With the season fast approaching, there's no time to waste in getting your game up to speed.

Fine-tuning your jump shot is a key area to focus on as you get ready to compete at the top of your game this year. The following workout is one I personally used to work on my jump shot, both in college and at the professional level. Use this workout, and I guarantee your jumper will improve.

This is, by far, the best shooting workout around. It covers every aspect of sho oting the basketball. It is quick, effective, and will keep your jump shot on-tr ack, and your shooting percentage high. As a college and professional player, I used this workout roughly six days a wee k during the off-season, and three to four days a week during the season to keep my jumper at its best. Do the drills in the order listed below, as they are listed in this order for a reason: this is a systematic workout, where each drill builds on the prior drill s. If you finish the workout and would like to do additional work on a particular p art of your shot, come back to it again at the end of the workout. Let's get right to the workout. 1.) Form shooting You have to start every jump shot workout with form shooting drills. These drill s get you ready for the rest of the workout, and help you perfect your shooting form, and groove your shot. Start one the right side of the basket, at a 45-degree angle and three feet from the backboard. Shoot 15 bank shots using only your right arm (your left arm sho uld be at your side). Use perfect form, fully extend your arm on the shot, and f ollow through with a strong flick of the wrist. Then move to the left side of th e basket and shoot 15 shots with your left arm. Then move two to three feet back and repeat the drill. Shoot 15 shots from the r ight side of the basket, and 15 from the left side. Finish up the drill by stepp ing back another two to three feet from the basket. This time, since you should be eight to 10 feet from the basket, shoot bank shots using perfect form, but us e your off-hand as a guide hand (as you would with your normal shooting form). 2.) Mikan drill This is another great drill to help get your shooting touch and work on your sho t around the basket. Stand on the right side of the basket, a few feet from the backboard. Jump off your left foot, fully extending your right arm up high and t o the side of your body for a solid hook shot (bank shot). Rebound the ball out of the net and immediately shot on the left side of the basket, with your t and right-handed hook shots until you've shot ump high off the ground, keep the ball at chest go into shooting form for a hook left hand. Continue shooting lef 15 with each hand. Remember to j level or above during the shooti

ng motion, to fully extend your shooting arm, and to follow through with a good flick of the wrist for solid backspin and control. 3.) Shooting from spots Next, you'll work on jump shots from various spots on the floor. Pick 5 spots on the court where you will likely shoot the ball in an actual game. In this way, you'll practice "game type" shots. If you're not sure which spots to pick, simpl y shoot from each baseline, from the wings, and from above the free throw line. Toss the ball out to yourself with backspin, catch it in the triple-threat posit ion, and go up for a good, solid, jump shot. Use perfect form, and really get of f the ground so it's a real "jump" shot. Shoot 10 jumpers from each of the five spots on the floor. Make at least eight jumpers from each spot before moving on to the next spot (in other words: shoot 10, but if you haven't made eight of the 10, keep shooting until you make eight from each spot). 4.) Full speed dribble, jump stop, jumper Start at one end of the court and dribble full speed towards the opposite basket . Dribble under control, with your head up (so you can see the court), and with the ball only touching your finger-tips. Once you reach the free throw line, com e to a solid, on-balance, two-foot jump stop, and go up for a perfect-form jump shot. Do this drill 15 times. The key is to be able to dribble full speed up the floor (under control), and still be able to come to a jump stop when you need to, and be fully under control while doing so. This drill is a MUST, because having the ability to dribble well, come to an on-balance jump stop, then go up with a sol id jumper it vital to making you a solid, all-around player. 5.) Fake and one dribble moves Next, you'll move onto one-dribble moves. Basketball is a game of movement, so y ou need to work on shooting the ball on the move. Here's how to work on this area of your game: toss the ball out to yourself with backspin, catch it in the triple threat position, give a great pump-fake, then take a solid and strong dribble in one direction. Pull up for a jump shot using perfect form. Pick five spots on the floor to shoot from. Shoot five shots going to your left, and five shots going to your right. Make at least eight shots fro m each spot on the floor before moving on to the next spot. 6.) Fake and drive moves Now, move onto fake and drive moves. This is the same drill as the one above, bu t this time, instead of pump faking, taking a dribble and pulling up for the jum p shot, you'll pump fake and drive to the basket. Pick three spots on the floor from which to make your moves. Do 10 reps from eac h spot, going to your left five times and to your right five times. Change thing s up so that sometimes you'll drive all the way to the basket for a layup or dun k, while other times you pull up two or three feet from the basket for a soft li ttle jump shot or lay-in. Regardless of the finish, make sure you make a great pump-fake, and a solid driv e to the basket (staying low, protecting the ball, and pounding the dribble low to the ground). 6.) Shooting coming off of a screen In addition to one-dribble moves, you should work on shooting the ball coming of f of a screen. Toss the ball out a few feet from yourself, then act as if you're coming off of a screen. Really make a U-shaped move as if you're running around a teammate and catching the ball for a jumper.

Pick three spots on the floor to shoot from. Shoot 10 shots from each spot, goin g to your right for five, and going to your left for five. Make sure to hit at l east eight shots from each spot before moving on to the next spot. 7.) Quick release drills Now, you'll work on your "quick release". Having a quick shot is a key to being a great offensive player. Here's how to improve this area of your game. Pick three spots to shoot from on the floor. Toss the ball out to yourself with backspin, catch it in the triple threat position, and go up for a solid jump sho t. But for this drill, speed up your shot release. No matter how fast your norma l shooting motion, speed it up. But don't sacrifice your form. When you catch the ball, speed up your motion. Make a conscious effort to shoot the ball much more quickly, while still fully extending your shooting arm, and h aving good follow through. Shoot 10 shots from each spot, making eight before mo ving on to the next spot. Just the simple act of focusing on shooting the ball much more quickly (and reco gnizing how it feels to shoot the ball quicker) will help you improve the speed of your shot. 8.) Increasing your range drills Next, you'll work on increasing your shooting range. Here's how the drill works: start straight away from the basket, one to two feet back from whatever your no rmal shooting range is now (this is the distance from the basket where you feel comfortable shooting from, and hit a high percentage of your shots). Shoot five shots from this distance, using solid form. Really bend your legs and use your lower body to generate the power for the shot. After five shots, step two to three feet further back and shoot another five shots. Again, remember to get the power for the shot from your lower body, and a solid, full extension of your shooting arm. Continue to step two to three feet further back from the bask et until your form starts to break down. Stop shooting when you notice that you can no longer shoot the ball with your no rmal, good form. You don't want to keep doing the drill once your form breaks do wn. 9.) Free throws Finally, end the drill by shooting free throws. Practice using the same routine for each shot and bending your legs to generate power for the shot. Developing good free throw shooting is a key to being a well-rounded player. Sho ot 20 free throws to end your workout, making at least 15 of them. Keep shooting until you make at least 15 shots. And there you have it. A complete, professional-level workout that will work on every aspect of shooting the basketball. This workout can be done completely on your own, and at any time during the off-season (or during the season). It should take about 30-40 minutes to finish, and if done with high intensity, c an actually help get you, and keep in you, in good shape.