How To Improve Your Ball Handling - Free Drills To Learn How To Dribble Better

Anyone who plays basketball and wishes they can dribble better will benefit from this article. A common misconception in basketball is... that if you don't have "handles" that you shouldn't dribble the ball at all. What many coaches do not realize when telling certain players to not dribble is that it is virtually impossible to be a good player without at least one dribble move.


Why not have them work on it and turn a weakness into another option. I am not a big fan of 3 or 4 dribbles to get by someone either though. If you look at the game of basketball there are so many variables that go into a game that not preparing yourself or your players to dribble a little hurts the team. This is why I think that everyone should at least practice one go-to dribble move. Now big centers that play like Shaq or Yao Ming of course don't need this, but for the other 98% of us we do. Even a player with a game similar to Kevin Garnett or Rasheed Wallace could benefit from this move.

I am sure you are asking yourself right now, "What is the move already?" It is the in-n-out dribble. This is where you bring the ball across your body like you are going to cross over and then bring it back to the same side making a "C" or a backwards "C" with the ball and your hand (depending on which hand you do the move with.) Sorry if this is not the magical move you wanted to hear. I know you rather me say the "360 around the back spin move," but think about it.

For guards you can hit a defender with one, two, or even three of these in a row and get him on his heels and then pull up in his face. This move is the best for setting up any other move whether it be a crossover, a hesitation, or any other move. Also, it can be used after any dribble move as well. The faster you can do it the better.

This sounds pretty simple and you are probably not convinced yet that it is the best move ever. Now think about how someone who cannot dribble well at all can use this move. If your handles are so bad you can't even make a crossover dribble without stumbling, losing the ball in your weak hand, or dribbling off your foot it is OK. Practice the in-n-out dribble with your strong hand. The reason it can be so affective for big guards who can't dribble or even some big men too is that they do not have to put the ball in their weak hand. This is where most people struggle. If you catch the ball in transition and there is one player back on D just give him with a quick in-n-out and if he doesn't bite, give him another one.

Now, for those of us who already have great dribbling ability, use this move as your setup. You can do it quickly into another move such as in-n-out, cross, or in-n-out, spin. If you are a slower player then this type of move might not work at this speed it needs to be affective. For you, you must put a hesitation in there as well. The series for you is in-n-out, "hesitation separation" (get some lateral separation from your defender while hesitating), then cross over.

What this "hesitation separation" does is gives you space that the defender must either respect and close or not respect. If he respects and closes that space he is heading in the wrong direction as you cross over and blow by him. If he doesn't show respect and leaves that space, you are open for a jump shot or no move at all as you now have an open lane straight to the hoop.

Here is a dribble drill you can do to improve your ball handling skills.

-Put a cone on the wing, 3pt line.
-Attack from half court
-Do a move when you reach the cone, here is the series:
1.In-n-out , layup (x3)
2.Double in-n-out, layup (x3)
3.In-n-out, cross, layup (x3)
4.In-n-out, alternative cross (x3)

***alternative cross = spin move, through the legs, around the back, be creative here! "Switch Sides."

By: Augie Johnston

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Augie Johnston Basketball Player, Coach, Enthusiast Go here to get your FREE VIDEO LESSON on how to go overseas to play basketball: www.thejump-manual.com Are you sick of being called “un-athletic?” If so you need to visit this site immediately: www.thejump-manual.com The Jump Manual guarantees that you will gain 10 inches or your money back.