How big of a role does vision play in Basketball?

[antonioray]

I always play basketball without my glasses on.

As a result my vision is blurry as hell.

And I'm still one of the best shooters on the court at any time.

You can kinda just automatically adjust. I do anyway

I'm still getting contacts eventually though

yea but what i got, contacts dont help so if i keep on playing with the impaired vision in that one eye, could i still be great

did i adjust?
i dont know, i never played with 2 good eyes, so i guess im already used to playing like i do now

the one area that i noticed that could be due to the vision is

the 3 point arc, on the wings, where ur at a 45 degree angle to the rim or something

and if you shoot it too far, itll go straight over the rim, hit the backboard at a 90 degree angle and bounce over to the other 45 degree wing

that happens to me alot, could it be worked around, or is it due to the vision at all?

[JackTheRipper]

It's about muscle memory more than anything. I don't play with contacts, and even though my vision isn't that bad, I don't think getting contacts would help my shooting or passing at all. If anything, at this point it would probably throw me off.

As far as shooting, you should know where you are on the court at all times. If you are at the 3 pt line on the wing, and you're shot is sailing over the rim...adjust your power until it doesn't. If you shoot enough, whenever your feet are in that spot (even roughly), your muscle memory will take over and you will hit the shot. If your back is to the basket, you should still know exactly how far away from the hoop you are and how much power you will need in your shot.

It may take longer for you than for other people...but that's all up to you. If you put the effort into it, I don't see it ever being a limiting factor. Look at that guy who is going to play college ball with only one hand. He has an EXTREME limiting factor and he is still going to play at a fairly high level. You have a mild limiting factor that can definitely be overcome.

Threading the needle and passing I can see being more difficult, but it still comes down to practice. I mean, unless your vision is constantly changing, you will see things the same way every time (roughly), and you can adjust when you make mistakes just like everyone else. People with 20/20 vision don't just walk onto the court and start draining three's and impossible passes. They make mistakes and adjust, and most importantly they work hard and practice.

It's up to you man.

[antonioray]

yea i guess when im shooting by myself, i can adjust and readjust until its just right but what about when im in an actual game?

Id have to estimate how much power to put into it in a split second, especially if a defender is closing in or practically breathing on me

and i dont know if thats possible with my condition

[mike12598]

I have a visual condition called amblyopia where one of my eyes doesnt see so good

the doctors have said glasses and contacts wont help it and there is currently no surgery out there

so I see everything around me with one good eye, effectively
hypothetically it could cause some depth perception issues but

I still do just fine on my own when it comes to basketball, I dont, or i should say, I rarely overshoot or undershoot the rim, altho I was never too good at 3 pointers

still, I wonder if the times I miss or the times i throw a pass away can be avoided if I didnt have bad vision in one eye

Can I still be great, if it is never cured and

are there any other people here who have vision problems?

yeah if its not really messing you up and you can deal with it fine i really wouldnt worry about it. and if it is a problem just practice until it isnt.

[antonioray]

yeah if its not really messing you up and you can deal with it fine i really wouldnt worry about it. and if it is a problem just practice until it isnt.

well yea but im worried its one of those hindering conditions that you cant practice ur way out of

you know, much unlike bad footwork or even hand eye coordination altho you dont need much of the latter in basketball, i would think

[phoenix18]

I have great vision so I dont know how much it would affect you to have bad vision. Basketball is really about feel. You have a basketball sense after a while. So you would be affective with okay to below average vision.

[antonioray]

ah lucky you

anyways ill give you guys an example

in parks that dont have nets on their rims, when im shooting a baseline jumper, i cant tell if i swished it or it went straight over the basket

not sure if its hard for you guys to tell too but

i also noticed that my jump shot is off to the left or the right a little altho that may be a product of inconsistent form?

one other thing that i noticed is that my jump shots and floaters, while they are right on track(in line with the rim), they backrim more often that i would like

i dont know if thats because of the vision or because of something else

[AtticusPigeon11]

Lol, it's really not a big deal at all. Courts are how long? 92 foot max.. most likely shorter outdoors. The ball's a large, spherical orange object and easy to detect, even behind a defender; and the rims 18 inches. Don't be too concerned with sharp vision. I'm slightly myopic, but it hasn't faced me. What I would focus on is aclled "soft eyes" (Bruce Lee) Basically you unfocus your vision so you can see what's going on around you and catch about 160 degrees of action ahead of you. Just pay attention, and you'll be alright, and muscle memory is right on.

[antonioray]

yea but since I have a lazy eye sometimes I see 2 images of the rim

this doesnt happen as much during a game because I am concentrating on scoring and w/e but when Im shooting by myself, it is boring sometimes so my eyes go out of focus and the second image of the rim becomes alot more noticeable

it doesnt throw off my shot wildly as I can still hit 7 or 8 out of 10 from just a step within the 3 point line (3 pointers, my percentage falls to like 4 out of 10, even when Im wild open)

but I cant help but think the 2 or 3 times i miss is due to the vision because what other reason could there be? I am wide open

[antonioray]

anyone

[shlver]

yea but since I have a lazy eye sometimes I see 2 images of the rim

this doesnt happen as much during a game because I am concentrating on scoring and w/e but when Im shooting by myself, it is boring sometimes so my eyes go out of focus and the second image of the rim becomes alot more noticeable

it doesnt throw off my shot wildly as I can still hit 7 or 8 out of 10 from just a step within the 3 point line (3 pointers, my percentage falls to like 4 out of 10, even when Im wild open)

but I cant help but think the 2 or 3 times i miss is due to the vision because what other reason could there be? I am wide open

It's probably your lazy eye that makes you miss shots, obviously.