As you may already know, if you’ve wanted to become a basketball player before, you need to practice and be dedicated. Even if you’re only playing for enjoyment, you wanna be the best, right? This article is sure to offer you advice on how you can improve your game.
It is important that you perfect dribbling the ball. Finger tips, not palms, are the key to successful dribbling. Dribbling this way improves your ball control dramatically. Be sure to dribble beside your body instead of in front of yourself. Bounce the ball at a level even with your waist. Don’t look at the ground, always keep your eyes focused forward.
When you dribble, look forward, keeping your head up. If you must look at the ball while dribbling, you haven’t practiced enough. Bring the basketball with you everywhere you go. Walking to your mailbox? Dribble the ball. If you’re looking at the basketball, you won’t be able to see what is coming at you.
Observing what the professionals do can be a great way to improve your game. You can do this by watching games in person and on television. You’ll notice that each player has a skill that they are great at. Choose a move that you like and start practicing it.
To make sure there are no errant passes, use hand signals. It can be frustrating to attempt to pass the ball to a team mate as that person is heading toward the basket. You can avoid this by using hand signals if a player is able to take a pass. Without a signal, you should not attempt to pass the ball to a player.
If you post up, you need to use good footwork to get open and make sure you get a good shot. Although physical presence under the basket is important, getting to a good spot before your opponent does is even more important. Once you find a spot, you need to know how to defend it. Good footwork is key to a good basketball game.
If you’re injured when playing basketball, don’t push through the pain. Basketball is physically demanding and you can easily get hurt. By “playing through the pain” you take a huge risk that the injury will become much worse. Be sure to talk to a doctor if you feel that the injury isn’t going away.
Ask your fellow teammates if they have an opinion of your skills in the game. Can you get better at something? Perhaps you have good dribbling skills or maybe your footwork is enviable. Discover what other people feel are your strongest skills and then set about perfecting them.
When your shooting isn’t accurate, check out your shoulder position. When the shoulders are wrongly positioned, your shot is unlikely to succeed. Ensure that you line up your shoulders so that they are squared with the basketball net. You should also make sure that your dominant shoulder is lined up with the rim.
Practice your footwork and control the position of your feet at all times. Stepping even a toe on the baseline with the ball in your hands means you are out of bounds. If you walk without dribbling, you will be called for walking and this will result in a turnover. Also, when you’re moving your feet when a screen is being set, you can take a charge or pick to try and get a foul.
Free Throw
A solid routine is necessary for improvement in free throw shooting. If you’re not consistent you’ll find yourself missing free throws. To better perfect free throw techniques, try using repetition via practicing one routine repeatedly. You will probably miss your shot if the routine you use is not perfect.
To improve ball handling, consider focusing workouts on your forearms and hands. Try doing some wrist curls as they are particularly effective in honing your dribble skills. Never assume you can just stand somewhere, catch and then shoot. Motion is key to being successful on the court.
If an opponent charges at you, let him run into you. This play gets your team possession of the ball and a foul against your opponent. This can devastate a competitor psychologically as well as being a powerful play on the court.
Always stay low when playing defensively. That helps you stay quick when it comes to the jump and will help you react more quickly to the person just ahead of you. Stay in your defensive stance. If you need to block the opposing team’s shot, resume your stance as soon as you can.
Always anticipate where a missed basket might go so you can grab the resulting rebound. Figure out where it will be and rebound the ball.
Having good positioning on the court when trying to grab a rebound will help you keep the ball. For better power and balance, jump using both feet and take the basketball with both of your hands. After rebounding, land with wide feet to keep your balance, and clutch the ball to your chest.
Now, you need to get going and use the advice and guidance found in this piece. You will start to see improvement little by little as you remember what you’ve read, use the tips, and practice them. Implement the strategies discussed in this article and talk to your coach about additional steps you can take to become a better player.