Have you ever watched professional basketball players and envied their skills? Rather than just wanting to be great, why don’t you learn techniques to help you get better? The following article has professional tips to help you become a star player.
Try learning how to hit free throw shots. This seemingly simple shot can be difficult to execute under game conditions. Put this technique into practice as often as you can. Hold the ball level with your face. Keep looking at the goal while visualizing the basketball going through the hoop. Shoot the basketball exactly as you saw in your mind.
When dribbling, focus on what’s in front of you by keeping your head up. You haven’t practiced enough if you keep looking at the basketball while you’re dribbling. Wherever you go, take your ball with you. Dribble while walking to the store. Maintaining unbroken visual contact with the ball makes it difficult to be aware of your surroundings.
Free Throws
There is a lot of pressure when shooting free throws. Your body can be trained to make free throws, but your mind has to be focused on success if you want to make the basket. Relax and focus on the net, and you’ll be able to make more.
Don’t pump too much iron if you plan on being a jump shooter. It’s possible to have excessive muscles when you play the perimeter. Some pro shooting guards make their arms large enough to decrease their own field goal percentage.
Want to trick the other team? Try a back pass. Perform this pass by holding the ball using your dominant hand. Then, put the ball around your back. Lastly, flick the wrist in the direction you want the ball to go. You can use this action to deceive your opponents.
Build hand signals so passes are more successful. It can be frustrating making a pass when a player moves away towards the basket. You can get around that when you use hand signals, if a player can receive a pass. If your teammate misses your signal, then they may miss the ball as well and the other team could gain possession.
If you get injured while playing basketball, do not try to play through the pain. This is a physically challenging game, so you may end up hurt much worse. You may injure yourself more if you continue to play with an injury. If an injury is serious, go to see a physician.
Have your team mates critique your playing skills. Are you skilled at something? Perhaps you are great backup or fast on your feet. By understanding what your teammates see as your best skills, you can ensure that you keep a strong focus and hone these abilities even more.
Upset and disrupt your opponent’s play. All successful basketball players do this. Force opposing players into an unfamiliar or unexpected position. Make aggressive plays. You don’t want the defense choosing your plays so to speak. Your opponent will take any opportunity to give you the run around. You need to adopt an aggressive style and react quickly so you can interrupt the patterns set by your opponents.
Change your pace up to throw the offense off. When you’re going towards the net you should plant the foot in front and start straightening up. The guard will think you are slowing down and will also straighten themselves. When they do, try pushing forward hard and running right past them.
Only stop dribbling if you want to shoot or pass. When you stop, your options are limited. Your only option, besides shooting or passing, is to use your back foot to pivot. Once this happens, you are prone to being double-teamed and more likely to turn the ball over.
Practice dribbling while you switch your body’s momentum from one side to the other. Expect to encounter many different situations in a game. Perhaps you will have open court; however, you might have bunches of opposing team members all around you. Going through the court will be easier if you can quickly adjust your direction without interrupting your dribbling. Good dribbling skills will make getting out of a bad situation a lot easier.
If it is possible, keep all action below the knee. This makes it more difficult for the opponent to take the ball. To help this occur, you must be bending, however it will speed up your efforts to move down the court.
Practice shots from all regions of the court. Practice your grip and balance first. You’re much more accurate if you are balanced well. Use your basketball’s valve for perfecting your grip. Cover the valve with your palm, and spread your fingers around the ball.
If someone shoots from the corner of the basketball court and misses, it will bounce over the net onto the opposite side. Anticipate where the ball lands and grab the rebound.
When you shoot, do what you can to temper your nerves. This will help improve your focus during the shot. Remember to shift your eyes so they watch the rim’s back as you shoot. On a lay-up your eyes should instead be trained on the backboard to help you lay the ball off against.
Understand your own weaknesses. Don’t lie to yourself. If you miss foul shots often, practice these more than your three pointers. The same goes for your inside game, as practicing jump shots will not help you improve your game at the boards. Working on improving your weaknesses is a good rule of thumb if you want to progress.
Now that you’ve finished this article, you can get out there and practice. Practice consistently to help build your confidence. Don’t hesitate to put your skills to the test, and don’t be afraid to change your strategy up every now and then.