I need help with basketball!

BanZu

United States3329 Posts

January 10 2010 03:08 GMT

I'm in dire need of BBall help. I'm such a huge noob and I'm going to be playing in IM soon. Granted I have pretty good teammates so it won't be loss after loss, I feel like I do NOTHING during the game. My only purpose is to guard a person when defending and preoccupy a person when on offense. Basically I need to learn the "meta-game" of basketball when it comes to playing. I feel like I'm in shape enough to play decently but I'm just too clueless to be useful.

Using SC logic, I was hoping you guys could bombard me with all the basketball knowledge you have. Whether it's a site to watch college basketball games or a good basketball forum. Or simple tips you could offer from your personal experience.

Help me win ~~the internet~~ IM basketball games.

NonFactor

Sweden698 Posts

January 10 2010 03:19 GMT

Watch a few basketball games of different pros playing, find a machine to play against and repeat what you saw in the games earlier. If you can, film yourself doing this and analyze yourself later on.

Learn from your mistakes and play alot.

29 fps

United States5725 Posts

January 10 2010 03:19 GMT

watch replays or VODs of pro bball players and copy what they do. you dont even have to shoot. just guard em and force them to pass. when you have the ball, you pass it to someone else.

BanZu

United States3329 Posts

January 10 2010 03:24 GMT

On January 10 2010 12:19 29 fps wrote:
when you have the ball, you pass it to someone else.

That's what I do most of the time already. :[

And it's no fun!

il0seonpurpose

Korea (South)5638 Posts

January 10 2010 03:33 GMT

Set up alot of off-ball screens. That is, when a teammate is trying to get open, set your feet and let your teammate pass right through you so that whoever is guarding him will hit you and thus free your teammate. But don't lean in or move your feet, that's illegal screening! Setting screens is one of the most important part of basketball. To start off, learn what pick and roll is about.

Learn to box out after a shot goes off. To say it safely, if whoever you're guarding shoots in front of you, the ball, if it misses, will most likely bounce back to you so get ready to get the rebound.

Roffles

Pitcairn19291 Posts

January 10 2010 03:34 GMT

On January 10 2010 12:24 BanZu wrote:

Show nested quote +

That's what I do most of the time already. :[

And it's no fun!

Well, it's a team game. You don't have to be a hero to be a big part of the team. =D

29 fps

United States5725 Posts

January 10 2010 03:36 GMT

passing is not useless at all. so if you are good at that, that'll help the team. then you wont feel like you're contributing nothing

Cambium

United States16368 Posts

January 10 2010 03:37 GMT

Watch the other person's hips not upper body. Guard the direction his hips are facing. When the person shoots, even if you can't block the ball, at least try to cover his face with your palm, it'll make it harder for him.

When on the offence, basically don't stop running. Try to create space so you can take a shot...

daz

Canada643 Posts

January 10 2010 03:37 GMT

If you cant do anything else then just run, a lot. Go for transition baskets. Chances are, no matter how bad you are, if you can get to the basket before any defenders get there you'll score. Oh yeah and everything that il0seonpurpose said.

Warrior Madness

Canada3791 Posts

January 10 2010 03:46 GMT

#10

At one point in my life, my devotion to basketball, to actually playing the game outstripped my current devotion to starcraft. All I can suggest is, downloading the same video that I downloaded to learn all the fundamentals. This program was designed by division 1 college coaches, for novices. I can't remember the name of the video however.... I'll search for it in my old hd.

I used to love streetball as well. I used to follow this amazing streetball crew called the notic, I would copy all their movies, copy all their basketball drills to get better handles, and even copy their style of clothes:

If you want to learn how to play well, don't do that however

. Sure, the act of making a complete and utter fool out of someone on the court and the entire crowd yelling, "Ohhhhh shiiiittt nigga!" is intoxicating, but what will end up happening is you'll just be dribbling the ball really fast in one spot (It looks purty but it's useless), pulling off 1, maybe 2 tricks, without knowing how to bend your knees to take a good jump shot.

Actually.... I recommend watching that and learning a trick or two! Fuck being good lol. But this is the equivalent to starcraft cheesing, or bming, or cute micro tricks. But it's fun! So watch that, and watch the video whose title I can't recall.

Once you learn the proper form of say, shooting, it'll be just like learning the proper BO. After that it's a matter of practicing it on the map. If you have a hoop of your own or live near a park, that would be best.

Kenpachi

United States9908 Posts

January 10 2010 04:08 GMT

#11

just predict their movements. they are gonna get tired of being blocked so theyll use reverse psychology so use you counter reverse psychology against him by predicting his reverse step

thats how i played when i sucked at shooting.
Basketball requires soooooooo much practice.. dont do Corsair reaver or Deep Six cuz youll just look stupid

also jumping helps whether shooting or defending. dont get lazy.

tonight

United States11130 Posts

January 10 2010 06:15 GMT

#12

Set picks for your teammates off the ball and find teammates to pick you to cut to the lane. Those are two of the most basic things. Getting good at picking and rolling is essential too. I haven't read anyone elses responses so forgive me if it's already been said.

