The following article addresses 6 ways you can become a more dominant offensive player. It's a "cheat sheet" of sorts, a quick way for you to remember some basic, but incredibly important aspects of being a big-time offensive player.
So keep these things in mind as you work to improve your game, plan your off-season workouts, and take the court.
Be more aggressive
No matter how aggressive you think you are as an offensive player, I guarantee you can be even more powerful and aggressive the next time you take the floor. Whether it's a dribble-drive to the basket, a pump-fake and power move, setting a screen, or crashing the offensive boards, you can turn up the intensity. No one plays 100% on every play. No one attacks the defense with 100% intensity, effort (and 2nd and 3rd efforts) on each and every play.
Make up your mind that the next time you take the court in practice or a game that you'll be a more solid, strong, and aggressive player every second you're on the court.
Increase your speed
No matter how fast and quick you think you move around the court, you can do things faster. Do you run at full-speed and get out on the fast break every single time your team gets a defensive rebound? Do you make fast, strong cuts every single time while running the offense? Are you ready and able to drive past your defender when you catch the ball on the wing or at the high post (or does it take you a second or two to get your balance and figure out what you want to do with the ball)?
Speeding the game up keeps the D off-balance and at a disadvantage. If you speed up your game, you put more pressure on the defense. When you speed up your game, you become a better offensive player.
Work on improving your confidence level
Confidence makes you a better player. If you are filled with self-doubt about your abilities, your game will suffer. If you are tentative and unsure of yourself when you shoot the ball, chances are it won't go in. As a player, I loved competing against players that had little confidence in their games because they'd already beaten themselves.
The next time you take the court, have confidence in your abilities. Believe in your success. Think positive thoughts and feel certain that you're going to compete, do well, and be successful, then go out an make it happen.
Make the 2nd and 3rd effort on every play
Making a strong 2nd or 3rd effort can make the difference between success and failure. Your first effort (shot, pass, dribble, rebound, etc.) might not work, but don't give up. It's easy for defensive players to guard someone that gives up after the first try. Great players keep working and making the effort until they succeed.
The next time you take the court, make it a point to increase your effort level, and to NOT give up after your first move fails.
Vary your direction, speed, and moves
John Wooden (one of the greatest college coaches of all time) used to have his players work on drills that emphasized changing pace and changing direction. By varying your speed and direction, you keep the defense off-balance, guessing which way you'll move, and therefore put them at a huge disadvantage.
If you make the same moves, in the same direction, from the same spots on the floor every time down the court, you make it easy on the defense. If you are predictable, the D knows what you plan to do, and they can guard against it. By varying your direction and speed, you regain the advantage.
Establish yourself early
This is a trick I teach all my private coaching clients and have addressed in another article: establish yourself at the start of the game, and you can take a weaker opponent completely out of the game. By making a statement right from the tip-off, you make it known that you have come to play, you are a big-time player, and your opponent is going to have a very difficult night trying to guard you.
Coming out right from the get-go can scare a weaker opponent, take them mentally out of the game, and you'll likely have a big scoring game. If you're playing against a strong, confident player, you've let it be known that you're going to be a tough opponent and that they've met their match. Either way, establishing yourself from the start of the game will set the tone and let it be known that you're a big-time player who came to play.
Well, there you have it: six ways to help make you a better offensive player...immediately.
The next time you take the court, do these things, and you'll be a better offensive player, guaranteed.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
establish yourself
The first few minutes of a game are extremely important because they set the tone for the entire rest of the game. The beginning of any game is really a feeling-out period, where players from both teams size up the competition, get a feel for who can play and who can't, and try to figure out the weaknesses and strengths of their competition.
If you estabish yourself and your level of play right from the get-go, you'll let it be known that you are a big-time player, a big-time competitor, and that your opponent is in for a very tough game playing against you. And here's why it can be so important: if you're playing against a weak opponent, showing them that you're a big-time player will take them right out of their game. You'll plant a seed of doubt in their minds that they can play at your level, and you'll have an edge over them for the rest of the game. You'll be amazed in that if you're playing against a weak or weak-willed opponent, this technique will literally take them out of the game, and you'll be well on your way to dominating them for the rest of the game.
