Ball handling

Ball handling describes the control of the ball, as in basketball or soccer, by skillful dribbling and accurate passing. Dribbling, or ball-handling, is a fundamental skill for every basketball player, and it is a skill that should be regularly worked on regardless of age and ability.

Dribbling is essentially part of ball handling and is a skill that can be practiced on your own. On the other hand, ball handling requires good knowledge of the game and encompasses dribbling, passing and decision-making on the court.

The burden of engaging every player in the team and ensuring that offense flows continuously falls almost exclusively on the point guard. Point guards are after all also known as the floor generals of the game.

It is the final minute of the game and the point guard sprints towards the scoring zone with ball on hand on a fast break. In a short span of 3-5 seconds, they have to scan the entire court to identify where the opponents and their teammates are positioned before they can decide when to make a pass.

If any of their teammates are in an open position, they will make a pass. Otherwise, the point guard will continue dribbling to create more space and opportunities for their teammates. The point guard usually has to make such decisions under high pressure and maintain perfect control of the ball simultaneously, often times flanked by the opposing team defenders.

Under such situations, ball handling is very important as mishandling may result in a turnover and loss of ball possession.

Much of the point guard’s role is to read the game and respond to the opponent’s game play. Hand-mind-eye coordination is paramount for point guards. During offense, point guards try to create opportunity for their team to penetrate the opponent’s defense and score.

Good ball handling is crucial when running the bread-and-butter play of modern offense. When the opponent’s big (Power Forward/Center) comes close and sets up a screen, thereby placing pressure on the point guard, the point guard (PG) has to be confident enough to dribble close to the screener without allowing a ball steal to happen. By doing so, the defender is forced to move back, and the screen becomes useless. As other players of the opposing team will usually move in anticipation of an effective screen, a good ball handler will expect such a move and execute a quick crossover away from the screen, towards the basket before the defender can react.

When this happens, the screener will roll (run) towards the basket. At this point, the PG is surrounded in traffic. They have their defender behind them, their rollman nearby and probably multiple secondary defenders hovering near them. The PG has just a split-second to decide if they can find an opening to slip a pass to the rollman for an easy score or to drive towards the basket to create space for the pass or score.

Keys to ball-handling:

1. Spread the fingers wide and make your hand as big as possible. This gives you more coverage and control on the basketball. It also allows your finger pads to maintain contact with the ball and keeps the ball out of the palm of your hand.
2. Dribble the ball as hard as possible. The longer the ball is in the air, the more exposed it is to the defender. By dribbling the ball hard, it stays in your hand longer and gives you more control.
3. Protect the ball at all times. Keep your free arm in an “arm bar” position; with your elbow bent and your forearm flexed and in front of the ball. Many defenders will not attempt to steal the ball or try to disrupt your dribble if you are protecting the ball. If the defender does attempt to disrupt your dribble while you are protecting it, the defender has no access to the basketball and will get out of position when trying to get a steal or deflection. Also, the defender might pick up a cheap foul trying to come through your arm bar.
4. Keep your eyes up and see the floor. This gives you opportunities to see double teams coming and time to make the quick pass to avoid traps. You will see open teammates and be able to get them the ball at the appropriate time. This also allows you to fake out defenders with your eyes, which can freeze help-side defenders and allow you a clearer path to the basket on dribble penetration.

Moves

Basketball players should work to be able to perform the skills well in both directions and without looking at the ball.

Hesitation Dribble

This is a fake move to help you get around the defender in the open court. You speed dribble up to the defender, then suddenly come to a stop by putting your inside foot forward and “rocking” backward onto your outside foot.

Crossover

Change directions by pushing off with the “outside” foot and dribbling the ball low and hard with the corresponding hand over to the opposite dribbling hand.

Spin Move

Change directions by reverse-pivoting off of the “inside” foot. The quickest way to do this is to start the pivot when the “inside” foot is forward. That way, the “outside” foot already is moving in the new direction. As you reverse pivot, pull the ball with your dribbling hand over into position to be dribbled by your other hand. The more you can get the ball pulled over toward that hand and protected by your body, the less chance there will be for a defender to interfere.

The spin move has the disadvantage of being more vulnerable to blind double teams than other change-of-direction techniques, but it can be an effective weapon when used with adequate court vision.

Behind-the-Back

Footwork is critical here. The behind-the-back dribble begins as the outside leg is back and just beginning to move forward, and the ball needs to be dribbled all the way over to the opposite hand. The key to an effective behind-the-back dribble is to continue moving forward rather than just dribbling sideways. For this to happen, the arms and legs need to be coordinated so that the ball can get to where it needs to go. This is an advanced skill.

Between-the-Legs

Change directions by dribbling the ball between your legs to your other hand. There are two ways to do this.

1. You dribble the ball backwards between your legs while your inside leg is forward. This move will create some space for you to change directions, but it will slow you down a step or two, too. This is by far the most common form of dribbling between your legs.
2. You dribble the ball forward between your legs while your outside leg is forward. You will push off that same leg in the new direction. The ball is momentarily exposed in this technique, so it is best used when you have a good cushion from the defender. With this technique, you don’t lose forward momentum. Though it has limited applications, this move does allow for an element of surprise.

Between-the-Legs Followed by Behind-the-Back

This is a combo technique that ends up with you going in the same direction after a momentary decoy move. First, you perform the ‘inside leg forward’ version of the between-the-legs dribble; as soon as the ball reaches your other hand, you immediately use that hand to dribble behind your back over to your initial dribbling hand. It’s a good change-of-pace technique.