For decades, people have enjoyed basketball. It allows people to compete but have fun at the same time. If you are going to play basketball, start by having some serious practice drills. When you continue reading, you will learn some priceless information.

Keep your head up when you dribble. If you must look at the ball while dribbling, you haven’t practiced enough. Take your basketball everywhere. Try dribbling even when walking to a store. If you have to watch the ball, you will be unable to see whatever is going on at court level.

TIP! Focus on your strengths to get better at basketball. Your talent might not make you a star; however, learning your strengths will help you become a better team player.

If you typically handle the ball a lot, it pays to learn the crossover. Moving the ball from hand to hand is a crossover. The move must be done quickly if it is going to work. Once you have learned how to do a crossover, you can travel down the court quickly.

Tricking the other team is a good way to win a game. Try a pass back! To accomplish this pass, grasp the ball using your dominant hand. Next, pull the ball behind your back. Pass the ball from behind your back by flicking your wrist in the direction you want the ball to go. Doing this will trick your opponent.

Try playing basketball games alone before and during the season. Sometimes during off season, or when practicing, you can’t play as a team or find even a single opponent. There is nothing wrong with that. Solo games also help. Work on your pivot moves or practice your free throws. You don’t need other players to work on your skills.

TIP! Make sure to practice your layups whenever possible. Almost 80% of shots will be layups.

Watch your own recorded games, and look for weak areas. Are you able to see what you’ve missed or things that you could improve on? Be honest in your assessment but not overly critical. Sometimes you think of yourself as something you are not.

Free Throws

Build a consistent routine for your free throws. If you stay inconsistent, you miss a shot. A great way to get better at free throws is to practice, practice and then practice the same routine some more. If you have a glitch in the routine, you are likely to miss your shot.

TIP! Free throws are as much mental as they are physical, like other parts of the game. You can teach your body to make a free throw properly, but unless you are properly prepared mentally, you may not succeed.

Practice with your weak hand when it comes to dribbling. By being able to easily dribble with two hands rather than one, you have a huge advantage over your defenders. If you find it difficult to continue using your weak hand, make your strong hand unusable. Before you know it, your weak hand will become strong.

If you wish to get a free throw rebound from a teammate, you have to stay on your toes properly. You’ll have a defender coming at you and this means you have to figure out what can be done to get around them. This technique will help you rebound the ball without getting a foul called on you.

Strength Training

TIP! Watching the pros play is a great way to see how great basketball players use their skills in the game. You can do this by watching games in person and on television.

In basketball, strength is important, so do strength training. You need both stamina and strength to be a good player. Proper exercise allows younger players and older players an improved physical presence on the court. As they grow and become teenagers, weight-lifting can be beneficial. During the adult years, strength training is vital to keeping on-court performance at a high level.

Keep your knees bent while dribbling. If your knees are not bent, the basketball will be more difficult to control. A bit of a bend will boost your control.

Practice dribbling while you switch your body’s momentum from one side to the other. You will dribble during different situations. You need to feel as comfortable with defense closing in on you, as you do in the open court. You must know how to dribble the ball no matter what your body is doing. In this way, you can escape all kinds of difficult situations.

TIP! Don’t spend all your time practicing how to confront a zone defense. Usually, a big part of the game is probably going to be in zone; however, the opposing team can suddenly switch to man-to-man to catch you off guard.

When you have the best knowledge under your belt while you are playing basketball, you will enjoy the game more. Start with the great advice in the article above and keep on learning as much as you can. Gain as much knowledge as you can to improve your enjoyment of the sport.