Basketball

[JaBlue]

Like 3 doors down from my house is the junior high so I hit that up and just took a lot of jump shots etc. and rtan around shot a lot of threes whatever. Anyway I played pretty well and decided that I wanted to get better at basketball so I can play more competitively at the gym with my friends. For those with experience, how do I go about getting better? I have solid fundamentals and a good jump shot and am willing to put in the work.

My strenghts:
I hit 25/30 threes
I hit 28/30 free throws
I made a lot of fade aways and moving shots etc.

Weaknesses:
Haven't played organized sports in a while
endurance
speed (probably)

Also I had a minor knee injury that kept me off it for a long time so I can't jump very high right now and I definitely need to improve this aspect. I used to have some hops but I don't now. What are some specific excersizes to do this?

PS if you suggest some of those excersizes please link me to instructions or explain it yourself. I don't know the names of any excersizes or anything.

Anyway I'm just looking for drills that I can perform alone to help myself get better. I am not willing to hire a personal basketball coach or personal trainer but I will spring 30$ for a good video if you can suggest one.

Please list your level of basketball experience with your post so I know how seriously to take your advice. Also if you know someone that balled seriously, put their name here and I will PM them.



Thank you.

[Phoenix1010]

I'll throw some advice out there. Level of experience: been playing ball for 14 years. Basketball was my life for about a decade. Mostly played streetball in New York, starter on my highschool basketball team as well.

My first bit of advice: Make an honest evaluation of what your strengths and weaknesses are. A good basketball player should be well-rounded so you need to work on your weaknesses and make sure they are not liabilities on the court, but you also need to figure out where you would be most useful, and focus on training yourself there. The biggest categories are ballhandler/outside shooter, rebounder/low post player, swingman. Each of these has different skills and attributes that are important to it. Figure out where you would fit easiest, and what you would enjoy the most, and focus your work on that.

Your sample sizes are small (I'll assume they're not inflated), but you seem to have the potential to be a good outside shooter. Work with that. Good shooting is something that only comes with practice. First you need to work hard on your form. Proper shooting form cannot be described in text. Watch footage of good shooters in the NBA and try to emulate their form. Find someone to practice with who can pass you the ball so you can keep taking shots. A good shooting drill to do when you're starting out is to start inside and work your way outside. Start from a few feet away from the basket and shoot until you make ten in a row. Take a few steps back when you do, then repeat at that spot (optional: for the close shots, don't count it if the ball hits the rim, only net counts. You can't count on friendly rolls in games, so don't count on them in practice). After you get the general form down, you have to move on from stand still practice shots. Never take set shots! Always take shots after either catching a pass or dribbling yourself to an imaginary opening. No one will ever leave you to casually take shots, you will either be contested or you will shoot off of a pass, practice as if you were in a game situation. I must stress to you that it takes thousands of shots to make a good shooter, and some people will always just be naturally better at it. And here's the important point about shooting: People will tell you that it's all about proper form and mechanics; don't think about it that way. If you're thinking about it at all, you're doing it wrong. After you get the basic form, just shoot and shoot and shoot until the proper form and mechanics are burned into your muscle memory. The best shooters don't ever think about proper shooting. When you're a good shooter, the ball will flow naturally from wherever you catch it or stop dribbling through your form and into the basket. When you're a good shooter, you'll know it.

Even a great shooter is still useless to a team if he can't also handle the ball and pass well. Work on your coordination as much as you work on your shooting. Dribbling is hard to practice, but there are ways to improve. Basically, the more you do it, the easier it will be for you. When you're dribbling in practice, always protect the ball. Dribble fast, strong, and low to the ground. Casual ball handlers are useless. Work on dribbling while running at full speed without losing control of the ball. Work extremely hard on dribbling with your off hand. This is the most important skills in ball handling. A drill for this: Put your strong hand behind your back and dribble around the court for 10 to 20 minutes, taking layups every now and then (If you have access to two balls at once, dribble both of them at the same time, this will tremendously improve your coordination). Do this every time you practice until you are equally comfortable dribbling with both hands. Don't worry about doing dribbling tricks, think about the easiest and most efficient ways of avoiding defenders while handling the ball. Work on crossing over quickly, work on stopping and going quickly. Practice driving to the basket and making layups from both sides. The more time you spend handling the ball, the easier it will become.

