basketball- NOT 101 ...Basketball .best.v1.0

-- Good players beg for the ball, not so much with their tongues (though they do sometimes shout) as much as with their body movements and facial expressions. Good players want the ball, and that want is obvious to whoever has it. The average fan would likely say that all players want the ball, and they do, but not like good players want it. Good players want it in a way that they are always close by, always popping out, always looking at the guys with the ball with a sort of desperation. 

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 You should learn to score from everywhere with one dribble. That means, when you get the ball in shooting position (at a distance you can shoot from) you should expect to be able to get to the basket in one dribble. It is a matter of wanting to get there in one dribble, practicing, and developing the habit. 

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-- Most basketball players, even the ones who usually don't dribble very much, dribble too much. For many point guards, the problem is one extra dribble, the failure to pass at the right time because of the desire to show off that dribbling ability one more time. For big men inside, often even one dribble is too many. A move should be able to be made effectively without any dribbles at all, so the defensive guards have no chance of stripping the ball on its way up from the floor. Analyze your game. Chances are you often take unnecessary dribbles. Unnecessary dribbles may not seem as though they hurt you, but they always end up hurting a team. Unnecessary dribbles give opponents extra chances to steal the ball or get into defensive position. 

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-- Faking, almost all fakes, work great in games, and there is a very good reason why. Most players, even a lot of good ones, don't fake, or at least not very often. As a result, very few defenders have had the opportunity to react to fakes, so when they meet one in a game they fall for it and get faked out. The most important rule on faking is, "Use fakes." 

 

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-- Never leave your feet on defense -- not even to block a pass, not even to block a shot. For every pass you block by jumping, two will get by you and you will be slow getting to good defensive help-position. You have to wait until you come down to move. For every shot you block, twice you will foul unnecessarily and another time or two the shooter will miss but be able to run by you for the rebound, since you cannot block out in the air. Jumping is not a valuable skill on defense (unless you are a gifted, intimidating center). Don't jump. Never leave your feet. Keep your feet on the floor at all times on defense. 

 

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-- If you decide to go one-on-one, do it immediately after you get the ball, or don't do it at all. The longer you hold the ball and look around or jockey for position, the more time the defense has to get in good help-position to stop you and clog the lane. A good rule to follow is this: When in doubt, pass. Or, if you've held the ball, pass. Seldom does a team lose for having passed up open shots. You lose by missing shots, by shooting too fast, by taking bad shots, and by shooting tentatively. 

keep dribbling  [but do NOT watch the ball,,, and only enough dribbles to get off clean: pass or shot!!!!!]

Coach