Improving skills for ball handling and outside shooting

[Improviser]

How are these developed?

Watching film of other players who have those skills?

Being taught techniques on shooting and ball handling ?

For shooting: keep shooting at the gym (Beilein at West Virginia had his players shoot 3’s for hours on end)?

For ball handling: being guarded by a skillful defender and trying to get by him?

For less than great shooters and ball handlers, is it mostly just a matter of natural ability or can practice develop these skills.

I guess I could add defense as another area, to the thread.

Any players on any level who markedly improved in these areas, and are now considered skilled shooters and ball handlers and defenders?

 

[LurkSoHard]

I went to the Yale basketball camp when I was younger and learned a drill that taught me to shoot jump shots with my left hand, and improved my range and accuracy with my right.

-Stand underneath the rim but to the side (approximately where you would be if you were shooting a layup.)
-Put the ball in your hand as you would for a jump shot, but hold it only with the hand you are using to shoot (so no balancing the ball with your off hand.)
-Kiss the ball of the glass as you would for a normal layup, but use the same form you would use for a jump shot (obviously without a jump, as you're standing still lol.) Make sure you use perfect form on the shot or else the whole drill is a waste. I won't describe shooting form here for brevity, but I'm sure you can find good videos online.
-This part is important for strength building. DO NOT drop your arm after you release. Instead, keep it raised, and try to catch the ball with the hand you released it with, then reset your form and repeat the drill all without lowering your arm. If you need to take a step to catch the ball after it goes through the hoop, do so. But you shouldn't be moving for any other part of the drill.
-Do this until you miss one, then swap sides and repeat the drill with the other arm.

It was more difficult to explain this than I thought, but hope this helps!

 

[ClifSpliffy]

skip rope, swim. put some cones, or whatever, out (preferably on the hardwood, since the 'feedback' from asphalt is very different). handle thru them, in differing patterns, over and over. build your 'off' hand. sometimes, spray water on the ball. squeeze tennis balls whenever you can. practice your drive, pull ups, dunks, catch and shoot, and set over and over again, forget the hook shot - you can't do it. and again, sometimes with a wet ball. if your strength is weak, lift some weights. for all of it, muscle memory is the goal.

 

[Improviser]

I went to the Yale basketball camp when I was younger and learned a drill that taught me to shoot jump shots with my left hand, and improved my range and accuracy with my right.

-Stand underneath the rim but to the side (approximately where you would be if you were shooting a layup.)
-Put the ball in your hand as you would for a jump shot, but hold it only with the hand you are using to shoot (so no balancing the ball with your off hand.)
-Kiss the ball of the glass as you would for a normal layup, but use the same form you would use for a jump shot (obviously without a jump, as you're standing still lol.) Make sure you use perfect form on the shot or else the whole drill is a waste. I won't describe shooting form here for brevity, but I'm sure you can find good videos online.
-This part is important for strength building. DO NOT drop your arm after you release. Instead, keep it raised, and try to catch the ball with the hand you released it with, then reset your form and repeat the drill all without lowering your arm. If you need to take a step to catch the ball after it goes through the hoop, do so. But you shouldn't be moving for any other part of the drill.
-Do this until you miss one, then swap sides and repeat the drill with the other arm.

It was more difficult to explain this than I thought, but hope this helps!

Excellent analysis! Did you play collegiate basketball?

I see the point about trying to develop both hands. About trying to be ambidextrous.

Actually, I am working on that not for basketball, but for wall ball where I hit a tennis ball off the wall in my basement and whack it back after it lands on the floor. I need to do this since I am right handed and strained the triceps a bit on the right arm. Now, I am hitting the ball with the left hand,and though it is not easy, I am optimistic that I can improve my left handed volleys, and by doing so, take some stress off the right arm.

BTW, having grown up close to Yale, in the early 1960's I used to watch the Yale basketball team. They shot short jump shots accurately and now I can understand why.

 

[Improviser]

skip rope, swim. put some cones, or whatever, out (preferably on the hardwood, since the 'feedback' from asphalt is very different). handle thru them, in differing patterns, over and over. build your 'off' hand. sometimes, spray water on the ball. squeeze tennis balls whenever you can. practice your drive, pull ups, dunks, catch and shoot, and set over and over again, forget the hook shot - you can't do it. and again, sometimes with a wet ball. if your strength is weak, lift some weights. for all of it, muscle memory is the goal.

Good point about muscle memory from repeating an exercise. The personal trainers I have worked with over the years stressed this point. If you are doing an exercise correctly, your body will tell you so. Whether it is a squat or TRX row, focus with your mind on the steps and the body will let you know the form is correct.

 

[HuskylnSC]

In junior high I wanted to develop my left hand dribble. Every day I would go about a mile to the park to shoot and play. It seemed like a good idea to dribble left handed all the way to the park. Halfway there I lost concentration and stepped into the entrance to a driveway where the sidewalk sloped. My ball shot left into the street, cleanly caught the bumper of a Buick doing about 35. It went 40 feet up in the air and ended up in a yard about 5 houses down. I'm still glad that guy never stopped.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Watch the videos of Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers on the women's side as they go through their skill drills to get an idea of the elaborate drills available.

