts the left foot from the floor behind or underneath him and brings his knee up and left foot forward. Normally, in a well organized pelvis the pelvis on that side moves up towards the shoulder. Jon's does but it seems herky, jerky, contrived, effortful, in a way that bespeaks that something is stuck. I noticed several games ago in the ACC Tournament that he appeared to be dragging the left leg somewhat in running.

This is soon to be my business. Well, not my business, but I will be a certified Feldenkrais practitioner which, among many other skills, requires a finely honed ability to observe and discern differences from the norm, differences between two sides, differences that bespeak something's being out of whack. Jon is out of whack. Does that mean he is "injured." Not if you went to a physician; absolutely not!

Jon can "make" the left side of his pelvis move as it normally does (I cannot say what his normal way of moving it is because I never looked that carefully) but I can tell you that what I'm seeing is out of the norm for Jon.

So, he has to concentrate more on that pelvis, hip, leg in doing everything much more than usual and the results will be much spottier, less predictable. What generates power in the body, boys and girls, what is the power center. That's right, the pelvic area.

That's the list.

If anyone knows K or anyone else associated with that team, they really should contact a high-end feldenkrais practitioner and get him to whereever the sweet 16 is, and then the final 4. What we call a functional integration lesson will do tons to improve Jon and leave him with much more freedom, improve his functioning smoothly perhaps beyond what it was before the episode that caused the problem to flare (I'm guessing the put down in GT II).

I know just the guy, but he doesn't work cheap. Far from it. Think lawyer prices just about. No, not NYC lawyer prices, but not Podunk either. What's the best shot at a championship worth. Tell them to get in touch. I'm happy to hook em up, if not with my guy, who is the absolute best, then someone up there.

Jon's shot is off because the left side of his pelvis is not functioning normally for him. That's the list.

Precisely what's causing it? Not a simple answer and probably not just one thing. That's why they pay my guy the big bucks--because he is a genuis at figuring these things out and developing a strategy for helping a person disintangle. Yeap, I'm reasonably certain.

[OldPhiKap]

" . . . in a well organized pelvis . . ."

How, exactly, does a pelvis organize?

I'm sticking with the fact that his eyelids are clogged and he can't breathe through them properly.

[DevilHorns]

Jon's movement tells me that there is something wrong on his left side. His pelvis, when he is running, watch the left side as he lifts the left foot from the floor behind or underneath him and brings his knee up and left foot forward. Normally, in a well organized pelvis the pelvis on that side moves up towards the shoulder. Jon's does but it seems herky, jerky, contrived, effortful, in a way that bespeaks that something is stuck. I noticed several games ago in the ACC Tournament that he appeared to be dragging the left leg somewhat in running.

This is soon to be my business. Well, not my business, but I will be a certified Feldenkrais practitioner which, among many other skills, requires a finely honed ability to observe and discern differences from the norm, differences between two sides, differences that bespeak something's being out of whack. Jon is out of whack. Does that mean he is "injured." Not if you went to a physician; absolutely not!

Jon can "make" the left side of his pelvis move as it normally does (I cannot say what his normal way of moving it is because I never looked that carefully) but I can tell you that what I'm seeing is out of the norm for Jon.

So, he has to concentrate more on that pelvis, hip, leg in doing everything much more than usual and the results will be much spottier, less predictable. What generates power in the body, boys and girls, what is the power center. That's right, the pelvic area.

His lift-off and shooting routine may be altered by some physical injury, yes. But we have no evidence of this. None. I don't think the coaches or Jon would purposely shy away from revealing any sort of nagging injury. To me it's more likely a brain problem, ie, it's in his head. And yes, your head can alter your shot, ask any basketball player this. Anyone who is in a slump can "feel" that their shot is different, that their rhythm is out of sync. He may have some physical injury, but I doubt a 4 day intervention from some specialist would really make a difference at this point. At this point, its all about the numbers. He needs to hit the gym and keep tossing them up to regain his confidence and his routine. Thats the best option here, IMHO.

[DukeDevil]

why is the main article on Scheyer passing 2000 "JK to 2K"? specifically the first K (I get the 2K part)

[CDu]

why is the main article on Scheyer passing 2000 "JK to 2K"? specifically the first K (I get the 2K part)

I was wondering the same thing. Perhaps a psychological slip and reference to one of the DBR founders?

[Saratoga2]

He has been missing close in on shots he would have made earlier in the year. He has also shot a couple of air balls on open shots. Clearly something is going on with him but I have no clue what it is.

[Starter]

Greybeard's analysis sounds a lot like "body work," where they figure out one aspect of the body that isn't functioning correctly and work to adjust that. If he can see that watching him on television -- and I'm not saying he can't -- I'd like an appointment if you're around here. I've had some nagging injuries lately. =)

Jon's quote sounds to me a lot like the mind is willing but the body is not completely able. I still think he's worn down from the rigors of a long season with no backup in which he's had to play heavy minutes and take a great deal of the ball-handling, offensive and defensive load early on, before Singler and Zoubek turned it on. He simply doesn't pass my eye test, and his statistics follow suit. He seemed to go off a cliff where everything was short after a seven-game stretch in late January and early February in which he played no fewer than 38 minutes, and he never shot the same after that. I'm not interested in getting into (another) argument about it. We've seen this play before.

The great thing about Jon is that his versatility allows him to contribute so much, even when his shot is off, and he's looked a little more energized lately than I thought he did during the first two rounds of the ACC's, when not only was his shot off but he seemed lethargic on defense and while setting up the offense.

I'm a big Scheyer guy and I'm proud of him -- it's not often I end up with Jewish sports heroes -- and I own his jersey. I just think this team has a golden opportunity in front of it, and we need the third member of the Big 3 to figure out a way to join the other two (and Zoubek!) in helping us truly grasp that golden ring. I pray that he physically, mentally and emotionally can do that.

