Indiana Basketball: Romeo Langford, ping pong paddle, and improvements on his shot

Although his jumpshot has become a hot topic recently among Indiana basketball fans, fixing Romeo’s shooting form is not as simple as some might think.

A handful of articles and posts on Twitter were released in the past week of former Indiana guard Romeo Langford working on his jumpshot in practice with his new team, the Boston Celtics. The No.14 overall pick has become known for his three point struggles, shooting only 27 percent from long range in his lone season at IU. He played with a torn thumb ligament nearly all season, which certainly contributed to his shooting woes, but his shot needs improvement even when he is fully healthy.

In an effort to better his perimeter shot, Celtics coaches have developed a unique way of helping Langford- by taping a ping-pong paddle to his left hand:

Celtics Assistant Coach Scott Morrison joked with the media.

"“We’ve got a big match lined up with Forrest Gump, so we gotta keep him fresh with the paddle in his hand,”"

Newcomer coach Joe Mazzulla is the mastermind behind the techniques being used to help Langford improve his form. Mazzulla was recently hired on from the Celtics G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Scott Morrison praised Mazzulla for his player development skills while with Maine, citing it as one of the main reasons the Celtics brought him on board.

In addition to the ping-pong paddle, Mazzulla has been working on smoothing out Romeo Langford’s shooting motion.

"“I used to shoot with a little hitch in my shot,” Langford said. “If you want to be consistent and be one of the best shooters in the NBA, you can’t shoot with a hitch in your shot. Most good shooters have a two-motion release, so just trying to eliminate that little glitch or hitch. Just try to make it all one smooth release.”"

The Celtics are clearly hitting the ground running with improving Langford’s form and we dive in to take a look at what he can improve on as well