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The fundamentals of basketball are the MOST important thing to master because they will make you and your team better no matter what age level or team you play for.
There's a good reason that the best college and NBA basketball coaches in the world spend the majority of their practices on fundamentals.
A basketball player will be faced with a variety of different situations:
- You'll see different opponents that use different tactics (pressing, fast breaks, switching defenses, banging in the post, etc)
- You'll face opponents that have heavily scouted you and know your offense inside and out. And you'll also face other opponents that have never seen you before.
- You'll see a different levels of competition from youth recreation leagues and possibly all the way to professional basketball.
- You'll play for different coaches that have very different coaching styles. Your middle school coach might like to press -- and your high school coach might have a completely different style and like to slow things down. You could literally see a dozen different offenses through your basketball career!
There are SO many different situations that coaches and players face. And the only thing that works against ALL situations, no matter what age level or team are the FUNDAMENTALS!
It's those little things that make the best teams and players. If you can master those little fundamentals, they work no matter what!
For example, by working on the fundamentals of shooting, you will get better no matter what team you play for. The fundamentals of shooting include proper foot alignment, leg bend, hand position, arm angle, follow through, and so on. Those are some of the little things that make a difference. Learn them!
The same goes for lays ups, finishing moves, foot work, post play, passing, jump stops, pivoting, blocking out, and so on.
That's why we emphasize the fundamentals and highly recommend that ALL coaches and players learn and practice them!
If you're a coach, we suggest that you spend at least half of your practice time working on fundamentals. In the long run and towards the end of the season, that's the best thing for your players.
In fact, most of the teams that win championships work on the fundamentals from day one, instead of gimmicks and things that work against mediocre teams. So when they get to those final rounds, they are effective no matter how much the other team has scouted them.
Here are the Key Basketball Fundamentals That Will Make You a Better Coach or Player
- Shooting
- Foul Shooting
- Lay ups
- Finishing moves
- Passing
- Dribbling and Ballhandling
- Footwork - jump stops, pivoting, jab steps.
- Rebounding
- Defense
- Basketball moves and individual offense
- Big man post play
- Guard development
- Perimeter play
Team Offense Fundamentals and Concept
- Cutting and moving with out the ball
- Screening
- How To Set & Use A Pick In Basketball
- Executing The Basketball Pick and Roll