Finger Tips

Focusing on dribbling with your fingertips can help improve ball control and speed. Many beginners try to control the ball with the biggest part of their hand, their palm. This leads players to hitting the ball too hard and making it difficult to control. Practicing using your finger tips and building their strength can be done anywhere without ever having to bounce a ball.

• Hold the basketball out in front
• Keep your arms locked and extended out. Toss the ball back and forth focusing on using only your finger tips
• Do this with your arms straight out, moving to above your head, down low and behind your back

Ball Wraps

Practice tracking the ball while keeping your head up. Through muscle memory, ball wraps can improve your hand eye coordination and establish the fundamentals to master more advance moves (ie. behind the back) While going through different variations, remember to keep your head up! To challenge yourself, change your speed up and directions.

Do the following for 20 seconds each

• Without letting the ball drop, pass the ball clockwise around your waist 
• Next put both legs close together, keep your back straight and slightly bend your knees. Pass the ball around both your ankles while keeping your head up.
• Move to wrapping the ball around your head. Focus on trying to move the ball instead of your head.
• Finally, put them all together for full body wraps starting at your knees, moving up around your waist to your head and back down.

Single-Leg Ball Wraps

Build on stationary ball wraps and add an element of rhythm / flow to your game. Single leg wraps will help with speed of play and change of direction. Again, remember to keep your head up, change your speed and direction. 

• Take an athletic (wide) stance, keep your back straight and bend your knees
• Move one foot in front of the other and slightly shift your weight towards the front foot
• Stay low and wrap the ball in a circular motion around the front ankle
• Combine both sides for FIGURE 8
  • take a neutral balanced stance
  • wrap the ball in front of one ankle, pass it through your legs and behind the opposite ankle.
  • bring the ball to the front of the same ankle and repeat in the opposite direction

Advance Ball Wraps

Challenge yourself with dynamic ball wraps. Combine knee ball wraps (see second bullet under "ball wraps") with single leg ball wraps. This combination will train your body how to transition between movements and add another dimension to your game.

• start with your feet together, circle around
• step back with one foot and circle around the front leg
• bring your feet back together, circle and step back with the opposite foot

BALL DROPS challenge your hand-eye coordination, reactions and speed

• Start in a low, wide stance holding the ball between your legs with one hand in front and one behind
• Slightly toss the ball in the air and switch both hands from front to back / back to front and catch the ball before it drops
• Remember : try to keep your head up!