Category: playing time

Struggling So Far This Year? Save Your Basketball Season Before The Halfway Mark With These 4 Steps.

Posted on by morrisbasketballprogram

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The basketball tournaments during Christmas Break are a mile marker before the midway point of the season.  There is still time to change the outcome of this season.

1.  Make Good Use Of Pre and Post Practice Time

The time before and after practice can be crucial to your personal experience during the season. Don’t waste time heaving half court shots or playing a game of who can make a shot through the rafters. If you are lucky enough to have that time before a coach starts practice or afterwards to work on your individual skill set, DON’T WASTE IT. This time should be used for Form Shooting drills, stationary dribbling drills, working on the perfect free throw or even getting GAME TYPE shots in with a friend to increase your confidence and shooting percentage. Coaches love seeing their players focused and working on themselves outside of normal practice time. The results could be that your sheer dedication to improving puts you higher in the rotation.

2.  Treat Every Practice As A Tryout

Congratulations, you’ve made the cut and aren’t sitting around wondering why you got cut from the team. Perhaps your team tryouts were a grueling 3 days filled with endless sprints and backboard touches that left your body weary for days afterward. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO LET UP. Many players go through this every year. Tryouts were extremely tough and now that you made the cut your hoping that you can ease off the gas pedal and get down to shooting the 3 ball and jogging in for that finger roll layup you worked on over the summer. If you can obtain the mindset that you are always being evaluated to see what your value is and ultimately how much you will play, you should have no problem pushing yourself in each drill or segment of practice. REMEMBER, your competing for playing time ALWAYS.

3.  Speak To Your Coach

I hesitate to encourage this to all players because some players run the risk of BEING ALL TALK. Yes, your coach wants to see that you are interested in getting better and playing better for your team. You MUST not do this in vain, if you think a quick fix to your lack of minutes on the floor is having a sit down with your coach you are likely going to be disappointed. Coaches put a lot of time in to deciding who gets what time and your most heart-felt pleas for time will likely go ignored UNLESS you have been showing that you take initiative in your skill development by taking the above mentioned steps. If you need to understand plays or defensive schemes better then ask those questions and ask them until you are sure you know the answers but be sure to match your questions with the effort needed to perform at a high level.

4.  As You Ascend Brings Others With You

Hard work undoubtedly pays off over time. I hope reading this encourages you to takes the steps to put in that work and get better. A very important aspect of being a part of a team is your ability to make those around you better. By working hard and giving all your effort at the practice or game at hand you will inevitably have an impact on those around you. It’s important to be sure you are making a POSITIVE IMPACT on your team.  In fact, being a bad teammate is 1 of the Signs Of Being A Bad Basketball Player. It could be encouraging your teammates during sprints to push themselves harder or giving out high 5’s for any and every small accomplishment you see your teammates completing. Your teams season can be drastically different by injecting your positive attitude and working hard. The Great thing is that by putting together a great work ethic and positive attitude it becomes contagious and you may see yourself and your team accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Wrap up: Follow these tips and you can expect improvement in yourself and likely figure out How To Earn More Playing Time On The Basketball Court. Always pursue new ways of working on your skills and when possible take advantage of playing and practicing with advanced players and coaches. If you are unsure of how your situation on your current team is going, or if it is already going bad, signing up for a free workout with the Morris Basketball Program can be the first step in saving your season and career!

@MBP973
Morris Basketball Program

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5 Quick Signs You Are A Bad Basketball Player

Posted on by morrisbasketballprogram
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You don’t want to be known as a bad basketball player.

Avoid These Red Flags On The Court To Earn Respect And  Build Your Reputation As A Good Player.

By The Morris Basketball Program.

A reputation is a very powerful thing– hard to make, so very easy to break.  You can work for years to grow and maintain your reputation as an elite or hardworking player, and watch it get shattered in the blink of an eye.  You can destroy an entire basketball career’s worth of good reputation over the course of just one play.

Basketball is a tricky sport in which it is a completely team oriented game, but just one player, at any time, can change the fate of each and every game.  There is a little magic to that last statement.  It means that a hero can be made any moment.  But bad basketball players can be created or identified in the same exact process.  You most definitely do not want to be labeled a “bad basketball player”.  It’s a bit difficult to recover from this.  But all hope is not lost.  If you feel there is a chance you may be a bad basketball player, and would like to improve, we suggest signing up with the Morris Basketball Program and fine tuning your skills!

If the following list accurately describes your game or someone you know, please tell them!  There is nothing worse than someone who does not know how to play basketball, but doesn’t even know that they are bad!  The first step in improving and How To Earn More Playing Time On The Basketball Court is admitting you need help!

