Struggling with this? I got some ball handling tips made for you here. Ball handling in basketball is one of the more important facets of the game; however it is a skill that is more important for the guards and swing-forwards, than for the larger players, such as the Center and Power-forward.
The better a player ball handling skills are the better they are able to control the tempo of the game and make the other team respect his offensive skill.
The player with the best ball handling skills on any given team is usually the point guard because of his importance to the offense and running plays and the amount that he will dribble the ball during a game.
The dribble is most important because the dribble allows you to move the ball on offense, escape from a defensive trap, and get a better passing angle among many other basketball moves that the dribble allows you to complete.
Below are some tips that will make you a much better ball handler and in turn a much more confident dribbler.
There are many drills where you don’t even have to dribble that will improve your ball handling skills tremendously. The three drills that will improve your ball handling without even having to dribble the ball are the around the waist, around the legs, and the figure 8. The around the waist is a very simple drill that will make you comfortable with holding the ball.
What you do is grasp the ball with your right or left hand and wrap the ball around your waist 20 times; increasing is speed with each set. This may seem simple and pointless however, being able to grasp the ball and switch hands behind your back will allow you to become more confident with handling the ball.
The around the legs is the same idea as the around the waist drill, however you will hold the ball around your knees and wrap it around your knees and thighs, this will in turn make you more comfortable with dribbling at a lower point.
The final drill is called the figure 8, which is taking the ball and going through your legs while holding it. The term figure 8 comes from the idea that you are supposed to continue putting the ball through your legs while making the shape of an 8.
This accomplished by starting the ball in your right hand going through your legs and grabbing with your left hand between your legs and doing the same exact thing through your legs and grabbing with your right hand.
It is a little more complicated that some of the other drills but this will allow you become comfortable with going between your legs with the ball and you will be able to dribble through your legs before you know it because of the confidence that was built with this drill.
When it comes to dribbling the two most important drills that will help tremendously for basics of the dribble is the full-court speed dribble and the crossover dribble. The full-court speed dribble entails starting at the baseline and dribbling as fast as you can to the other baseline while keeping control of your dribble while going back and forth between 5-10 times. This will build confidence with your speed while dribbling.
The crossover dribble is going up and down the baseline at a speed that you feel comfortable at and switching your dribble from your right to left hand all the way up the court, this will help you build confidence in dribbling with both hands not just your primary hand.