Dave Hopla knows shooting is as much a mental challenge as it is the ability to exercise disciplined mechanics. He knows that some players are more receptive than others when it comes to tinkering with their shot. Egos can get in the way. A player's shot is his DNA.
So Hopla keeps it simple.
"The way I get 'em, I say 'I'm here to make you better. If you get better, you make more money,' " Hopla said. " 'I'm not in charge of playing time. There's nothing you can do for me except get better. I can make you better if you listen, follow directions and put in the time.' "
In Hopla's first season in Washington, he helped Brendan Haywood lift his free-throw percentage from .548 to .735. Haywood went on to get a six-year, $55 million contract with Dallas.
Helping Andre Drummond elevate his three-year average of .397 from the foul line will be Hopla's priority with the Pistons. He got to work this summer with Drummond at the Peak Performance Project in Santa Barbara, Calif., where Drummond trained for six weeks.
When Pistons practices end, players split up in small groups to work on shooting or other skills with the assistant coach assigned to them. Bob Beyer, for instance, works with wing players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jodie Meeks, Malik Allen with the big men, Tim Hardaway with the point guards.
Hopla said he'll meet with Stan Van Gundy and the assistants soon to figure out how he'll spread his time over all players, but he knows one he'll work with on a daily basis.
"We're going to get together, all the coaches, so we all use the same terminology, we're all on the same page," Hopla said. "But I'm going to get with Andre every day. There are certain guys who'll get more time than others, especially the big fella. He's got some things you can't teach. The guy's a beast. I'm amazed. When he runs, you don't even hear his feet hit the floor. Usually a big guy is powerful, but not agile, explosive like he is."
Hopla is setting 50 percent as Drummond's benchmark for free throws this season. If he can get there, the Pistons probably won't see many teams employing the intentional fouling strategy.
"That's what we're going to go for," Hopla said. "I've told him the main thing is to at least split. He's up and down, but I think he can be a very respectable shooter. It's a process of getting him to focus. It's going to be challenging, but it's going to be fun."
Hopla's other priority will be to get rookie Stanley Johnson to elevate his release point. Johnson's stroke doesn't have many other flaws to it, so Hopla thinks it will be a relatively easy adjustment for him if not an overnight one.
"His elbow is in, but he releases out," Hopla said, demonstrating Johnson's release at roughly shoulder height instead of at his head. "We've just got to work on getting that up. When we're doing pick-and-roll (shooting), I'm always (telling Johnson), 'Up and in - always up, always in.' "
Hopla showed Johnson a picture at the Pistons practice facility of another famous Johnson from Pistons history - Vinnie - with textbook form on his release.
"He reverts back," Hopla said. "It's not going to happen overnight, because he's done it his whole life."
To alter a shooter's release, Hopla starts by standing them 2 feet from the basket - a spot that makes it impossible to release the shot anywhere but Hopla's desired spot.
"The only way I can make it is if I finish (up). I can't finish (out) because the ball would hit the post. You have to learn the motion somewhere."
Hopla sees Johnson sometimes dropping his left hand off the ball, which causes the shot to come up short.
"When you're a line-drive shooter, even your makes rattle in," Hopla said. "You get it up, it's got a larger area. You can't change the size of the basketball, but you can change the size of your target by getting the ball up in the air."
