Basketball Skills Tips

Skills Tips

May 16th 2013

The Secret to Shot Fakes

A shot fake is a shot not taken. Everything is the same as a shot, the ball is in your shooting pocket, your body is in a shooting crouch, and you are square and facing the basket. You just don't let it go. Shot fakes are very effective in the realm of individual offense. One of the aspects of effective offense is controlling the defense, putting the defense at risk and forcing it to react to your offense. Shot fakes do a great job of forcing the defense to play in an uncertain manner and as a reactor, thereby putting the defender a step behind the offense. This is another reason why whenever you catch the ball, it immediately goes into shooting position. When you are a threat to score, and do it immediately on the catch, your defender must play the shot right away leaving him vulnerable to anything else that you throw at him.

March 5th 2013

Defensive Stance

• Feet shoulder width apart - athletic posture
• Knees slightly bent
• Hands in the air ready to swipe at or steal the ball
• Person-to-person defense demands maximum effort
• Key for the defender is to stay between the offensive player and the basket

January 10th 2013

The Four Fundamentals

• Ballhandling - Dribbling a basketball may seem easy, but to dribble smartly and give your defender a hard time, you've got to learn some special tricks and practice diligently.
• Passing - The key to perfect passing is, in fact, simplicity. A good pass is smoothly handled and not forced.
• Shooting - Shooting is probably the most fun thing about basketball for the fans and the most difficult thing for the players. A successful shot is all in the techniques.
• Rebounding - Rebounding is not about size, agility or leaping ability (although those qualities help). It is about desire and ambition.

May 28th 2012

Triple-Threat Position

• Athletic posture - knees bent, feet shoulder width apart and staggered. (For right hand dribble, left foot should be forward. Opposite for left hand dribble.)


• Dribble hand should have fingers as wide as possible on top of the ball. Push ball to the floor with fingertips. Do not slap the ball with the palm of the hand.


• Waist high dribble.


• Free hand acts a guard to protect the ball

March 24th 2012

When shooting a free throw or a jump shot, think of B-E-E-E-F

B alance. Knees bent, feet shoulder width apart. Body 'square' (facing) to the basket.
E lbow bent at about 90 degrees and over right knee (for right handed shooters)
E yes focused on the basket, never leaving during the shot.
E xtension. Feet push off the floor, knees straighten, hips raise and elbow lifts to shoulder height.
F ollow-through. Push ball upwards, fully extend elbows upwards, snap wrist, push ball off fingertips, point fingers at ground. Ball shoudl travel with a high arc and back spin.