Keys to Ball Handling in Basketball

Keys to Ball Handling in Basketball

In basketball, in order to be effective you must be able to have a solid handle of the ball. When you look at the top guys like Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant you see how they are able to control the ball like a Yo-Yo. There are 4 key concepts I will go over in regards to becoming a great ball handler and drills you can use to enhance your skills.

Control

In order to dribble the basketball you have to have great hand eye coordination and good touch with your fingertips. The ball should never really touch your palm. During a game whether you are a guard, forward, or center, you need to be able to handle the ball and not be reckless under pressure. Therefore you need to be able to dribble with both hands equally exceptional while keeping your head up. Also making sure you are not losing the ball and being sloppy with the handle.

One suggestion I have to work on controlling the ball is putting a plastic bag over the ball while doing drills. This is practiced by one of the maestros when it comes to ball handling Kyrie Irving. The point of this is that there is little to no grip on the ball now which forces your finger tips to work harder to control the ball.

• Dribble up and back low to the ground with one hand on your left and right hand going from sideline to sideline. 

•      Dribble left to right low to the ground controlling the ball going from sideline to sideline.

•      Dribble between the legs crossing over left to right going from sideline to sideline.    

•     Dribble behind the back going right to left and left to right going from sideline to sideline.

Do all these drills 3 times each.

Changing Direction & Speed

The point of any crossover is to do one thing, and I don’t mean break an ankle. It’s for creating space. Being able to change direction is vital. When you watch a Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, or Isaiah Thomas, they are able to change directions quickly, going left to right shifting the defender to make space to shoot, drive, even make a pass to an open teammate. Within a second, these great guards can go from a slow pace to a quick pace to cause havoc on the court and create scoring opportunities. They are able to slow down, speed up, go forward, backward, and stop on a dime. This is where they

First drill I would suggest to start with is working on the change of speed. Dribble as fast as you can then stop on a dime for a hesitation. Once you do the hesitation, dribble forward again. Make sure you do this on both sides with the right and left hand. The hesitation will potentially cause the defender to relax which gives you the opportunity to explode by them.

The next step would be to do the hesitation but cross over. Doing this keeps a defender off balance especially when they relax. Try different ways to crossover for example between the legs and behind the back. Once you master these basic crossovers you can add more to your book of moves.

Creativity

All great ball handlers have some level of creativity to their dribbling skills. Being able to take the fundamentals dribbling moves you have mastered and putting them together like a musician puts musical notes in unison. The key factor in your creativity is to put moves together to shift your defender to make space to shoot, drive, or pass and not just dribbling in one place to dance.

A drill that I would suggest would be to freestyle. As simple as it may sound, combine different ball handling moves for 2 minutes. Do this 5-10 times to just to get repetition and comfortable with all the different combinations.

Comfort

Too often a player may practice their dribbling skills but don’t mentally have the confidence to handle the ball in the full court. Every player on the court should be able to get a rebound and push the ball up the court regardless of your position. The more confidence you have in your abilities the less nervous you will be when pressured. Guys like James Harden always make dribbling seem effortless. All players should bring that in to their dribbling abilities.

A good way to practice being comfortable dribbling would be to simply get a teammate, friend, or coach to pressure you the full length of the court.  Work on being pressured in the half court, in a corner, in the post, or anywhere else on the court. You need to be able to handle any situation you are put in while in a game effortlessly.

I hope this is helpful to all looking to improve their game and take their game to the next level. Just remember to KEEP GRINDING! The Glo Up Never Stops, so get on the court and become the player you desire to be.