Kid sports

So you want to go to the Final Four? Practice, practice, practice. Teams that reach the pinnacle are well-versed in the essential skills of the game. Hillsborough Community College men's assistant coach Tim Ryan, the former boys coach at St. Petersburg Catholic, provides a guide to basketball's fundamentals.

SHOOTING:

For good shot technique, think of the acronym "B.E.E.F."

Balance -- Feet shoulder-length apart, knees flexed, shoulders square to the basket.

Eyes -- Concentrate on the same part of the target every time (front of rim, back of rim, etc.).

Elbow -- Shooting elbow close to your body, pointing at the basket. The elbow is your sight line, should be at least shoulder-high to start, higher upon release. The higher the ball, the easier it is to use as your sight and the harder it will be to block your shot.

Follow-through -- Cock your wrist before shooting and finish by "dipping your hand in the basket." This will generate the backspin needed to make the shot "soft."

Other keys -- Learning how to get open (usually the most overlooked part of the process), using your fingertips and not your palm on the ball, quickness of the release and learning to shoot off the pass and off the dribble. Great shooters take 500 shots a day to perfect their craft.

DEFENSE:

Balance is the most important aspect. The basics of a good stance are: feet shoulder-width, legs flexed, back straight, head on the ball and hands active.

Lateral movement is critical. Take short, choppy steps to avoid tripping and remain flexed to help in changing direction when the ballhandler does. Concentrate on the midsection to avoid going for fakes. Force your opponents to use their weaknesses (making good jump shooters drive, making righthanded dribblers use their left, denying dribble-penetration from players that rely on it, etc). Good defensive players combine the desire to stop the opponent with the knowledge to do it.

REBOUNDING:

Position, timing and tenacity are the keys.

Offensive rebounding is about being opportunistic. Always go to the basket for the rebound no matter who shoots. Since very few players box out, opportunities abound every time a shot goes up.

Defensive rebounding is primarily positioning. Boxing out is the best weapon for preventing the opponent from getting the rebound and another shot. The technique is easy to understand, but tough to do well: Read where your opponent is going, turn your body into him and make contact so you remain closer to the basket and maintain better rebounding position.

BALLHANDLING:

The lower to the ground you can dribble, the better control you will have. Dribble with the fingertips only to increase control over the ball. Practice dribbling equally with each hand to succeed against the defender who tries to force you in one direction. Learn not to look at the ball while dribbling so you can see teammates cutting to get open. Use the two-ball drill -- dribble a ball with each hand simultaneously -- to strengthen your ball control. The best ballhandlers don't dribble the most; they use the dribble to accomplish something positive.

PASSING:

All types of passes accomplish the same objective: finding an open teammate. Two important elements are related to deception. Hitting your target without looking right at it makes your passes harder to predict and therefore harder to defend. Faking one way before passing another also can help, since defenders usually react to your first move with their hands. Good passers complete the pass, great passers put the ball where it leads the receiver to an open shot or opportunity.

TRANSITION:

NBA Hall of Famer Walt Frazier, in his book Clyde, describes transition as the time it takes a player to go from offense to defense, or defense to offense, and the quicker a player can make the adjustment, the better he will play.

How quickly a team changes from offense to defense increases the chances for steals because a team is more likely to make a mistake if it is forced to hastily adjust to the defense.

Defense to offensive transition is created two ways, first by a turnover or steal, which can lead to easy baskets before the other team has a chance to set up its defense, and by rebounding a missed shot, throwing a quick outlet pass and starting a fastbreak. The rebound transition game is among the hardest team skills to master. If it is well-organized and done quickly, it can catch the opponent off-balance and lead to baskets.

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