Basketball is one of the most technical sports in the world. Sure, when we were kids it seemed like it was a free-for-all of getting the ball through in the hoop, but as we advance we learn a lot more about its nuances. We come to realise that it is a highly-technical sport that requires profound skills across defence and offense.
We also learn that there is so much more to the sport than dribbling, passing, shooting and stealing. There is a fine art to becoming a complete player and there are many pieces of advice players can use to become such a player.
But, to get started, here are five pieces of unique advice that will amplify your game in ways you might not have considered yet:
- Offense: create space for yourself
Grab your new SEM Phoenix basketball, because we’re going to look at the importance of creating offensive space for yourself. Because, after all, there is absolutely no point in standing around whilst you have a tall defender blocking your haphazard attempts to get into a scoring position.
Being a great point scorer is as much about creating space as it is creating the perfect jump shot. So, one of the things you should focus on when training for offense is to move without the ball. Focus on cutting, moving and screening, as each of these plays will either create space for yourself or a teammate to take that all-important shot.
- Defence: focus on your feet
A player who focuses on blocks and steals too much in defence is invariably a player that commits a lot of fouls. And, as we all know, giving away a defensive foul at a crucial moment can cost teams the W. As such, you should focus just as much on your defensive footwork as your defensive handwork.
Why? Because proper movement, positioning and stance is essential to blocking offensive moves. What’s more, standing tall and strong is better than focusing on your hands to get quick steals – these often just lead to fouls!
- Shooting: always follow through
Okay, this may be the most typical advice you see in this blog, but it’s always essential. You should always focus on your follow-through when shooting. Why? Because it helps ensure you are guiding the ball towards the hoop without making any final, unwanted adjustments.
Sure, you will likely find yourself in many random shooting positions, but you should always focus on your balance, stance and follow-through as much as possible as this will help alleviate any randomness that could come with your shooting.
- Mentality: stay in the moment
Your team might go down a few points in the second quarter – big deal! You still have more than two quarters of game time remaining and plenty of time to win those points back. Players put their heads down when they go down a few points and this mentality is what keeps them behind in the game.
Instead, you should focus on staying in each and every moment of the game, as staying in the moment makes you focus on the play at hand, and not anything happening up on the scoreboard.
- Teamwork: build trust
You and your teammates should work on building trust and communication in your basketball training sessions. This way, when it comes to game time, you will be able to trust in your teammates and their abilities on the court. This will help you and your teammates become a cohesive unit that outdoes the opposition!
