Drills to improve your Ball-Handling

I took this off an old NBA Inside Stuff magazine in a bookstore somewhere in Hong Kong a couple of years ago. I believe this basketball tip is by former Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings head coach Eric Musselman.


Musselman's Ball-Handling Drill

1) Get two tennis balls. Dribbling these balls is a lot harder than dribbling basketballs--and they can teach you hard lessons about fingertip control in a hurry. (Steve Nash used to do this while walking around the campus at Santa Clara....A LOT! - Tedi31)

2) Stand facing the X (high on wall) on the wall, about 8 feet away.

3) Dribble one of the tennis balls with your right hand.

4) With your left hand, pass the other ball at the X on the wall (low on wall) and catch it again.

5) Try to keep this up for as long as possible, then switch hands and keep going.

The George Mikan Lay-Up Drill

Jotted this down at a bookstore in Hong Kong several years ago. I believe it was an issue of NBA Inside Stuff.

Mikan Lay-Up Drill

The George Mikan Lay-Up Drill is basically a Hand-eye coordination drill. It teaches you also how to pivot and how to move your feet. Work on moving your hips too. Concentrate on pointing your side foot at the baseline. - (Assitant Coach Sixers Randy Ayers)

This may be the best drill to teach you to keep the ball high--use the glass. Keeping the ball high is the main thing. Catch it as soon as it comes through the bucket, and jump as high as you can. Don't let it bounce. That helps your legs, and it helps with your jumping. Do 20 straight at a time and don't count the misses. - (Former Philadelphia 76ers center Todd Macculloch)

1) The idea is to make 10 baskets with each hand from very close range.

2) Facing the backboard, stand almost under the basket.

3) Trying to use your best fingertip control, hold the ball with your right hand and sweep your right arm out to the side to make a lay-up off the backboard.

4) Catch the ball as soon as possible after it comes through the hoop.

5) Repeat the procedure on the left side. One of the most important things about this drill is that it teaches coordination with both hands.

6) Alternate shooting with your right and left hands, until you have made 10 shots with each.