Kentucky center Nick Richards had just dropped 25 points on visiting Fort Wayne in an 86-67 win Nov. 22. Seeking to explain his offensive outburst, the deep-voiced UK freshman told the postgame media horde that Wildcats assistant coach Kenny Payne had been working with him on a jump hook.
The exchange started me thinking about something other than Richards' offensive repertoire.
Forget the jump hook, when's the last time you saw a player at a high level of basketball shoot an old-school hook shot?
Once a staple of pivot play, the true hook shot _ front leg steps into shot, back leg bent, shooting arm sweeping upward _ seems to have gone the way of the pay phone.
What killed the hook shot?
There is a player from Kentucky basketball history whose success with the hook shot is said to have helped inspire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's "skyhook."
Cliff Hagan has a definite theory on why the shot that helped make him a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer has faded from modern basketball.
