WHAT IS YOUR PICK UP GAME MENTALITY

The following comes from Steve Hale who was one of Michael Jordan's teammates:

Hale noticed another thing about Jordan: Even in pickup games, he has become unusually purposeful. There was a tendency in games like this, when there were no coaches around, for players to resort to what they did best, to reinforce their strengths and avoid going to any part of their game that was essentially weak. But Jordan, Hale believed, was constantly working on the weaker part of his game, trying to bring it up. It was, Hale thought, one more sign of his desire to be the best.

From "Playing For Keeps" by David Halberstam

THEY SAVED THE NBA...WITH THE PASS

“The guys who saved the NBA, Bird and Magic, they did it with the pass, they didn't do it with the shot. Everybody thinks the game is about the shot now. The guys who kept the league alive and really put college basketball in there, they did it with the pass."
–Paul Hewitt

TWO-HANDED CATCHES

Pet peeve for UNC Head Coach Roy Williams? One-handed catches. Coach Williams wants all passes caught with both hands. To get his point across, he doesn't allow players to shoot a bobbled catch -- improving their concentration to have a clean catch, with two hands.

RAISING YOUR LEVEL OF PASSING

It's hard for me to believe there is a greater coaching resource than Hooptactics with Ernie Woods and Bob Kloppenburg. The topics are varied and extremely detailed. A great example is Inbounding the Ball Against Pressure. Some great pointers are given including an off-shoot called: Raising Your Level of Passing. Below are some of the keys to becoming a better passer.

To read the entire article on inbounding vs. pressure, click:

http://www.cybersportsusa.com/hooptactics/coaching/coachob.asp

Make sure you click on the link of Raising Your Level of Passing for the entire article on that phase along with some video of drills used to improve passing.

What level of passer are you?

Level One. Throws the ball to an area just to get rid of it. Common among beginning players.

Level Two. Just throws the ball toward a teammate no matter if they are ready to receive it or not. This is why players get hit by the ball during practice when just standing around.

Level Three. Surgeon. Passes to a specific target (hand or finger). Leads receivers into good shots. Rarely throws the ball away.

The ability to move the basketball and hit the open man is a characteristic found in all great players and teams. In order to perfect this ability to its utmost, players must utilize and master the following fundamental principles of passing:

Anticipate. Read the defense and know where to pass before receiving the ball. Outstanding basketball players have the ability to anticipate where to pass the basketball. This is why professional players need very little team pattern to create good scoring opportunities for their teammates.

Maintain a proper spacing. Most passes should be made within a 12' to 15' distance. This spacing spreads the defense and allows for quick, accurate passing. Passes beyond 15' carry a high risk of interception. Never throw directly at a receiver moving away from you. Always lead the receiver to the basket on lob and baseball passes.

When the defender is playing off, close the distance with a dribble to less than 3'. The closer the defender plays, the less time they have to read and react to the passer's movements. Dribble penetration will also force the defender to defend against the drive and eliminates their playing of the passing lane.