Learn how to play on the inside as well, even if you're a shorty, you'll find yourself down there sometimes. Practice footwork, particularly pivoting (if you don't know what that is ask someone to demonstrate). Practice basic post moves; spins, up and unders, shoulder fakes. How often you work on this depends on how often you think you'll be playing down low. A good drill for inside work: the Mican drill. Stand under/toward the front of the basket and take a jumping layup hook with your right hand off the backboard. Catch it as it comes through and make the same shot with you left hand, in rhythm. Do this over and over with both hands for several minutes until you can comfortably make layups with both hands. Every player should be able to make layups with 95% accuracy, no matter what, do layups drills very often!

Defense is as important as offense, but you can't pratice it alone. You'll need actual game experience to get a feel for good defense but I can give you some tips. First, when you're defending someone with the ball, don't look at the ball. Look at the center of their chest
Aside from those basic skills, you have to have some knowledge of the basic flow of the game. That will tell you where they're going. Stay low to the ground with your knees bent and your thighs tensed and your arms out. Don't reach for the ball unless they are bad at ball handling and are practically offering it to you. Play defense with your feet. Keep yourself between your opponent and the basket at all times and you will already be playing good defense. Keep your feet, don't jump unless you're sure the shot is going up, just get a hand in their face. When you're playing defense off the ball, always keep yourself between your man and the basket. You should be facing the person with the ball, with your opponent on one shoulder and your other shoulder pointing to the basket. Do not let him get between you and the basket and you have done most of your job already. When the shot goes up turn around and BOX YOUR MAN OUT. Get him on your back and keep him away from the basket with your body, do not run towards the basket to get the rebound, this is very important. Take pride in your defense. Play hard on both ends of the court.

Even with these skills, you will not be ready to play a real game. You have to learn about the flow of the game. Find someone who knows a lot about basketball. Ask him how to run a standard motion offense. Ask him how to V-cut and how to set screens and picks. Ask him about zone defense, 2-3 and 3-2.

Thats all the basic stuff I can come up with off the top of my head right now. Hope that's helpful. Good luck out there, and have fun.

-Phoenix

[JaBlue]

OK Phoenix this is all great advice and I am very anxious to go back tomorrow to try some of it.

I'm 6' so I would probably play a shooting guard type of position emphasizing perimeter play.

I found all of your advice helpful and I encourage other posters to add in the same vein that you have.

[jlpadge21]

That information is very good. I'll add a few more things.
I've been playing basketball about 18 years. I'm a point guard.

To increase your ballhandling skills and general feel for the basketball there are tons of drills you can do while you're sitting around doing nothing else.

Typewriter: You'll have to do this close to the ground. Dribble the basketball with each finger individually, from thumb to pinky and back. Variations: pinky to thumb on one hand, then switch hands, go thumb to pinky on other, and back. Also, you can alternate hands each time, pinky,pinky,ring,ring,middle,middle,etc. This is a great drill for finger dexterity.

Popcorn: Kneel low to the ground, dribble the ball as low, soft, and quickly as possible, alternating hands. This will be difficult at first, and you'll find it hard to determine the correct pressure and quickness. With practice it will come easier.

Try doing Typewriter popcorn.

An easy but helpful one. Take the ball and make circles around your waist, as fast as you can. Then around your head, then around each leg. Good warm up.

I can suggest others if you're interested. Those are three really good ones. They will drastically improve your ball handling with both hands, and can be done anywhere.

[jlpadge21]

If you're interested in increasing your vertical leap and general explosiveness, look into plyometrics. It is a great way to increase your muscle strength without any special equipment. Squat jumps, calf raises, box jumps, lunges, etc.

[Phoenix1010]

[ QUOTE ]
If you're interested in increasing your vertical leap and general explosiveness, look into plyometrics. It is a great way to increase your muscle strength without any special equipment. Squat jumps, calf raises, box jumps, lunges, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is good advice. I found calf raises particularly helpful. My friend in highschool tried a product called Jumpsoles and they worked really well for him. I just walked on my toes all the time at home to get pretty much the same effect.

[college_boy]

[ QUOTE ]
If you're interested in increasing your vertical leap and general explosiveness, look into plyometrics. It is a great way to increase your muscle strength without any special equipment. Squat jumps, calf raises, box jumps, lunges, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you have weak legs or have had injury problems in the past, starting plyometrics right away is a bad idea. Make sure you start a weight program for you legs before you jump into any intense leaping program.