Quantum Tao

Basketball Post Play with Ganon Baker

Post play is becoming a dying presence but it is very important to a successful offense. Post play is a war; it’s a battle in the paint. You have to know where to post up, and how to post up. Once you catch it you must have both a confrontational move (move at the basket) and a separational move (a move away from the basket). 3 scoring areas you need to be comfortable at is the low post, high post, and mid post. Comfortable means to be able to have a go to move, counter move, and a 3rd move from each area. When working out on your own always end you workout with rebounding drills because if you can’t rebound, you are not really a post. Get After It!

Basketball Shooting Skills with Jason Otter

I teach shooting with the underlying philosophy that PROPER MECHANICS + REPITITION = SUCCESS. I want players to practice shooting on track, incorporating some basic shooting concepts. All players should establish a proper foundation catching the ball low, balanced out, and square to the rim (10 toes at the rim). This ensures that the student will use their legs to shoot and release the ball as quickly as possible.
As players catch the ball to shoot either by a 2 foot drop or a one-two step, they should be sighting the rim and showing a wrinkled wrist target. As a player tracks the ball, a right handed players elbow should line up with his or her right foot (opposite for the left handed player) keeping their head, shoulders, hips, feet, and palm square to the basket. The students’ follow-through should be smooth and in one motion, assuring a quick and fluid shot. Remember the more efficient a shot is the less room for error and the quicker the release will be. At the conclusion of the follow-through, the player’s elbow should be above the eyebrow with the wrist breaking at the rim. Once the student has released the ball, they should still be square to the basket with his arm lined up with his lead foot, and the arm should also be fully extended.

When a player is incorporating his or her shot into game shooting drills proper practice techniques should be emphasized. Game speed shooting is emphasize based on the philosophy: PROPER MECHANICS + REPITITION + INTENSITY = GAME SUCCESS. Players should practice taking game shots at game speed. Game shooting workouts should take no longer than 45 minutes and should be as difficult as running wind sprints with free throws practiced in between each set of shots or sprints. As the shooter becomes tired he must remember to focus on using proper techniques from footwork to release. And remember that every missed shot is a learning opportunity. Shots should fly straight or something is wrong with the student’s mechanics. All shots should be charted during shooting workouts, monitoring progress and consistency. During game shooting workouts, remember to COME OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!

Basketball Dribbling Skills with Ganon Baker
Before you learn how to drive, you must first learn how to dribble. Dribbling is the ability to control the ball while moving the ball. Make sure every dribble is hard. Players must dribble with their elbow and wrist through the ball, never letting the ball come higher than the thigh. You want to practice stationary first, dribbling so hard outside your comfort zone that you put “dents” in the floor. Make sure you are having correct muscle mechanics during every rep to insure positive muscle memory. 2 important things to remember; hips dropped and eyes up. Show love (reps) to the other hand as well. Good players don’t play “crippled”, they can dribble with either hand. Lastly, challenge yourself by tossing and catching a tennis ball between dribble moves. This will put major pressure on your nervous system and increase coordination. Get After It.

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Lebron James is a good basketball player, but travels too much, too often, and too ugly.

Here is the original “crab dribble”:

Maybe jump shot is not as exciting as slam dunk or ankle breaking cross over, but it is the key to win basketball games.

In order to make a freeze pull-up jumper (to freeze the defender), you need to make some great deceptive moves, such as between the legs, behind the back etc. But all these beautiful moves mean nothing until you make the jump shot.

One of the most common mistake people make is to catch the ball at the wrong place when they finish dribbling. One of the
most important thing about shooting off the dribble is: pick up the ball in front of your shooting knee.

If you pick up the ball somewhere else, you need an extra step to bring it in front of the shooting knee. Sometimes that will cause you off-balance, sometimes will slow your pace and good defender can knock it off.

Check out one of the greatest shooters in NBA: Ray Allen’s jump shooting, and take a close look at how he catches the ball off the dribble.

Love this one!

NBA FINISHING:
LEARN THE SHOTS THE PROS USE
BY BRIAN MCCORMICK

STEVE NASH RUNNER

The “Runner” is easier than most believe. Essentially it is a jump shot off one foot rather than two. When an offensive player has a defender on his back hip, he does not always have time to pull-up and shoot. Therefore, he may utilize the runner to shoot successfully. As with any shot, the shooter must get balanced before he shoots and must square to the basket; run into the shot by jumping off one foot, in stride, and floating into the shot. Shoot the ball high, as most player miss short because they fail to shoot up, pushing the ball at the basket instead.
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