Basketball Ball Handling

[BoyBawang]

What is more effective to improve ball handling, doing ball handling drills or just simply playing pickup games and dribbling the ball?

I've been doing drills daily for 4 days straight and my handles have become better, but today I played 3 on 3 at the park and my left hand can control the ball better, but I'm having trouble protecting it from the defender.

[jgood]

Everybody has a dominant side .... just dribble, dribble, dribble. Basketball is what we call a skill sport ... you need specific skills .... unlike say track where its just a natural action.

For skill sports you have to do things thousands of times, so just dribble any chance you get.

[vcackerman]

What is more effective to improve ball handling, doing ball handling drills or just simply playing pickup games and dribbling the ball?

I've been doing drills daily for 4 days straight and my handles have become better, but today I played 3 on 3 at the park and my left hand can control the ball better, but I'm having trouble protecting it from the defender.

Work at it. Work at it some more and then dribble some more. Work on through the legs, behind the back, crossover....The only way to get better is to do it.

As for the defender picking your pocket, I am going to guess you were using the strong hand more in front of you. Work on the weak hand...shake it up.

[IncrediMac]

Ball-handling drills are essential, but while doing the drills is important, it is also important to put those drills, and the skills learned while doing them, into game practice.

The best way to do that is to (as corny as this sounds) visualize you doing it in a game while you are doing the drill. Then, when playing three on three, take the check and decide I'm going to go behind my back on this play, then execute it.

Once you've practiced and visualized it - applied it deliberately in a game situation - it then will flow naturally.

Remember - practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect.

[joakman]

As a basketball coach I will say, always have a ball with you if you plan on being a guard. Ball handling is one of the most overlooked skills in basketball.

Practice dribbling at full speed, don't half ass it or you will develop bad habits. When you make moves (crossovers, in and outs, etc.) you MUST change speeds, come in fast, pause, and then burst out.. come in slow and then explode. The best moves aren't with the fastest crossover, but with control and proper change of pace.

If you are having trouble protecting the ball chances are you are either standing still and dribbling or you dribble upright when moving with the ball. Always dribble with a purpose, everything else is pointless if your goal isn't to get to the hoop. You should always have a forward lean when dribbling and looking to attack the hoop.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Ice890]

All the other information here was awesome, the only thing that I can add is don't make dribbling a task, make it a habit. I was doing drills, playing games and dedicating alot of time to my dribbling but, the best thing I did for my handles was start taking my basketball everywhere with me, walking to the store, going to the bus stop, school, chillin with my friends. The only time I did not have a basketball was when I was with my girlfriend. When I spent that much time dribbling, when it was game time and I got on the court, I did not even have to think about dribbling the basketball what so ever because it felt natural. The only thing I thought about was passing and scoring. Try it along with your drills and game time, you'll see improvement in your handling along with your confidence as a dribbler. Good luck!

[S1XM4N]

You aren't going to vastly improve your ball handling in a game the way you can with ball handling drills. Just about everyone above said it right you have to make having the ball in your hands as natural as breathing, and the only way to do that is have it with you all the time. The reason it's a lost art is because it takes hours and hours of tedious practice to get really good at it especially if you have a weak left or right hand. People don't want to put in that kind of work just like they don't want to sit at the free throw line and shoot 500 a day until they are shootin over 80% consistently.

I am very big on 2 ball drills and making sure that you never look down. This really helps with concentration and confidence of knowing where the ball is at all times without looking. As was stated above make sure you practice at all different speeds but always try to use game intensity while practicing. What you'll find is you you will runn out of cardio endurance before getting to far but this will get better as you do it more. If you want some extra ball drills just let me know and I'll hook you. Good luck man and don't give up! Work harder than everyone else!

[blobriecht]

Deffiantly playing in games. who cares how good you can ball handle with no one covering you. most drills don't relate to basketball good enough. when your in a game you also have to make quick decisions.

[joakman]

Deffiantly playing in games. who cares how good you can ball handle with no one covering you. most drills don't relate to basketball good enough. when your in a game you also have to make quick decisions.

