Ball Handling

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Baskeball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008

In this post the goal is to learn drills to become an effective ball handler.

"Dribble the ball hard. The more time the ball spends in your hand, the more control you have of the ball. The harder you dribble, the quicker it gets back in your hand.
Head up at all times. Look at the rim or a spot on the wall during all practice.
Use your finger tips to control the ball, not your palm.
Warmups include between the legs and the crossover dribble." (Krause 85).

When dribbling always stay under control. Use your finger tips to control the ball, and dribble hard.

When I did these drills I occasionally had problems controlling the ball with my fingertips, but for the most part I was fine.

1. Between the legs dribble



















2. Crossover dribble




















3. Keep ball on fingertips with hard dribble.

The goal of this drill is to always have control when you're dribbling so you never lose the ball and you can get to any spot on the court you want.

Shooting the ball

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Baskeball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008. Print

"You should be in a strong, balanced position.

Make sure to check your feet and develop consistency on every shot. We prefer to slightly stagger our feet or slightly turn them. The anatomy is different for every one. You need to find what works for you.

Next, make an L with the shooting arm.

Focus on pushing the ball up and out. Your elbow should finish above your eyes.

Focus on pushing the ball through your fingers. Typically, you should either finish with your index finger pointing at the hoop or with your index/middle finger pointing at the hoop. Find what works best for you.

When you properly shoot "up and out" and "push through your fingers", you will get the proper backspin on the ball." (Krause 71).

When performing this drill the goal is to become a more accurate shooter. Make sure to shoot with your elbow under the ball, with your feet turned slightly, and with a high enough release so your elbow is above you're eyes.

When I did this drill I had a lot of success with accuracy. Sometimes my shots might miss long or short but never left or right.

The benefit of this drill is you will be an accurate shooter and scorer which will make you a deadly player defenses always have to account for. Coaches are always in need of a shooter.

1. Balanced feet with a slight turn

 2. L with my arm, elbow right under the ball

 3. Index finger pointing to the hoop, elbow finishes above my eye.

Passing

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Baskeball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008. Print

In this post the goal is to learn how to pass effectively and efficiently.

"Most of the time, the receiver should not be stationary. The receiver must learn to get open by making V-cuts and back-cuts, and setting screens for other teammates and then sealing the defender and "rolling" off those screens (see Cutting and Faking, Setting Screens). A receiver should always know where the ball is.
When passing (and receiving), use two hands. The three basic passes are the chest pass, bounce pass and overhead pass (also later consider the behind-the-back pass and the baseball pass). The technique is the same with all three... step toward the receiver, and extend the arms toward the receiver, with palms out and thumbs down. Be accurate and deliver the pass exactly where the receiver wants it."
(Krause 102).

When passing, use 2 hands and be strong with the ball. Step towards the receiver and extend your arms for more accuracy. Use the bounce pass, chest pass, and overhead pass.

While doing this drill I had no problems whatsoever. I was delivering the ball strong with accuracy.

1. Bounce pass-Take a step and extend your arms with palms out

2. Chest pass

3. Overhead pass

The goal of this drill is to be able to pass effectively so coaches can use you to run their offense and move the ball to get open shots and score.

On ball defense

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Basketball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.

In this post the goal is to learn efficient on ball defensive techniques.

"On defense, players should use a sliding motion. They should keep their feet at shoulder width and use short, quick shuffle steps. This technique is called the push step, or step and slide. The lead foot moves in the desired direction from the force of the trail foot at the same time as a short, quick push step is taken. The force from the push step comes from a power push from the trail foot, which moves the body and transfers the weight to the lead foot, quickly followed by a pulling slide step taken with the trail foot to regain basic position, without bringing the feet together. Players should keep their feet wide at all times. Step and slide, low and wide, you can't get too low, you can't get too wide. The lead step and the pull and slide steps are short and the stance is kept low and wide. Players should learn to execute defensive starts and slides in side to side, forward, backward, and diagonal directions with the head level. Head bouncing show a player is rising out of the stance and a player loses advantage of the floor. The player reduces quickness of motion and wastes time and space. The head must be kept level." (Krause 23).

When playing on ball defense, players should slide with quick, and low movements. Players shouldn't bring the feet together or get out of his stance. Players should push with the opposite foot of the direction they're going, and they should always keep their head level.

When I was doing this during drills I had a problem with bringing my feet together so I would shrink and lose space. But overall my movements were quick, and since I'm already naturally quick, I could cover space fast.

1. Stay in a low, wide stance












2. Push off with the opposite foot














3. Keep head level












4. Also go backwards, diagonal, and forwards.

The benefit of this is any team can use an on ball defensive stopper against any good offensive player. The offensive player will not be able to create much space due the quick steps and low stance of the defensive player.

Two Foot Jumps

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Basketball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.

Practicing efficient two foot jumps for rebounding techniques.

"Successful rebounding almost always requires the use of two-foot power jumps. The takeoff feet should be planted firmly before the jump to provide maximum contraction of the leg muscles. Bend the knees inward, not outward to prevent injury. Whenever possible, players should use the forward momentum of a running jump with forceful contact on the takeoff and swing the arms forcefully upward to add to the body's momentum. Land with a wide base to complete the jump." (Krause 15).

To jump at your maximum potential, use two foot power jumps. Safely plant your legs on the ground and squeeze your leg muscles. Bend your knees inward and swing your arms violently to create momentum. Land with your feet spread apart.

At first when I did this I had a problem keeping my feet spread apart and I would always bring them inward. But for the rest of it I didn't have a hard time since I followed the form.

1. Start with planted feet and a nice base.

2. Swing your arms up violently

3. Jump with your knees bent INWARD.

4. Land with the ball at your chin with a wide base

When you use this, it helps basketball players to rebound much more effectively than jumping off of one foot or jumping with improper form. So therefore I can get more rebounds to help my team win without injuring myself.