A great thing about basketball is the simplicity of being able to pick up the basics. You can pick up the basics in very little time. Of course, if you desire to be more than a casual player, there’s a lot you can learn from this article.

When using the ball a lot, you must relearn a crossover. Crossovers involve sending the basketball from one of your hands over to the other one. It has to be done fast to be effective. If you do it right, a crossover dribble will assist you in changing directions and getting down the court in an efficient manner.

TIP! It’s simple to want to work on offense when you’re getting into basketball, but it’s smarter to think about defense practice too. Many times, defense actually wins the game.

If you wish to do better with basketball, you have to focus on what you’re good at. Your strengths might not make you a star player, but you’ll be contributing a lot to your team. Knowing what you excel at and then practicing that can help you become perfect at it!

Perfect Passes

Make sure to practice catching passes. You need to be able to retrieve perfect passes and not so perfect passes. This will help to improve your game when it gets intense. Cover for your teammates’ errant passes by developing the hands to cover their mistakes.

TIP! Practice catching passes as often as you can. You want to practice catching perfect passes and bad passes.

Don’t limit your practice to just playing against the zone defense. While much of the game is played in zone, the opponent can flip to man-to-man coverage, changing everything and surprising you. You may lose control of the game if you aren’t prepared.

A good tip about passing is try doing it without dribbling the ball. Playing the game without the use of dribbling is a challenge, but it can help you and your team learn to make more precise passes. Don’t be frustrated by how hard it is at first; you will get used to it.

Don’t bulk up if you want to be good as a jump shooter. Although it’s true that strong muscles are beneficial, additional bulk can impede your ability to play effectively along the perimeter. Certain pro guards ended up increasing their arm size so much that their shooting started to suffer.

TIP! If you want to take jump shots, don’t build your arms up too large. Muscle strength can be great for basketball players, but it is actually possible to have excessive amounts for playing on the perimeter.

If your child is training to be a high school basketball player, make sure that they train their core muscles properly. Show them how to exercise their hips, lower back and abs. The core links together all of the extremities and if it isn’t strong, they will be dealing with a limited athletic ability. The stronger your core, the higher you will jump.

If you are posting up, strategic footwork is important to becoming open and making a good shot. Focus on positioning yourself more quickly than the opposing player is just as important as having someone beneath the hoop. Having found a good spot, you must secure it. Both of those skills rely on solid footwork.

If you want to dribble the basketball better, you need to practice dribbling with your weaker hand. If you use both your hands to dribble, it is easier to control. Hold the dominant hand behind the back and make certain you use just the weak hand. Your weak hand won’t be that for long!

TIP! Don’t play when you are injured! You can easily tear a muscle or even break a finger while playing. Pushing through the pain often results in a more serious injury.

Perform drills where you attempt to get the ball up full-court in 5 dribbles or less. This seems an impossible feat when you start. By working on this drill regularly you develop speed and great, lengthy strides. If you master this, you will be able to quickly take layups.

Maybe you recently learned the rules of the game. Or perhaps you’ve played ever since you were young. No matter what, the tips you’ve just read can help you increase your skills. Take heed of what you learned here and bring it with you next time you head to the court.