There is nothing at all wrong with admitting that at this very moment, you are a bad basketball player.  Everyone starts somewhere.  What really matters is if you are now willing to put in the time, effort, and resources into improving.  Basketball Drills, Basketball Training, Private Basketball Coaching, and Basketball Clinics are all great examples of ways to improve your skills behind the scenes!

1. You Complain About Not Getting The Ball/Playing Time

Don’t get me wrong.  There will always be the situations on teams where politics come into play, and a player that is most deserving of playing time or receiving the ball will not be put in a favorable situation.  This happens all the time.  These are not the players I’m talking about.  I’m talking about the players that are obviously in need of some type of basketball coaching/lessons that are in some delusional world about being on the short end of the stick.  There is a reason that you may not be getting the ball enough, or may not be playing enough.  Most times, it’s rather simple:  The people, or players, in the position to get you the ball or put you in the game are not full believers in your game.

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No one wants their basketball career to end up on the bench.

I know it hurts to hear this.  But I rather you hear it from me than someone else.  I would never lie to you.  That is the main reason why people don’t pass the ball-they trust in either their own game, or another fellow teammate’s game, more than they trust your basketball skills or play-making ability, regardless if it makes sense or not.

…But then again maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe you can’t receive the ball because you just stand there on offense when you don’t have the ball.  In that case…..YOU ARE STILL A BAD PLAYER.  Good players know Why Moving Without The Ball Can Improve Your Basketball Career.

2. Your Basketball Stats Are Full Of Turnovers

Bad basketball players don’t take care of the basketball.  Poor ball handling, bad catching skills, bad passing, and overall carelessness with the basketball is a huge red flag of a bad player.  Good players are always under control on the basketball court, and know the value of each possession.  They take care of the basketball as if it was their first born, and carefully guide it to where it needs to be on the floor.  The best point guards on any level of basketball all average a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

Take care of the ball!!  No coach is going to play a walking turnover.  No teammate wants to pass the ball to a walking turnover.  So those of you who this accurately describe, I would bet my bottom dollar that #1 accurately describes you as well.

@ the Morris Basketball Program, we put our players through some of the best basketball ball handling you can find!

3.  You Are Uncoachable/A Bad Teammate

One of the biggest lessons to learn at an early age in the game of basketball is that you are simply one piece of a set of moving parts.  A basketball team is a living thing.  It can grow chemistry, or it can self destruct.  If you are the teammate that always has the bad attitude, or never gives 100% effort, you are hurting the team.  No one likes a team cancer.  One bad attitude can spoil an entire team.  Coaches and even other teammates can sense a bad egg and can/will black ball you over time.

No matter what situation you find yourself in on your respective team, always be respectful and mindful of others on your team.  Never disrupt team chemistry, whether accidental or intentional.  No one, including the coach himself, is bigger than the team.  If you are unhappy with your role on the team, don’t let that spoil your chance to redeem your greatness.  A bad attitude has never translated into getting more respect in basketball.

If you are the one with a bad attitude and are uncoachable/a bad teammate, I am certain you also can identify with #1.

4.  You Can’t/Won’t Play Defense

“Defense wins Championships!” – Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant Jr.

If you are constantly finding yourself getting beaten on the defensive end of the floor, don’t expect to get significant playing time.  And don’t expect your teammates to be happy with you.  Or your fans.  Or your coach.  In a nutshell, if you are a weak defensive player, the opposing team will key on you, and try to expose your weaknesses for all to see.  Defense is the true key to being a consistently good player.  Because offense will at times come and go.  Sometimes you have a good offensive game and score a lot, sometimes you might struggle.  But you can always make a difference in the game on the defensive end.

Defense is the one aspect of the game of basketball that is less about skill, and more about effort.  It is always easy to notice when a player takes pride on the defensive end of the floor. You should probably re-evaluare your game if you don’t believe in playing good, hard defense.

5.  You Don’t Get In The Gym To Get Better At Basketball

 If some of these themes are ringing a bell for you, and you haven’t been in the gym in the last 7 days…well there you have it.  How can you improve at basketball if you don’t try new basketball drills, camps, clinics, private training, especially one on one drills on your own!?  The only real bad player in basketball is the one who knows he needs improvement but does nothing about it.  It’s not about where you start talent wise, it’s always about where you end up!

If it seems scary how accurately this list describes your game, we suggest you use this Summer to learn How To Earn “Most Improved Player” During The Offseason.

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