 

[Improviser]

Watch the videos of Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers on the women's side as they go through their skill drills to get an idea of the elaborate drills available.

Wow! Just saw a video clip of them working out together. Looked like a juggling crossover dribble. The ladies have real skill. Their trainers showed them first and the ladies really picked it up quick.

 

[huskyrob1]

How are these developed?

Watching film of other players who have those skills?

Being taught techniques on shooting and ball handling ?

For shooting: keep shooting at the gym (Beilein at West Virginia had his players shoot 3’s for hours on end)?

For ball handling: being guarded by a skillful defender and trying to get by him?

For less than great shooters and ball handlers, is it mostly just a matter of natural ability or can practice develop these skills.

I guess I could add defense as another area, to the thread.

Any players on any level who markedly improved in these areas, and are now considered skilled shooters and ball handlers and defenders?

The greatest basketball coach I ever knew and was also a great player when he was younger once gave me a tip when I was eight years old. He said tie a rope to the top of your garage ceiling or basement ceiling and take a heavy steel bar with a hole drilled through the center and knot the rope through the hole so it hangs balanced at the bottom of the rope, then using both hands and your wrists, lift and wrap the heavy bar up the rope, and repeat with several sets. His initials were HH if anyone remembers him.

 

[Improviser]

The greatest basketball coach I ever knew and was also a great player when he was younger once gave me a tip when I was eight years old. He said tie a rope to the top of your garage ceiling or basement ceiling and take a heavy steel bar with a hole drilled through the center and knot the rope through hole so it hangs balanced at the bottom of the rope, then using both hands and your wrists, lift and wrap the heavy bar up the rope, and repeat with several sets. His initials were HH if anyone remembers him.

The greatest basketball coach I ever knew and was also a great player when he was younger once gave me a tip when I was eight years old. He said tie a rope to the top of your garage ceiling or basement ceiling and take a heavy steel bar with a hole drilled through the center and knot the rope through hole so it hangs balanced at the bottom of the rope, then using both hands and your wrists, lift and wrap the heavy bar up the rope, and repeat with several sets. His initials were HH if anyone remembers him.

A similar concept of strengthening the forearms and wrist, in embodied in the Wrist Blaster sole by Core Prodigy on Amazon. Also, DMoose Fitness

The greatest basketball coach I ever knew and was also a great player when he was younger once gave me a tip when I was eight years old. He said tie a rope to the top of your garage ceiling or basement ceiling and take a heavy steel bar with a hole drilled through the center and knot the rope through hole so it hangs balanced at the bottom of the rope, then using both hands and your wrists, lift and wrap the heavy bar up the rope, and repeat with several sets. His initials were HH if anyone remembers him.

DMoose Fitness Exerciser and Wrist Blaster, both sold on Amazon use the same principle of rolling up and then down a roller with weight. I own the Wrist Blaster. I have a water bag at the bottom, but you can substitute it with a weight. I stand on a step platform when I do it.

Cannot figure out who HH is.

 

[LurkSoHard]

Excellent analysis! Did you play collegiate basketball?

I see the point about trying to develop both hands. About trying to be ambidextrous.

Actually, I am working on that not for basketball, but for wall ball where I hit a tennis ball off the wall in my basement and whack it back after it lands on the floor. I need to do this since I am right handed and strained the triceps a bit on the right arm. Now, I am hitting the ball with the left hand,and though it is not easy, I am optimistic that I can improve my left handed volleys, and by doing so, take some stress off the right arm.

BTW, having grown up close to Yale, in the early 1960's I used to watch the Yale basketball team. They shot short jump shots accurately and now I can understand why.

No, I never played collegiately haha. I stopped playing in high school once I got a car and it was apparent I had no shot at a collegiate career. Made more sense to focus on work.

I was always a good shooter though, a "stretch 4" before it was cool, lol. I can honestly say the drill was a big reason I was eventually able to hit shots from 10 feet behind the arc with good form.

 

[dennismenace]

The greatest basketball coach I ever knew and was also a great player when he was younger once gave me a tip when I was eight years old. He said tie a rope to the top of your garage ceiling or basement ceiling and take a heavy steel bar with a hole drilled through the center and knot the rope through the hole so it hangs balanced at the bottom of the rope, then using both hands and your wrists, lift and wrap the heavy bar up the rope, and repeat with several sets. His initials were HH if anyone remembers him.

Used a similar drill for baseball wrists and forearms only take a weight (say 5 lb or 10 lb) and put a rope through it and tie to a broom handle type piece of wood. Roll up with wrists and hands, then roll down and repeat again.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Seeing as how the OP requested how to develop ball handling skills, I thought I would post this here for those who haven't seen this kind of workout;

 

[husky8273]

...and Geno's gonna make them even better.....