Michael Jordan - Offensive Moves

Widely regarded as the greatest player ever to play the game of basketball, Michael Jordan combined phenomenal athleticism with fundamental soundness and an unquenchable competitive desire.

In the video below Michael Jordan demonstrates a variety of fundamental offensive moves including the jab step and shot fake.

He also talks about how to strategically attack defenders.  Not just catching and going, but facing the basket, checking the defender's stance, formulating a plan of attack, getting the defender off balance or out of position. 

He specifically highlights the importance of being able to go both left and right!  "Never limit your options."   


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtHMLyfQATw&list=PLD8DD9D381D9284EE

MIKAN DRILL - FOR IMPROVING YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE LAYUPS

The Mikan layup drill is an old drill named after Hall of Famer George Mikan.  George Mikan is regarded as the first great "big man", the original center.  In fact, Mikan was so dominant that the league changed the rules, including widening the lane and introducing a shot clock, to try to limit his influence on the game. 

The video below is an excellent demonstration of the drill.

The drill is great for improving your ability to make layups with either hand. 

THE DRILL:  100 total layups, 50 from the right side, 50 from the left side.  Every Day! Keep track of how many you make.  Your goal is to make over 90 of the 100 shots.  Again, in the beginning you will probably not hit over 90.  Stick with it!  It takes practice.       

A few key points to notice when watching the video and working on the drill:

• When you are shooting with your RIGHT HAND (on the right side of the basket) you will jump off your LEFT FOOT.

• When you are shooting with your LEFT HAND (on the left side of the basket) you will jump off your RIGHT FOOT.

• ALWAYS USE THE BACKBOARD:  Aim for the top corner of the square.     

VIDEO:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYYhlOeVjyE

LeBron James Jab Step Move

Video of LeBron James demonstrating many of the fundamentals we worked on in last night's practice (6/5). 

Things to notice:

• CATCH AND FACE:  The first thing LeBron does when he catches the ball is face the basket (no dribble).
• TRIPLE THREAT, PROTECT THE BALL:  When he faces he puts the ball on his hip (not in front of his waist) and slightly turns his shoulder putting his shoulder between the defender and the ball to protect the ball.  Now he is in a triple threat position where he can 1. shoot 2. pass or 3. dribble. 
• SHORT JAB, MAINTAIN BALANCE, HEAD UP:  In this move LeBron uses a double jab (one shorter and one longer) to create space for a jump shot.  Notice how his jabs are short (even the longer one) and quick and he is always balanced (he does not fall forward).  He also keeps his head up while jabbing (as opposed to staring into the ground) so he can see if the defender reacts to the jab. 
• PROTECT THE BALL WHILE JABBING:  Notice how the ball stays on his hip while he uses the jab.  He does not extend the ball to the defense while jabbing.  Only his foot moves forward.

VIDEO LINK:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_RpDPdeR6Y

BASKETBALL DRIBBLING WORKOUT

Excellent basketball dribbling workout! 

Ballhandling is a critical basketball skill, not only at the youth levels, but all levels.  The ability to dribble equally well with either hand; without looking at the ball; at full speed; will elevate your game tremendously.  But it will take a lot of hard work and dedication.  The only way to improve your ballhandling is to practice dribbling every day. 

THE WORKOUT (est 20 mins per day):  37 BALLHANDING DRILLS - 30 REPS/DRIBBLES PER DRILL.  The coach featured in the enclosed video demonstrates a series of 37 ballhandling drills.  I recommend doing all of the drills demonstrated (every day) for 30 repetitions (or dribbles) per drill.  It should take approximately 20 minutes to complete the workout.   

Some fundamentals to keep in mind:

• Dribble with your fingertips (not your palm).
• Keep your head up and look straight ahead.  Do not look at the ball or the ground.
• Start slow, control the ball, increase dribble speed as you establish a rhythm.
• Bend your knees to lower your dribble (do not bend at the waist).

Be patient, stick with it, do not get discouraged:  These drills will be very difficult in the beginning.  That is ok.  Stick with it!  After several weeks you will notice a big difference.  The drills will get easier and you will see the benefits in practice and in games.

LINK TO WORKOUT VIDEO: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fbwd2Z2jEc



KOBE BRYANT WORK ETHIC

 

Great Players are Made Not Born

After 17 years in the NBA, Kobe Bryant is still one of the best players in the league.

Why?  — his insane work ethic.

A few Kobe stories that illustrate just how hard he works:

• Showed up at 5 a.m. for practice and did not leave until 7 p.m. ... in high school

• He used to practice by himself without a ball, says Shaq

                o   Shaq wrote in his book:  "You'd walk in there and he'd be cutting and grunting and
                     motioning like he was dribbling and shooting — except there was no ball."

• He counts all of his made shots in practice, and stops when he gets to 400

  

• He trains for four hours a day during the season, and more than that in the offseason

• This quote about how he wants to be remembered: 'To think of me as a person that’s overachieved, that would mean a lot to me. That means I put a lot of work in and squeezed every ounce of juice out of this orange that I could.'

Story courtesy of an anonymous athletic trainer:   All the Team USA players were there, feeling good for the first scrimmage. LeBron was talking to Carmelo if I remember correctly and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility was Kobe by himself shooting jumpers. And this is how our next conversation went -- I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, 'Good work this morning.'  (FYI:  Kobe had met the trainer at 4:15am that morning; they worked out for about 2 hours.  The trainer went home after the workout to sleep and assumed Kobe had done the same as there was a scrimmage scheduled later in the morning at 11:00am).

'Huh?'

'Like, the conditioning. Good work.'

'Oh. Yeah, thanks. I really appreciate it.'

'So when did you finish?'

'Finish what?'

'Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?'

'Oh just now. I wanted 800 makes so yeah, just now.'

In effect, Kobe showed up seven hours early for an offseason scrimmage.

BOX OUT VIDEO FEATURING BLAKE GRIFFIN

Cool video of Blake Griffin demonstrating box out technique. 

Notice how the very first thing he does is make contact (with his forearm) with the offensive player (his man).  Then he steps across and boxes out.  He's standing a little tall in his box out instead of getting low, but when you are 6'10" with a 40 inch vertical you may be able to get away with that.  

Also notice how he rebounds the ball with two hands and then keeps the ball high (under his chin).  He does not put the ball into his stomach.  Last step "pivot" and look for the outlet. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dbwAfMoQs