Reminding you How to Become a Better Offensive Player

To be an effective offensive player at any level, you must have a firm grasp on a couple of incredibly important traits. They might not always be flashy or popular things, which often means it goes overlooked, but they are absolute fundamentals for any aspiring athlete. No matter how big, fast, or strong you are, you won’t be able to outrun, dunk, and dribble everybody and these details will help you build an overall more well-rounded game.

Take CoachUp’s tips with you to practices and games from here on out, you’ll most definitely see an improvement in your game over time. For most situations and scenarios, it isn’t the flashiest or the strongest player that gets the most playing time, but instead the most fundamentally sound. Remember, you can always get better!

The first thing that you need to work on is your shooting form, beginning with your feet to get a sound foundation. Master the art of shooting with your fingertips and get a good swing to add a good ball rotation.

To improve your shooting routine, practice shots close to the basket, then progressively increase the distance from the basket. And not just distance. A very important part of improving your shot is the situations from which you are taking your shots. Regardless of your position, the shots that you take in games are going to be contested by a defender, and after a sprint, curl contact. Spot-up shots are very important for your muscle memory, but you need to train those situational shots. Exercise lay-ups with fitting form from both sides of the basket as well. And never forget to practice free throws.

In the end, think about the quality of the shots you take. Decision-making is one of the most important things that separate good from average players.

Dribbling/Ball-handling skills are required to take you to the spots to be more dangerous and a better offensive player. If you want to become a better ball handler, you need to fasten your dribbling speed, to make yourself faster while dribbling the ball and to be able to make any move needed in any situation without the ball tumbling and going away from you.

The triple-threat position is so amazingly important because it is going to allow you to control your defender. As much as it may occur to you that it is a skill that individually benefits you, but what it does is it benefits your team in a way that it is creating space for your offense. If your defender knows that you have a good shot and powerful dribbling, then he is going to be close to you at all times. What it means is that he is not going to help his team much so that means 1 less help defender on the defense.

Poor passing and turnovers are going to ruin a team quicker than any elite defense. Make short bounce passes as they are more difficult to intercept.

Dodge long cross-court passes except your teammate is wide open and very close to the basket. Deliver your teammate a good pass so they can quickly catch it and make something out of it that will benefit your team.

There are four keys to an elite on-court awareness :

1. Always know where is the ball
2. Always keep your head high
3. Keep track of your (and other offensive) players
4. Never let the ball be behind your back.

Learn how to be in the game mentally 100% of the time. A big part of this plays conditioning. Players that do not get tired are more likely not to make errors.

But not at all costs. If you are a guard, sometimes it is better to sprint back on defense and prevent transition plays.

Numerous easy buckets are made off of second and third chances, so it is always a good thing to try and get them. One of the good habits that a player can have is to follow his shot. Nobody can see better than you where your shot is going so you can chase it and score.

The team that scores 8 to 10 points in transition usually wins the game. It is easier to play offense while the defense is not set up and ready to defend in full composure. but be aware. Long passes can seduce you and if you are out of control then you are likely to make a few turnovers.

There are two rules that you must respect and there never will be too much dribbling:

1. Dribble North-South and not East-West. Use dribbling to conquer space in front of you so the help defenders can come to stop you. When you make some kind of advantage, that is the time when the passing starts and when the good shot opportunities are made.

2. Two dribbles are enough, three are too much. Usually, by making two dribbles you are going to find yourself on the edge of the paint. This place is the last area where the passing lanes are going to be open. If you take the third dribble toward the rim, the passing lanes are going to be cut so the only thing that you'll have is the finish.

Never stand calm, go and set picks, make a cut through the paint, and change sides.

The goal of the offense is to make the defense move. While they move they have less time to adjust and prepare for what's coming next.

If you want to be in perfect shape, it is not enough to train well. Nutrition is important as well because things won't get better if you eat junk food and drink soda. You want to eat clean, and you want to drink clean water.

The resting part is the time when you get better. The training part is just the stimulation, but the information is being learned during the rest phase