[dukeimac]

I think it is in his head too.

I began to notice this when the talk heated up about him being the ACC POY. Jon is a good player but modest person. I think this type of talk bothers him. Along with this came the comparisons between him and Grevis. This was then highlighted when they played at Maryland. Talk was that game would decide the ACC POY and Duke lost. Grevis gets the ACC POY. I'm hoping that with Grevis out of the tournament Jon will be able to shake this. After all, Duke is still in it and Maryland is gone.

Funny thing is, the dumbest things can get into a guys head (like having to eat the same meal before every game at the same time) and sometimes it takes the dumbest things to get it out.

I'm hoping that dumb Grevis has left town!

[ElSid]

I think it is in his head too.

I began to notice this when the talk heated up about him being the ACC POY. Jon is a good player but modest person. I think this type of talk bothers him. Along with this came the comparisons between him and Grevis. This was then highlighted when they played at Maryland. Talk was that game would decide the ACC POY and Duke lost. Grevis gets the ACC POY. I'm hoping that with Grevis out of the tournament Jon will be able to shake this. After all, Duke is still in it and Maryland is gone.

Hmm, you may be right. That's the first time I noticed him start to look a bit shaky. I wonder if it was the pressure of the situation, or the fact that classless Muriland fans were telling him to go Eff himself all night, on national TV no less. These kids face a lot of physical and mental challenges. I'm pretty sure Scheyer's going to play a fine game on Friday, though, regardless of shooting percentage. He will help his team win.

[Duvall]

Or maybe he's a streaky shooter.

[dukelifer]

Here is the question for me. Does Scheyer feel his shot is off or does it still feel good coming off his hand? If it does not feel right- then I think Jon should minimize shooting and focus on being a facilitator and getting to the hoop and fouled. Yesterday he was missing badly- and he continued to force some shots. Yes shooters need to shoot- but Nolan was on fire (and has been an excellent shooter all year) and it really doesn't matter if Nolan gets 30 and Scheyer gets 5. You feed the hot hand. Scheyer can do so much on both ends but if his shot does not feel right- missing threes badly hurts the team given the long run outs. If it does feel right- it may just be a matter of time- but he is struggling. I expect Jon will work it out but in a game- if the shots are not going early- he should try to be an assist man. The big guys seemed to play much better when they get more shots.

[cspan37421]

Is he 21? I can think of something red that will loosen him up before a game. Not too good for hydration needs, but still, those TV timeouts will get him a chance to catch up.

[sagegrouse]

My diagnosis is as follows:

Jon is the one player who has to do some of everything, including keeping track of all of his teammates on offense. Scoring is secondary. If his role were more like JJ, I don't think he would be having the same problems with shooting percentages.

sagegrouse

[Richard Berg]

Does Scheyer feel his shot is off or does it still feel good coming off his hand?

That was my question as well. Missing 11 shots in a game is peanuts compared with the hundreds & hundreds that a top flight guard takes every week in practice. What do they look like? Feel like? How do those answers compare to his midseason slump last year?

I'm sure the coaches have been monitoring this for a lot longer than we have and will take appropriate action.

[CDu]

My diagnosis is as follows:

Jon is the one player who has to do some of everything, including keeping track of all of his teammates on offense. Scoring is secondary. If his role were more like JJ, I don't think he would be having the same problems with shooting percentages.

sagegrouse

Coach K has shifted a lot of that burden off of Scheyer in the last couple of weeks. In the ACC tournament and the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, Scheyer spent a lot more time off the ball, with Smith taking more of the primary ballhandling duties.

[jkidd31]

We don't need Jon shooting well when we have Zoubs shooting 6/6.

[BD80]

Except that's kind of been his problem for the entire slump. Since (and including) the Florida State game on Jan 27, Jon has shot 38.4% on this three-point attempts (which is actually a little better than his career percentage of 38.0%), but only 30.9% on his two-point attempts. ...

Jon has thrown up some gonzo bad two point shots in that stretch, many anticipating contact and a call or, having felt contact, anticipating a call. And the call didn't come. His three point stroke is there, they are just rattling out.

If anyone can help Jon's psyche, it is Chris Collins. Chris can convince Jon to just keep shooting no matter what and trust that the stroke will come back. Chris had some horrendous streaks and some god-awful shots and never stopped shooting. There was that one time he missed the entire backboard with a shot and knocked out a student in the stands, and yet he just kept shooting despite three assistant coaches draped all over him shouting "NO" and the rest of the team refusing to pass the ball to him.

Shooters shoot. Jon will be fine. We should have a poll on which game Jon explodes out of the slump. I'll choose Purdue.

[BD80]

... I'm a big Scheyer guy and I'm proud of him -- it's not often I end up with Jewish sports heroes ...

It is easier than finding a great Irish chef ...

[monkey]

If anyone can help Jon's psyche, it is Chris Collins. Chris can convince Jon to just keep shooting no matter what and trust that the stroke will come back. Chris had some horrendous streaks and some god-awful shots and never stopped shooting. There was that one time he missed the entire backboard with a shot and knocked out a student in the stands, and yet he just kept shooting despite three assistant coaches draped all over him shouting "NO" and the rest of the team refusing to pass the ball to him.

I vividly recall Collins shooting like this. All of you can get on me all you want but I pray that Chris does not teach Scheyer to shoot in this fashion. Collins shot us out of several games all by himself back in the day.

[DukeGirl4ever]

Jon had a steal off an in-bounds play against Cal (led to a Nolan lay-up) and I was very surprised that he got off the floor so well. In that play, the back, hip, pelvis, whatever...everything looked ok.

Anyone else know the play I'm talking about?