Welcoming Former NBA Player’s Hooper Paradise to Kirkland
“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work” is written on the wall of behind Court #8. Megan, one of my former patients, nails shot after shot from beyond the arc.
I had the chance to tour and check out the new Rodney Stuckey Shoot 360 facility in Kirkland. Owner and former NBA player Rodney Stuckey opened his facility’s doors this past December offering, what one of his clients claimed as the “Disneyland of basketball.” Rodney (right) and Marcus (left) both played Division I NCAA basketball at Eastern Washington University. After Rodney’s second year at EWU, averaging incredible numbers (24.6 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game), he was drafted 15th overall in the 2007 NBA to the Detroit Pistons.
Rodney was an offensive weapon and great facilitator while playing for the Pistons (7 seasons) and the Pacers (3 seasons). Retiring in 2017, he set his focus on franchising Shoot 360 in his home state of Washington only 25 miles from where he grew up in Kent, WA.
The facility is outfitted with not only 8 zones for shooting with the Gun by Shoot-A-Way, but there is also a full court and 8 multi-LED screen hubs that provide interactive games and activities to work on passing, ball handling, and visual tracking. They have an app that tracks all of your stats from shooting accuracy to shooting trajectory. There also is a large mezzanine that overlooks all of the courts allowing family and friends to observe the training.
Now back to Megan, she worked with me in the clinic to address some injuries that likely resulted from an increase in workload after starting a new select-level basketball season. Through physical therapy, she was able to stay on the court with modified activities and practice with her teammates throughout her rehab, and ultimately return to play stronger than ever. Not only is Rodney Stuckey’s Shoot 360 a fantastic place for basketball players to work on their skills, I find it an awesome opportunity to keep my athletes engaged while they are recovering from an injury or surgery.
Having spent most of my 2019 battling old injuries, I found my 30 minute shooting session exhausting and awesome. It was exactly what I needed in terms of a way to work on skills while I modify my activity in terms of cutting and jumping. I was able to get up 260+ shots (shooting at a humbling 35%) in those 30 minutes, which beats shooting by myself and getting my own (long) rebounds. I was able to program the machine to allow me to catch and shoot, shoot off a cut, and shoot off the dribble. I could be there for hours if I had the endurance.
Rodney Stuckey's Shoot 360 is a hooper’s paradise. If you haven’t checked them out, give them a call and schedule your evaluation. It’s great to see such an incredible resource and facility in the Kirkland community.