I watched that video too and half of that shit you couldn't even do in a real game, so don't emulate any of that.

DanCeWithDevil

United States87 Posts

January 10 2010 06:50 GMT

#13

sounds like UR way too passive when playing!

Xeris

Iran17695 Posts

January 10 2010 06:58 GMT

#14

On January 10 2010 12:08 BanZu wrote:
I'm in dire need of BBall help. I'm such a huge noob and I'm going to be playing in IM soon. Granted I have pretty good teammates so it won't be loss after loss, I feel like I do NOTHING during the game. My only purpose is to guard a person when defending and preoccupy a person when on offense. Basically I need to learn the "meta-game" of basketball when it comes to playing. I feel like I'm in shape enough to play decently but I'm just too clueless to be useful.

Using SC logic, I was hoping you guys could bombard me with all the basketball knowledge you have. Whether it's a site to watch college basketball games or a good basketball forum. Or simple tips you could offer from your personal experience.

Help me win ~~the internet~~ IM basketball games.

This is such a loaded question. You can't really ask "help me with basketball" - there are so many aspects. If you need help fitting into your team better and contributing to the team more - you need to go into more details about your role in the team and the style of the team you are playing in. Sure one could just tell you to practice a lot and generally become a better player, or to learn how to shoot better - but that's like telling someone "just practice micro a lot and you'll get better," not very helpful.

I'll give you some examples. When I play in adult competitive league with my friends my role varies depending on circumstance from: playing the point if we're playing a slow paced game, being a shooter, and generally a solid defender. If I'm not playing the point I'm basically running off-ball screens and flashing to the wings for shots. My team either plays slow and pounds the post, or we play uptempo. I'm a good pg in the first scenario, but not as much in running breaks (so when we play faster I'm not playing point).

HOWEVER, when I play IM at school, I'm with a weaker team against weaker competition so my role changes dramatically to where I'm suddenly given a score-first mentality and my objective is to dominate the ball and set everything up for my teammates if I can't get my own shots.

So, if you give more information as to what type of game your team plays and what you think your role is / should be, I can provide a lot better feedback on how to make that happen.

jello24

Canada327 Posts

January 10 2010 09:46 GMT

#15

if you want to be useful in a basketball game in the fastest amount of time, practice your shooting and your ball handling. Learning plays, pick and rolls, boxing out is something you don't pick up in a short amount of time, but individual skills are better for making you more useful.

Go up to a hoop and just shoot from areas below the three point line, and just familiarize yourself with the stroke, and aim for the back of the rim. Try to arc the ball. if your defender leaves you open (he will if he thinks you're not a threat) and a teammate passes to you, you can at least pull up and take an open shot. Forget three pointers. Defenders love it when a beginner shoots from the three point line. Easy rebound, or worse, air ball.

For dribbling, worst mistake i see beginners make is dribbling with their head down, and dribbling with just their dominant hand. Learn to dribble without watching your hands, and you should be able to dribble with your off-hand as good as you can dribble with your dominant hand. Don't get flashy. If you're a beginner, you should be dribbling to find your teammates, not trying to drive the basket. A beginner trying to drive the basket is one tip away from getting the ball stripped.

Play with your team mates. Know who to pass to. The person who likes driving to the basket without losing the ball? Pass to him. The big guy who just stands underneath the basket for the easy shot off the backboard? Pass to him. The guy who seems to make all his fadeaway shots? Pass to him. The guy on the three point line who doesn't know how to shake off his defender? DON'T pass to him.

Also, just watching pros do things wont make you better. I've been watching Jaedong play and I'm still no good at Starcraft. It's practicing that's going to make you useful. If you can, play everyday, shoot everyday, dribble everyday.

One more thing, don't start just learning streetball skills. flashy dribbles and dribbling the ball for 20 seconds is the wrong way to be playing league basketball.

Ducci

United States588 Posts

January 10 2010 10:07 GMT

#16

If you are on a team with a bunch of good people that usually means they will do all the scoring. Focus on boxing out (not letting your opponent get the rebound over you) on defense and going in for offensive rebounds. Your teammates will greatly appreciate any extra possessions you can get them

strongwind

United States862 Posts

January 10 2010 10:42 GMT

#17

What do you mean when you say you feel like you're doing "nothing"? What in your mind is doing "something"? From your description it seems like you are playing defense; is it the scoring that you find fun and want to incorporate?

I've noticed most people that play pick-up or IM basketball tend to enjoy offense more than defense, since it leads to more tangible results. If that's the case, really work on your lay-ups and shots close to the basket. If you're more of a runner, lay-ups will be your best friend, especially on fast breaks. Making lay-ups consistently and in traffic will give your teammates more confidence in passing it to you. If not, practice shooting from one spot on the court and when you're on offense, hang around that spot so that your teammates can kick it out to you when they're in trouble. Those can lead to easy, wide-open shots (especially if they don't think you can shoot).

But if it's as Ducci said above and your team consists of good scorers, than focus on your rebounding, boxing out, help defense, and setting picks as most people have said. It might not be the most glamorous, but it really determines wins or losses in games.

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