Phildelphia Sixers Rebuilding Nerlens Noel’s Jumpshot

Rookie big man Nerlens Noel might not play a single minute this season, so the Sixers are using the time off to work on Noel’s broken jumper. Per CSN Philly: “The rookie is still a ways from participating in up-and-down basketball action and he’s currently in ‘project’ mode. During this mode, the Sixers’ coaching staff has decided to take rebuild Noel’s jump shot. ‘I think we have the perfect environment to do it because we have a whole year,’ head coach Brett Brown said. ‘We have taken him back to doing a lot of one-handed shooting. I can sense that he is shooting with two hands behind my back. But when he does that, the off hand comes in and elbows start flying. But when he does just one hand, he gets his elbow under it and it is a good looking shot.’ In his one season at Kentucky, Noel shot 59 percent from the floor but much of his scoring was around the rim. The goal is to have him become a fundamentally-sound shooter from 15 feet and in. ‘It is his future,’ Brown said of Noel investing time in his shooting technique. ‘The first place you start is the free throw line because now he is going to turn and face. He really likes Kevin Garnett, a turn-and-face, jump-shooting big, and he aspires to be one of them even though he is a post player initially. I think the free throw is what carries over to the other parts of the game. And I hope we can get that right.’ Interestingly enough, Noel shot just 53 percent from the foul line in college. It behooves both Noel and the organization to help the 6-foot-10 forward improve in that category. […] ‘I think everyone is tweakable,’ Brown said. ‘I think Nerlens is a total rebuild. You would do something with [Evan Turner’s] footwork and we have done that. You would do things with different release points. You would exaggerate the follow through with Tony Wroten’s shot because everything is a hot stove. Everything is tweakable — Nerlens, though, is a total rebuild.'”