Tips For Improving Your Basketball Skills Today

Basketball is such a fun and loved by many. The pros make it look easy, but mastering it is not quite so simple.Read on to learn how you can make the most of your basketball more than you thought possible.

Free throw practice is vitally important. As easy as these shots may seem, they are rather hard. Make sure that you’re applying the following technique when practicing. Begin by bringing the ball up to eye level. Keep looking towards the goal and think about the ball getting into that goal. Once you’ve visualized this, take your shot as you just saw it in your head.

TIP! If you have the ball a lot, learn to execute a crossover. Crossovers involve sending the basketball from one of your hands over to the other one.

Don’t pump a lot of iron if you want to be good as a jump shooter. Muscle strength can be great for basketball players, but you can have too much. Some shooting guards make their upper body to the point of harming their field goal percentage.

Play games with yourself during the season and before it.Even though you play on a team, you can still practice on your own. You can accomplish a lot accomplished with solo games. Work on your free throws or practice pivot moves. You can always work on your skills.

Make layups a part of your daily practice regimen. Almost 80% of shots will be layups. When you practice, be sure to run at the goal with full speed, jumping and shooting in a smooth series of motions. This technique helps improve your on-court layup skills.

Always be sure of where your feet so you’re aware of what they are doing.

Ask a video of you can see how yourself in action. You may see where you observe the game and what plays you missed in the game. Be honest in your assessment but don’t be too harsh.

Work on catching passes frequently. Make sure you get used to catching less than perfect passes smoothly. During the course of a game, you can expect there to be many errant passes. You and your team mates will be happier if you (and they) are more versatile.

TIP! Do not restrict your practices to zone defenses alone. Most of the game is played in zone, but your opponent may try to switch things up to do man-to-man coverage.

To become a reliable free throw shooter, use the same routine prior to every shot. This may mean you want to dribble three times, touch your forehead, touch your forehead, or do anything else. As long as it’s quick, you won’t have any trouble having your body memorize what you’re doing.

To maximize your layups, leap from the opposite foot from the hand you use to shoot. This will keep your body properly balanced and going towards the basket.

One good way to learn good passing is drill often without dribbling. This helps to develop passing skills with your teammates, making it much more difficult if you’re standing in one spot and not dribbling. Don’t let it frustrate you, just be patient.

TIP! See if your teammates admire something in particular about your game play. Do you do something particularly well? Perhaps you are great backup or fast on your feet.

Your forearms and hands should be strengthened if you to handle the ball better. Wrist curls are great for working wrist muscles and improving your ball handling in basketball to the point where you could practically do it sleepwalking. You can’t just stand in one place and shoot for the whole game. You need to be able to move the basketball to make things to happen.

Good footwork can really help you to get rebounds off your teammates’ foul shots. The defender that’s below you will move towards you, so be sure you’re thinking of how to get past that defender. This will allow you to grab the rebound without getting penalized for a foul.

Avoid turning away from the ball so that you can always be prepared for what occurs on the court. Passes and turnovers won’t take you by surprise because you will be more aware of what is happening on the court. Maintain awareness of open areas on the ball court that may allow you to quickly score a basket.

Dribble with force to prevent the ball taken from being stolen. When closely guarding another player, pass the ball instead of dribbling.

You need to take charge anytime you can.This can devastate a competitor psychologically as well as being a powerful play on the other team.

If you find yourself unable to shoot well, consider your shoulders. When your shoulders are positioned improperly, you will never make the basket regardless of how good your abilities are. Be sure shoulders always remain squared towards your hoop. Your shooting arm’s shoulder also needs to be exactly lined up with the rim.

TIP! Always be aware of the locations of your feet and what they’re doing. Stepping ever so slightly out of bounds while you have the ball can cause an overturn.

Changing up your pace is something you have to do to make sure the offense on their toes. When you are getting closer to the net, act like you’re going to straighten up. The guard will think you are slowing down and will straighten their own body. When that happens, push yourself forward and take the chance to run by them.

Then they should run to the point guard to trap him in place. Your forwards can sprint to block the wing players.The point guard will toss a pass that can steal.

When playing a game of basketball, have a friend tape the game. This way, you can take a look at your game. Are you able to see missed opportunities or ways in which you could have improved? Appraise your performance honestly but don’t be overly harsh with yourself. Sometimes you think of yourself as something you are not.

TIP! For more consistency in making those free throws, stick with the same sequence of motions before you take each shot. Whatever you do, from bending your knees to dribbling three times, do every time.

You should be have to change the path of your opponent. It does not matter if you are on offense or defense, your ability to control the direction of your opponent is critical. This will let you to get to the spot that you need to get to without letting your opponents control you.

When rebounding, you should come down with spread out legs so that they’re wider than your shoulders to get good balance. Keep your hands along any side and hold it tight to your chest. Keep your elbows in so you do not hit an opponent and get a foul.

To get a rebound of a free throw that one of your teammates is taking, you need to be sly with your feet. The defender may be coming toward you, so its important to slip away from him and get the ball. This gets you the rebound without you committing a foul.

TIP! Playing basketball well means developing good court “eyesight.” This isn’t just for reading the scoreboard.

Is it time to put your talents on display? First, put these tips to good use. Get excited, get energized, get motivated, and get out there on the court! You should notice your game improving quite nicely as a result of practicing the skills taught in this article.