Whether he's sinking some ridiculous, game-winning shot or trying out a new, absurd shooting drill, Steph Curry never ceases to amaze us. And just when you thought you heard or have seen it all, Curry is back at it again.
In a recent piece on the Golden State Warriors star point guard, SI.com's Chris Ballard takes a fascinating, in-depth look at the work Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser and player development coach Nick U’Ren have put in to help make Steph one of the best shooters in NBA history. In addition to breaking down the mechanics of Curry's release and the importance of his leg push, Ballard also observes an interesting game called "Beat the Ogre," which is derived from something Kerr and Fraser played back in college.
Fraser has also adjusted the work as Curry has taken deeper and deeper shots, often with higher degrees of difficulty. Which brings us to something called Beat the Ogre. It’s a variation on an old basketball drill called Beat the Pro, which Kerr and Fraser used to play at Arizona. The game is simple: Shoot a series of shots from wherever you like—threes, midrange, wherever. Every make is one point. Every miss is negative two. Reach seven before you hit negative seven and you beat the pro (so named because you can envision playing “against” an imaginary opponent like, say, Steph Curry). As this reporter can attest, it’s a challenging and addictive game, especially if you extend the range.
But, Steph put his own spin on the game.
Because Curry is Curry, however, Fraser had to up the ante. So in Beat the Ogre—the name derives from a joking nickname for the “meathead” Warriors strength and conditioning staff—Curry takes NBA threes on the move, plays to 21 and every miss counts for negative four, rather than two. To succeed, Curry has to be numbingly accurate: Make 10 in a row but miss two and he’s only at +2. How does he fare? “On average he does it on the second try,” says U’Ren.
Now, go out there and it for yourself. Or should we say, proceed with caution.
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[via SI.com]
