5 Ways to Elevate Your Basketball Game

January 29, 2014 0 Comments

1. Prepare your body for tip-off.

Spending 10 minutes on a dynamic warm-up routine (as opposed to traditional stretching) will reduce your potential for injury and get your muscles ready for action. Start with movements like the forward lunge elbow to instep.

2. Sky for rebounds with dumbbell split squats.

Many performance trainers swear that the dumbbell split squat has two benefits for rebounding. It will improve your vertical power and increase your stability to help you battle underneath the boards.

3. Don't ignore the mid-range.

Reclaim the lost art of the mid-range jumper with a drill from ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla called "Beat the Pro." Just pick your famous opponent and start shooting. The imaginary competition gives you a focus and challenge. A make is +1. A miss is -1. If you reach +10 before -10, you just took down LeBron.

4. Run classic plays.

When it comes to pick-up hoops, unless you play with the same group of 5 guys every day, it's best not to complicate things. ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla says to utilize the simple and effective pick-and-roll. "This has worked since James Naismith decided to put up a peach basket," he says. A properly set pick will cause confusion and chaos that the majority of squads just aren't ready to handle.

5. Be the aggressor on the glass.

"It's 100% about desire," says Tarvish Felton, assistant coach at Utah State. Assume every shot is a miss and initiate contact to keep your opponent off balance. "Over the course of the game, it'll wear him down," Felton says.