BASKETBALL

Become a Better Basketball Player

In trying to become the best dunker, it’s easy to forget about the importance of being the best basketball player too. I’ve certainly been there, but here are some tips to make sure you keep working on your total game, while you work on your dunk.
Don’t Forget The Fundamentals
Make time for the core skills of basketball, even if you are working hard on your vertical jump. Your passing, dribbling and footwork are as important to your game as being able to make an awesome dunk.
Remember that every skill, in basketball, is interconnected. So, improving your dribble will improve your shooting. You’ll get more confident in your ball handling, which you give you a better feel for your shots. Focus on becoming the best all-rounder you can.
Practice Effectively
It’s no good just spending hours out on the court, without any particular aims. In fact, too much training could damage your body. So, you have to be training with a purpose and try to focus enough to get value out of each session.
It’s usually best to focus on the quality of your moves and try to get good repetitions of each motion you practice, whether it’s dribbling or 3 point shots. Try to make sure that the drills and sessions you perform relate to the game, as you would actually play it. In other words, make sure it simulates what you would do on the court, during a game.
Get Training Variety
As much as you’ll want to practice certain areas of your game, it’s important to get a certain amount of variety in your training regime. As well as practicing alone you could benefit from some one on one, or larger group training.
Try not to overdo any one particular training task, as you don’t want to cause yourself an injury. Many injuries are created, as a result of imbalanced training methods, so it’s vital you balance your body’s training loads.
Learn From Other People
Are there people out there that you can learn from? When you play, there’s probably other players with skills you could gain from. Maybe, there’s something you could teach them. Exchanging skills can be a good way to improve, but you’ve got to be open to the idea of learning.
Don’t be afraid to listen to feedback from other players, if they become open to giving it to you. Even if it seems like someone is criticizing you, you should listen, as long as what they say is reasonable and constructive. Don’t react negatively to an opportunity to tune and improve your game.

 

Sharpening Your 3 Point Shots

Skills
In pursuit of the perfect basketball game, I’m looking at all the skills and elements that make for great play. Apart from dunking, nothing’s got more pop than an awesome 3 pointer. It’s a glamour shot, for sure- so I wanted the sharpest skills I could get.

Practicing 3 Point Shots

I’ve always been pretty decent with a long shot, and I put this down to the time I spent practicing in my youth. What worked then can still work now, so I’ve gotten back into the classic 3 point drill.
I pick 5 spread out spots at intervals along the line and try to score a set number of baskets, before moving along to the next area. If I can practice hitting it, from all the angles, I can avoid developing any weak spots in my game.
I try to pick slightly different spots for each session, so that I don’t develop the ability to hit the long shot from 5 set areas, I’m working on my ability to score from all kinds of angles instead.

Using The Backboard

Hitting a shot that’s all net is crazy good, but at range the backboard’s your best friend. Unless you’re trying to hit a 3 from a 90 degree angle, you should aim to arc it off the backboard, as much as possible.
Let the backboard do its job- deadening the force of a long throw, so that it goes in the basket. If it catches the rim after going a decent distance, it’s likely to rocket out of a scoring opportunity, possibly into the hands of the defense.
That’s the main reason why practice is so important, when it comes to 3 point shots. It’s all about learning how the ball reacts to different forces and angles, so that you can better judge the situation.

Jumping Or Stationary?

Both shot types have their advantages. The classic stationary shot can be more accurate, for most people but the jump shot, which gets more and more common, has a higher chance of getting through guards. Weigh up each type, given different play situations. It would be a good idea to practice both, as much as you can.

Focus and Aim

Make sure you’re looking at the spot you want to hit, when you take the shot. It’s vital that you concentrate your energies on getting it to hit the right spot; in most cases the backboard. Being able to establish quick concentration is also instrumental to 3 point shot success. Visualization can help here.

Follow Through With The Shot

As with free throws, it’s important that you follow through, all the way, with your wrist. Getting the ball to accurately travel, over that kind of distance, requires the quick, precise release of the ball. Even pros can fail to give their wrists the fully travel required, especially when things are tight. It’s even more of an issue for everyone else.
Make sure the hand continues to bend downwards as the ball is released and just after. Try to make this as instinctive as possible, so that you don’t fall short if you are put under pressure.

 

Improving My Basketball Free Throw

Although I’m always looking to improve my dunk skills I’ve recently been taking a look at other areas of basketball, where I could stand to make some improvements. So, lately I’ve been doing a lot of work on my free throw, because extra scoring power always counts.
So I’ve been trying out a number of different tips, tricks and techniques which I’ll share with you now.
 
