There are many sports which are popular today, but not all are as fun to play as basketball. It requires little in the way of equipment, so anyone of any means can start playing right away. If you want to learn how to become a better player, get the best in ground basketball hoop.
When you’re passing the ball, make sure that you pass the ball to the location of where the person should be headed. You don’t want your pass to be the reason a person needs to slow down or double back. Your pass should be aimed for a little bit in front of the person that you are passing to.
Make sure that you practice teamwork when you are on the court, or people may have a hard time dealing with you. You may want to impress others on the court, and this may give you the idea that you should shoot the ball yourself, but it would be best to pass the ball to someone who is open.
Practice makes perfect. This is especially true in basketball. Learning how to shoot a basket, how to dribble and how to pass a ball is important to playing good basketball. Spending as little as 30 minutes practicing a day can really help develop your game and make you a better player.
Really practice the types of shots that you’d get in a typical game experience. Yes, it’s fun to play HORSE and try crazy shots, but that’s not prepping you for actual game play. You want to get the types of shots you usually see down cold. Practice them over and over.
When you are dribbling the ball, be sure that you are doing so with your head up. If you have your eyes on the ball instead while you are dribbling it, you cannot keep an eye on those defending you. This could lead to them stealing the ball away from you.
Practice as many different shots as you can. You never know when you will need one during a game. If you only practice bank shots, then you will feel less comfortable making a 3-point shot or a lay-up. Practice them all and you will see improvements in all of your shots.
To play solid defense, if you are guarding the person with the ball, keep your eyes on the basketball. If you look at his eyes instead, he will fake a pass one way, just by looking in that direction, and then dribble around you the other way. The ball can’t lie about where it’s going.
Learn to control the ball when you need to change your pace suddenly. If your are able to plant your feet and then quickly dribble the ball while on the move, you gain a distinct advantage over your opponent. If your defenders think you are slowing down to make a shot, they will straighten up to try to block it.
Remember that being good at basketball starts with being athletic. That means working on all of your skills, not just those which involve a ball. Run to build stamina and your cardiovascular health, and lift weights to build your strength. The harder you work on your overall condition, the better you will play.
To rebound a free throw attempt by the other team, you get the advantage of having four people on the lane, as opposed to three for the other team. Take advantage by boxing out, putting your body on the person next to you and moving him away from the basket. This gives you the best chance at grabbing a board.
Always try and play against players that are better than you. That’s how you improve your game the fastest. Not only do you see and learn what they do, but you just get better yourself from playing against them. You’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t work pretty quickly.
In order for a basketball team to play well together each player should be good at passing the ball. If you can’t make a simple pass then it is much easier for the opponent to defend you. Not only will passing help advance the ball down court quicker, it sets up your teammates for wide open shots.
The only thing you should ever pay attention to outside of the rectangle of the court is your coach yelling. Don’t mind what the fans are cheering or booing, or even how many people are in attendance. Certainly never listen to your parents. Your coach let you on the team and decides your playing time, not mom and dad.
Don’t read what anyone in the press says about your team. This applies to every level from high school newspapers to the professional leagues. The only opinion about how your team is playing that matters is the one in the locker room. Don’t let anyone contaminate your team’s chemistry and confidence with the doubts of some critic.
You should always have your free hand between you and your opponent when dribbling the ball. You don’t need to push any opponents since that’s a foul, but try using your non-dribbling arm like a separator for keeping the ball safe. This move helps to keep the ball protected and you in control of it.
If someone is taking a shot from the center of the court, it is likely that the ball will bounce off the net or backboard straight back at them. Keep this in mind if you want to catch the rebound and score some points after they miss the shot.
A slightly off-center shot often ends up catching the rim of the basket, which causes it to just fall off the side. If you see this happening, you will know exactly where to be when the shot is missed so that you can get the rebound and turn it into a basket.
While hockey means buying a ton of expensive equipment, and football can lead to concussions, basketball is a safe game to play which doesn’t cost a ton. As long as you keep reading articles like this one, you’ll become better and better. Enjoy this game every day to bring you exercise and fun!