False

[txapn]

BOTH!....

good advice (from some above)

one hit a great point that im a huge fan of also its two ball drills! they really work!!!

never look down always ahead..."keep your eyes up and looking around"!!(maybe look into getting some blinders, they work pretty well!

also like said dribbling without a purpose is useless! never dribble unless your needing to go some where! it drives me crazy seeing guys on the court just dribbling for no reason and not going anywhere!

now drills work great but you have to work on the drills as well as play the game! no matter how well you get at the drills you need to be able to do it with a defender on you! so drill drill drill and when ur not drilling, play the game!

*a great quote i love and use often...

"good players practice till they get it right, but great players practice till they cant get it wrong!!"

good luck bro! and keep up the hard work it will come!

[dolphinsfan270]

Deffiantly playing in games. who cares how good you can ball handle with no one covering you. most drills don't relate to basketball good enough. when your in a game you also have to make quick decisions.

totally wrong. if you can handle a ball good then you can probably handle it good in a game. If youre fast youre probably fast on the footbal field. Stop giving out false facts without trying it yourelf

[bigman334]

one thing i picked up when i was younger is that most people (myself at the time included) dribbled moreso by pressing down with the forearms and shoulders. i trained myself to dribble using mostly wrists and it sped up my dribble by light years. it made all the difference in the world when it came to getting by defenders and making moves such as crossovers and behind the back dribbles. you have to do it with both hands though.

[BoyBawang]

thanks everybody. i've been doing two ball drills this past week and will continue next week and test it out next saturday on a game :)

and thanks bigman334 for the tip, i'm trying to get that quick dribble too so it doesnt get stealed easily

[Jerkmeister]

Practice it right. If you practice it wrong, such as looking down, you become a WORSE dribbler. It'll handicap you.
Dribble with that backspin, chin up, and knees bent. Do those three instructions while you practice dribbling and your handles will go up.

[S1XM4N]

thanks everybody. i've been doing two ball drills this past week and will continue next week and test it out next saturday on a game :)

and thanks bigman334 for the tip, i'm trying to get that quick dribble too so it doesnt get stealed easily

Glad to hear you're working on two ball drills. Once get where you can switch up speed, hands, alternate dribbling, and change direction with both balls while maintaining control then there are some added things you can do to make it harder like let some of the air out of one of the balls while leaving the other aired up entirelly.

Make sure you also do one ball drills as well because this is where what you do with two can be translated to one and should make using one ball feel much easier especially in your weaker hand. As mentioned above eyes up, and use the the wrist, while bending the knees. Keep it up man and you'll get there.

[BoyBawang]

alright thanks. yeah the two balls im using are kinda uneven in pressure. one of them bounces higher. im currently doing this thing where i put cones so i can do the zig zag dribble drill with two balls.

[WannaBeAthlete]

All good advice, the main basics of staying low and looking up are simple fundamentals a lot of players seem to lack. I think one thing that doesn't get mentioned enough is footwork, rhythm, and using your body to shield the defender. Some players have a very strong dribble, but their actual footwork and rhythm hold them back in moving around the court freely with the ball, creating opportunities and deception.

With 2-ball dribbling you get a great feel for the ball, helps with a speed dribble, and just general awareness of the ball with your hand but it is difficult to simulate perfectly the footwork and the movements you have with a free hand (can be used to protect the ball). Great footwork and having a bouncy rhythm is hard to teach step-by-step but simple things like jumping rope regularly and working on hesitation/hop finishing drills helps a lot - making the transition more natural.

If you have a friend who could regularly just play some pressure defense on you as you dribble around and you work on seeing the court, (actively looking up and around, use those peripherals even can use eye/head fakes better this way) using your body from multiple angles and in movement to shield the defender and protect the ball, and getting used to as well as comfortable with a defender putting pressure on you as you handle the ball, this will translate very well into actual games. This also builds a lot of confidence which is crucial.

Another thing...finger/forearm strengthening will help strengthen your handles quite a bit and this is often over looked. A lot of people can develop pretty good handles just by training hard and consistently over the years, but if you train smart as well you can develop great handles.

[dolphinsfan270]

the only balls your gonna be handling are your dads!

[madhandles1234]

thanks everybody. i've been doing two ball drills this past week and will continue next week and test it out next saturday on a game :)

and thanks bigman334 for the tip, i'm trying to get that quick dribble too so it doesnt get stealed easily


Bro,
Just make sure you always have a ball on you it wont only help your dribbling but also your shoot cause youll feel the ball better.
2x Ball dribbling is also a mad thing to do for your handles but make sure head up, if your not making any mistakes then your not going hard enough!