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This DJ doesn’t scratch around the fundamentals

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Express news service

Posted: Feb 05, 2008 at 0143 hrs IST

Mumbai, February 4 David Jones was first rejected by NBA’s LA Clippers because he wasn’t big enough - a mere 6’1”. Two seasons ago, he’d impressed the top-brass at Supersonics with his skills, but missed out after they discovered he was too old. In between these two disappointments, ‘DJ’ perfected the science _ not art — art is for the moody_ of shooting the basketball cleanly through the hoops.

Countering head-on the most repeated refrain - ‘I’m bored’, the 40-year-old flew down to India, equipped with a two-para-long manual that simplified shooting for those who found the action, and its practice monotonous. The mind can wander, so train the muscle, is Jones fundamental lesson for aspiring cent-percent shooters.

“Shooting’s all about muscle memory, so the idea is to repeat the perfect technique over and over again, so that the body gets used to the action, and the errors are minimal in game situations,” Jones says. Aligning feet, hips and shoulders, maintaining the perfect width in between the feet, bending the knees, then locking the elbow and releasing the ball with the shooting-hand rolling on top of the ball, the guiding hand in line with the other - is the series of movements, Jones wants Indian cagers’ instincts to learn by rote.

A Texan resident who trains occasionally with the San Antonio Spurs team, Jones’ stints in Europe - he played against Dirk Nowitzki in Germany, scoring 53 points (11 three-pointers) in a pressure-game, where he had to prove his worth to a cynical club president unimpressed with his 6’1’’ presence - strengthened his resolve to take to coaching, a bulk of his knowledge coming from his father in Los Angeles. A formula which never fails him: Keep an eye on the back of the ring, at the hook of the net. On the best of days and in the zone, the ring might appear like a giant-lasso.

Jones was brought here by India-born Texan Tushar Patel, a medical professional who also collaborates with the champion Spurs. Patel’s expertise might soom be utilisied by the Indian federation on matters of physical conditioning and sports medicine.

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