BASKETBALL SHOOTING COACH
THIS IS BRAIN TRAINING - TRAIN YOUR BRAIN TO SHOOT !!!
THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND CONTROVERSIAL APPROACH TO SHOOTING A BASKETBALL SINCE THE ONE-HANDED JUMP SHOT
- BASKETBALL PASSING -
Always look to simplify.
Occam's Razor;
"One should not increase, beyond what is [absolutely] necessary, the number of entities [or movements] required to explain [or do] anything.”
Pass the basketball more and dribble the basketball less.
Imagine a game situation where the offense is running a half-court play, the end result is the center receiving a pass from the point guard, turn to the outside while taking one step back toward the basket and shoot an uncontested lay-up. A simple enough plan.
The first thing that needs to happen is for the center to get his defender positioned on his inside shoulder. If by chance the defender is already there the point guard simply tosses a bounce pass to the center’s outside hand. As the center is receiving the pass he starts his turn to the baseline and steps back towards the basket, his outside hand is completely undefended for an uncontested lay-up. If the defender is not where the offense needs him to be, the point guard tosses a regular pass to the center’s inside hand, the center feigns to the inside, the defender moves to defend the inside and ends up on the center’s inside shoulder. The center pops the ball back out and the point guard immediately slips him a bounce pass back to his open outside hand.
The point I’m making here is the point guard is using the bounce pass as the “trigger” for the center to know that no one is defending the hand the shooting guard is passing to. If a defender was in position to guard the outside hand, the point guard would not give the center a bounce pass he would deliver a chest pass. Automatically the center knows if he gets a bounce pass to either hand that side is open for him to turn and shoot. A play like this makes a 'simple' bounce pass a very powerful communication tool between two offensive players and the defense is completely unable to read the eyes or body language of the offense.
This basketball training aid is only one example of using the pass for something other than getting a basketball from one point on the court to another. Brainstorm with your team to open up other possibilities. Get creative. Think outside the rim! The bounce pass is so easy to see and catch, is usually beyond the reach of defenders and it can come right off the dribble momentarily catching the defense off guard. As a pass receiver, almost always, you want to step out and go to the pass, go get the pass, make yourself open as opposed to letting the pass come to you. Letting the pass come to you allows the defense as much time to get to the ball as you have. If the offense fails to keep at least one step ahead of the defense, then the defense will become the offense. Passing rather than dribbling is a faster way to develop plays and move the ball around the court. So what? Defenders cannot keep up with three or four or five quick consecutive passes. That extra pass is so important.
In Southern California, the Marines at Camp Pendleton Marine Base play basketball on the beach, in the sand. They're unable to dribble in the sand so passing is their only option. Now when these Marines play on a regular court it's extremely difficult to keep up with their passing skills. Work on your passing game with specific passing drills. When you run a passing drill, like a pick and roll over and over again with different players on your team, you'll find the passing skills these passing drills develop take your game to another level. Assists are not only in the realm of a point guard. A great pass leading to a score is frequently more exciting than a shot and can often kick a team's momentum into gear, sometimes turning a game around. A beautiful bounce pass is a lethal weapon that is largely undefendable; practice it in your passing drills and use it as often as possible.
Do you want to know how to get better at basketball? Do you want to know how to play better basketball?
Learn to play all positions. Once you know how to play a position you normally do not play, you will understand more fully what a player in that position expects from you. This is how to get better.
You want to learn how to play better? Learn how to pass. Understand a dribble is a pass to yourself, a shot is a pass to the basket. Great passers are also great dribblers and great shooters.
You want to learn how to get better at basketball? Pass the basketball. Pass. Pass. Pass the basketball. From which specific spot on the court do players on your team prefer to shoot? Where are their favorite shots? On a catch and shoot where do the players on your team like to receive a pass? With which hand do your teammates prefer to catch a pass? Do your teammates like to catch and shoot while moving or prefer to receive a pass while stationary? Do they want that pass to hit them high or low? Soft or hard? On their left or right side?
How about you? Do your teammates know your preferences on shot selection and how you prefer to receive a pass? Do you know your own preferences for receiving a pass? Your passing drills and your teams passing drills should take all these preferences into account. Passing drills may be the most under-practiced skill on the court while being one of the most important skills needing development. Learn to take responsibility for your actions and your education. Others can guide you, but only you can be you.
Basketball players are made, they are not born; great players are self made, not only by working on their skills level but by studying the game, learning the game and remembering “Occam's Razor.”