Ball Handling
Video Demonstrations Of Specific Moves
Getting comfortable handling the ball is extremely important. Being able to naturally dribble through the legs, behind the back, and in and out takes time and practice to perform. But what do you do once you have perfected those moves? Its hard to combo them up in effective ways while on the court. These videos demonstrations will give you some move combos to whip out whenever you feel like breaking a defenders ankles.
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The Spider
The spider is considered by some to be some kind of trick move or street move. While it does look rather “cool” when done right and fast, it practicing it and learning to do it is a great way to increase hand eye coordination in dribbling and hand speed. To the the spider position yourself standing up with your legs decently far apart. Dribble the ball from your right hand in front to your left hand in back, then to your right hand in the back then to your left hand in front, and finally back to your right hand in front. When we say dribble in this drill we really kind of mean bounce. The ball is supposed to stay almost directly under the center of your body while doing this. So in reality your are just keeping the ball at a low dribble level and switching where your hands are bouncing it from.
While doing this you must keep some things in mind. First of all, dribble with your finger tips. It is good basketball to dribble using your finger tips and in general gives you more control. Start off going slow, but once you get some confidence speed up. It great for hand eye coordination is great practice for under the legs dribbling. Once you master this drill you can try moving while doing it. Although almost useless in terms of game play, it looks sweet!
Figure 8
Stand with your legs slightly wider that shoulder width. Start with the ball in your right hand and bounce it through your legs to your left in back. Then swing the ball around front and bounce it through your legs to your right hand in back. Swing the ball back around to the front and restart the cycle. The ball movement should be forming a “Figure 8″. Do this until you are comfortable, then reverse the cycle so you are bouncing the ball from back to front.
A variation to this drill is to dribble the ball in a figure 8, but rather than taking large dribbles from hand to hand, dribble the ball low extremely close to the ground slowly in the figure 8 formation.
Open Court Ball Handling
Grab a partner, some cones, and get to a court for this dribbling drill. Set up the cones so that a five yard wide area is set off for the length of the court. Start at one baseline and have your partner in a defensive position. Then, attempt to dribble down the court. Use a variety of moves to get past your defender and switch hands with a crossover, around the back, or through the legs at least four times. After you complete this, switch positions with your partner.
A few key points to keep in mind for this drill: Protect the basketball. One of the worst things you can do is turn the ball over in the back court. Also, keep your cool. Often players stress out when under pressure and make bad decisions.
