Basketball Player Fundamentals

Player Fundamentals

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The Basic Passes
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Description Passing, along with dribbling and shooting, is one of the foundational skills of basketball. If you're a younger player, it is extremely important to learn and practice the fundamental passes and techniques explained here. We'll cover the chest pass, bounce pass, and step-around pass. The chest pass is the quickest way to get the ball to your teammate. It does require a clear passing lane to complete and may be a harder pass to react to in close proximity. The bounce pass is a great way to get a pass through upraised defenders hands. It is also a "soft" pass to handle and is a good way many times to end a fast break with it or use it to get the ball into a low post player. The step-around is a great way to get a pass off against a tight, and aggressive defender. The Chest Pass SPORTSKOOL.COM VIDEO This video courtesy of SportsKool.com Place both hands on each side of the ball and hold the ball at chest level. Step towards your target. As you begin your pass, you'll want your body weight going directly at your target. This is done by stepping at your target as you begin the pass. Be sure to step directly at who you are passing to in order to generate good power for a good, crisp pass. Execute the pass. As you step towards the target, release the ball by extending your arms completely and releasing the ball so that your hands turn with the palms facing outward. A proper release of a chest pass is arms fully-extended and palms outward. Come to the ball! As you practice with a partner, work on your catching technique as well. A basketball player does not wait for a passed ball to get to them. Instead, the receiver should step to the ball and catch the ball in front of them with their hands. This does two things, it lessens the time the ball is in the air and able to be intercepted, and it gives the receiver the ability to catch and get into a trople-threat position right away. Bounce Pass Same technique - almost. Obviously this is just about the same pass as the chest pass with the difference being the ball is bounced to the target. The most common mistake younger players make on the bounce pass is that they don't bounce it far enough towards their target. This results in a high, weak rebound off of the floor and is easily stolen by the defense. The best rule-of-thumb is to bounce the ball about 2/3 of the distance to your target. The Step-Around Pass Step first. This pass is used when you are forced to create a passing lane by stepping diagonally across your body so that a pass can be made around a defender. You will step with your lead foot across to the other side. For example, your left foot steps ahead and across to your right side so that you turn three-quarters around your defender. Bring the ball to the step side. As you step, bring the ball up to your shoulder and in position to make the bounce pass to your target. A different release It is harder to generate power on a step-around pass because your momentum is not necessarily going directly at your target. To get proper power on the pass you will release it from higher up, near your shoulder with more of a throwing down motion as you complete the bounce pass. Practice it! This pass is a little more complicated than the chest and bounce pass so be sure to work at it constantly. You can put a chair in front of you to step around and practice with a partner.