If you're playing against a good opponent, establishing yourself early will simply let them know that they're in for a competitive night. It will let them know that you're at their level, that you're up for the challenge, and they they don't have an advantage or edge over you. If you're playing against a solid, quality opponent, you'll let them know they're playing against an equal and that they'll have to really work to compete against you. It will also plant a small seed of doubt in their minds that you might not be an equal, that you might be a little bit better than them. And in this way, they'll think a little bit more about you during the game, and might miss a shot or 2 they'd regularly make, or might not go for an offensive rebound they might normally go after.
Either way, playing against a weak opponent or a very strong one, using thig teqhnique will be to your advantage. There's another advantage to making a conscious effort to estblish yourself early: making sure that you get off to a good start every game. There may be times when you'd normally get caught up in the excitement of a big game, or get distracted by an early foul, and have your whole game thrown off. But if you get your mind set on making this happen each and every time you take the floor, you're more likely to make it happen and gain the advantage from it.
I teach that the first 3 minutes of the game are the key to setting that tone. If you establish yourself in the first 3 minutes of the game, you'll put yourself in a position to have a solid outing.
But this concept doesn't just apply to the first part of the game, it also applies any time a new player comes into the game that is playing against you, and it applies to the start of each quarter, and the 2nd half. The first 3 minutes of the game are most important, but you also need to re-establish your dominance each time a new player comes into the game that you're playing against, and then again at the beginning of each quarter, and the 2nd half.
Now that you understand the concept, here's how to make it happen.
From the opening tip, play at the highest level of intensity possible. Play smart and strong. Move quickly. Crash the boards every single time a shot goes up. Play defense like it's the last play of the game and you can't and won't allow your opponent to score. Play offense like you are the best scorer on the floor: go to the basket strong, shoot with confidence, and dribble the ball with confidence.
In short, establish yourself right from the start as a big-time player. Do this through maximum intensity and maximum competitiveness.
Establishing yourself early in the game is a simple concept, but one that is very, very effective. From this point forward, everytime you take the floor for a game, remind yourself to do this. It'll make you a better player.
If you estabish yourself and your level of play right from the get-go, you'll let it be known that you are a big-time player, a big-time competitor, and that your opponent is in for a very tough game playing against you. And here's why it can be so important: if you're playing against a weak opponent, showing them that you're a big-time player will take them right out of their game. You'll plant a seed of doubt in their minds that they can play at your level, and you'll have an edge over them for the rest of the game. You'll be amazed in that if you're playing against a weak or weak-willed opponent, this technique will literally take them out of the game, and you'll be well on your way to dominating them for the rest of the game.
If you're playing against a good opponent, establishing yourself early will simply let them know that they're in for a competitive night. It will let them know that you're at their level, that you're up for the challenge, and they they don't have an advantage or edge over you. If you're playing against a solid, quality opponent, you'll let them know they're playing against an equal and that they'll have to really work to compete against you. It will also plant a small seed of doubt in their minds that you might not be an equal, that you might be a little bit better than them. And in this way, they'll think a little bit more about you during the game, and might miss a shot or 2 they'd regularly make, or might not go for an offensive rebound they might normally go after.
Either way, playing against a weak opponent or a very strong one, using thig teqhnique will be to your advantage. There's another advantage to making a conscious effort to estblish yourself early: making sure that you get off to a good start every game. There may be times when you'd normally get caught up in the excitement of a big game, or get distracted by an early foul, and have your whole game thrown off. But if you get your mind set on making this happen each and every time you take the floor, you're more likely to make it happen and gain the advantage from it.
I teach that the first 3 minutes of the game are the key to setting that tone. If you establish yourself in the first 3 minutes of the game, you'll put yourself in a position to have a solid outing.
But this concept doesn't just apply to the first part of the game, it also applies any time a new player comes into the game that is playing against you, and it applies to the start of each quarter, and the 2nd half. The first 3 minutes of the game are most important, but you also need to re-establish your dominance each time a new player comes into the game that you're playing against, and then again at the beginning of each quarter, and the 2nd half.
Now that you understand the concept, here's how to make it happen.
From the opening tip, play at the highest level of intensity possible. Play smart and strong. Move quickly. Crash the boards every single time a shot goes up. Play defense like it's the last play of the game and you can't and won't allow your opponent to score. Play offense like you are the best scorer on the floor: go to the basket strong, shoot with confidence, and dribble the ball with confidence.
In short, establish yourself right from the start as a big-time player. Do this through maximum intensity and maximum competitiveness.
Establishing yourself early in the game is a simple concept, but one that is very, very effective. From this point forward, everytime you take the floor for a game, remind yourself to do this. It'll make you a better player.
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