The Importance Of Stance

Getting a good position and stance is vital, when it comes to scoring from the free throw line. I’ve learnt that the best way to set yourself up is to place the leg, which matches your lead throwing arm, slightly forward. So, if you’re right handed, place your right leg slightly further ahead than your left.
Also, you need to make sure that the leg you are placing forward is lined up with the goal. This seems to really help with accuracy, as your arm is roughly in the same position that way.

Getting A Pre-Shot Routine

I’ve found that it really helps to get a consistent routine going, before I take a free throw. This is something which you use to get yourself mentally prepared and in the zone. Bouncing on your feet or doing a quick dribble, before taking your shot, becomes part of the process and it lets you center yourself for the shot.
Taking a moment to prepare yourself, mentally and physically, is totally fine. So, you should take advantage of this, to make sure you deliver your most accurate shot. Getting a good routine together, which you stick to, will help you to focus. If there’s noise or other distractions, these processes will take your mind off them.

Having Confidence

Getting that pre-shot routine together will help you to develop your confidence, but nothing causes more mistakes than a negative attitude. That’s why I think it’s important to practice free throws, the more you do it, the more you hit. This makes it easier to stay confident, in more difficult situations.
It’s harder to stay calm and confident when you’re right at the end of a game, or if the score’s really tight. All it takes is a moment’s lost confidence or concentration, to set off a chain reaction, for the rest of the game.

Following Through

I’ve seen it from professionals and I know I’ve done it myself many times. Whenever things are tough, and they haven’t gone my way, I’ve failed to follow through with my shot. If your arm stops short, during the shot, the chances of you making it are slim.
It’s usually a confidence thing, in my experience. If you start to doubt your judgment, you’re more likely to stop the throw short. So, make sure you complete your throwing motion, in full, every time.

Working On It

Unless you’ve got a free throw success rate of 100% in any circumstances, you can always improve your performance. This is one of the things I find quite satisfying. Knowing that I keep getting better is a powerful feeling.
Apart from the importance of improving accuracy and confidence, which go hand in hand, I didn’t want to have a million dollar dunk and a dollar store free throw- and now I don’t!

 

“The Dunk’s Great But What About Your Other Skills”

Skills
If you’ve had the desire to dunk since you were a kid, chances are it’s been high up your list of things to achieve. As soon as you start achieving that goal it’s pretty easy to get totally caught up in it. The closer you get to the air required, the more and more you’ll want that height. The dunk is the glamour shot, it’s where the show is, but don’t let it throw off the rest of your game.

Don’t Forget the Other Skills

Jump Training and Dunking will do a lot for your overall game, giving you plenty of explosive power to pull out at anytime. But, don’t forget, you’ll need more than a good dunk to be at your best. Utilize what you’ve learned. Let it power you forward, don’t let your skills flatline.

               

 

There’s a lot more to legends like Michael Jordan or Vince Carter than a dunk- you want a legacy, even if it’s just amongst friends and co-workers, then you need it all covered.Forgetting to hit every aspect of your game can halt your progress; it’s no good being able to dunk if you can’t get anywhere near the net. Basketball’s a complex sport, with lots of skills- every one of which needs to be on point if you want to maximize your result.

The Importance of Ball Handling

Whether it’s passing, dribbling or free throws, how you handle the ball is key. Any weakness you have can be exploited by other players, to stop you getting that shot. If you’re dribbling isn’t tight, how can you get anywhere near a dunk? Nobody’s going to give you an alley-oop if they think you’re a liability, with clumsy skills.
Getting your ball handling down allows you to become a much less predictable player. If you can change direction and speed with less effort, it’ll be harder for another player to read you. Which, of course, means you’ve got more chance to break away, for the dunk, right?
And if you know that other players are trying to work out your moves, to try and keep you locked down, how important is it that you can do the same? The more elements of ball handling you master, the higher your basketball intelligence becomes.
The more you lock down other players, the more chance you’ll have to do your thing, whether that’s a dunk or the amazing 3 point opportunity that comes from bringing the ball handling skills. Understand the ball, Improve your game and the higher knowledge follows. Need more free tips on how to jump higher or become a better basketball player then visit my free website at
http://www.dunklikeapro.com

 
About the Author

Villanova Basketball- Hoops Mania 2009 Dunk Contest