We have to be holding the ball correctly, especially on foul shots. Too many players in our program are still neglecting this small but important detail of the game. It would help to have a basketball with you while reading. After reading this blog post and viewing the videos you should be able to hold the basketball correctly before practicing a shot. This will fix many ball rotation problems and help us to get softer and more favorable bounces at the rim.
1. The laces need to be straight or horizontal. This is important for the rotation of the ball which will keep it straight during flight and near the rim on a miss. A good image to use is “rubber to iron.” If the laces are correct on a miss, the rim should make contact with the colored part of the ball, not where the black rubber lines are jumbled together.
Correct:
Wrong:
2. The finger placements. There should be space between the hand and ball; this guarantees the ball is on the fingertips. Use the air hole on the ball find good centered finger placement. The thumb and finger should make a U shape not an L on the basketball.
Note the gap:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VM1WFyDfrEs/TELsQZlmMaI/AAAAAAAAAFY/M4xStrOsMaQ/s1600/hand+gap.JPG
Note the middle finger down the middle of the ball and the thumb in a J shape. If the player moved his thumb down to the left it would make an L shape which is incorrect.
http://www.splitsecondbasketball.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IMG_1472.jpg
3. The elbow shape. 90 degrees? Right angles? L shaped? The ball should fit between the bicep and forearm like in this picture, if the ball doesn’t fit, your elbows are not correct.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VM1WFyDfrEs/TELs7fB8aDI/AAAAAAAAAFg/QJGDWJZF1l0/s200/90+degree.JPG
Recap: In practice we will be checking for 3 things:
1. Are the laces straight?
2. Is the ball on the fingertips so there is space between the ball and hand and are the fingertips centered on the ball.
3. Can the ball fit between the bicep and forearm so the elbows make an L not a V.
The following two videos help explain hand positioning and its importance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xp2cdiTxhg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWgcOlUQM4U
-Coach Dave
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