The Official Season is Almost Here – Check Out These Quick Betting Tips

Basketball season heats up from late October and goes all the way to early June. That gives punters plenty of time to check out teams, see who’s a rockstar, and place bets on teams they think are going to win. The difference between improving your bankroll and losing streams of money can be very slight. Some punters will go completely on luck, making small bets they can talk about with their mates. But there’s a whole different breed of punter that crunches the numbers, looks at the finer details, and talks with other people that are in the know. Those are the punters that you want to hang out with, because they’re probably making a lot more money than the people that are just in it for luck and bragging rights. If you’re trying to put down real money, wouldn’t it make sense to do anything you could to get a better chance of making real money on the deal? Losing money isn’t something that any of us are willing to do if we can help it.

So, where do we go from here? A new season is almost upon us, but a lot of people will be making their old mistakes, carrying their bad habits into a pristine season that’s ripe for betting returns. If you don’t want that to happen to you, here are some quick betting tips that you can keep in mind.

basketball betting

First and foremost, make sure that you aren’t just going with the crowd favorite every time. Remember what we said about how people tend to bet on their favorite without thinking about it? Well, that blind sentiment can actually cost you quite a bit of money. You just have to take into account more than just whether the team is wearing your favorite colors, or if they come from your hometown. Smart punters look at the bigger picture all of the time.

Next, you want to narrow down important facts about a team. For example, do you know who is really carrying the big points for the team? If you don’t, that’s something that you need to look at. Reviewing past games and studying who is added to a team’s roster can make a big difference. (more…)

How To Improve Basketball Skills

Athletes all around the world are on a constant search for formulas to improve their skills. Winning is the natural hunger for people whose lives are dedicated to sports. Basketball players are amongst the top rank and highest paid athletes nowadays. And it is no wonder that everyone one to be one. But not everyone can be like them. There are certain requirements that one needs to have in order to be one. More importantly, there are certain set of skills that players need to have to be one of the best. And that is why it is always crucial to know how to improve ones basketballs skills constantly.

It’s All In The Mind

Before achieving the ultimate high in basketball, these athletes do a lot of training to prepare their bodies. They put in lots of hours in the gym and on the court. They do constant repetitions of drills and exercise to strengthen the major parts of their body. Sometimes though, they forget that the mind is also a essential part of any training. Ignoring the importance of this can sometimes result to serious failure. In any game it is equally beneficial to train the mind as much as you train the body. When this balance is achieved, players can achieve their ultimate game.

Focus, determination, confidence and passion are some of the major ingredients that players must have to be in the league of their choices. Having these in them makes them stronger in every way imaginable. A basketball player with focus never fails to show up in practices and drills. He also understands what needs to be done. Determination gives him the strength to go on even when times get rough. When roadblocks like injuries and rejection faces him, his determination pushes him to move on. Confidence makes him believe in himself. It’s critical for him to know that he can succeed in all of his endeavors. Passion completes this formula. Everything is easier when a player loves what he is doing. Drills and exercises are fun for him.

Improve Basketball Skills

Survival Of The Fittest

Basketball is one of the most popular game in the world. In America and Canada alone, this game has over 400 million fans. No wonder that almost every year new talented players are discovered. And more and more kids are aspiring to be one themselves. Fame, money and a life to privileges await them. Basketball players are always on the look out for the best ways on how to improve their basketball skills. Building your body to be able to function in the toughest situations is one of the secret to this. (more…)

Drills For Basketball

Basketball is a pretty though sport. Players and coaches spend lots of time practicing and ensuring their game plays are always on the top of things. Basketball drills play a lot in their games and on their training. Offensive and defensive plays rely substantially on how these drills go. There are different kinds of drills for basketball to address a player’s need and skill level. Practice of these drills will create players that are well suited for this game.

There is a lot of drills for basketball to choose from. Ball handling drills, dribbling drills, shooting drills, one on one drills and team drills are just a few examples to mention. Each of these drills targets different aspects of the game. Balancing everything requires hard work but if one succeeds with these, it can produce incredible results. Drills are pure hard work on the basketball players part. A player must have dedication, focus and passion in order to be able to constantly follow through on each one. Resilience is one of the secret to a successful drill practice.

Basketball drills

Ball Handling Drills

Ball handling is one of the most basic skill a player must learn in order to become a basketball player. Ball handling drills for basketball are the key to becoming a better player. When a player continuously practice drills, they become well in tuned with their bodies and mind. These drills develop a players hand-eye coordination and balance. Rebounds, blocks and steals are few of the examples a player can learn from this drills. Moreover, ball handling drills help players in successfully delivering the ball to both their teammates and the hoop.

Ball handling drills also help a player train his “other hand” in ball handling. Usually, a player can only use his dominant hand for most his games. A well trained player in ball handling can manipulate the ball using either of his hands when needed. This means, he has a greater advantage over his opponents. He can switch hands in order to prevent the opponent from stealing the ball, or assist a teammate in making a score with a fake pass. Being able to control the ball with either hands give players upper hands in the game. (more…)

Basketball Training Aids “The Separation Factor”

The right basketball training aids can make all the difference in determining whether you are the starter or are relegated to a career on the bench. Without the proper basketball fundamentals you’d better get comfortable on the bench. The good news is you have a great view of the action, but you will never get the notice you deserve.

The Basketball training aids and products we have compiled on this site will give you an edge, and more importantly help you to perfect the basketball fundamentals you need to be able to take the leap from obscurity into the starting rotation. Believe me when I say that that is where you belong. The fact you are reading this now means you are already doing what the vast majority of basketball players never do. That is to look for help. The greatest players didn’t get there alone. They can point to people, and/or programs that gave them an edge. Humility is one of the keys to becoming the best at anything.

The Separation Factor

What is The Separation Factor? It is a simple concept of taking the steps needed to excel above the others who you are being compared to. It’s not a selfish concept, and anyone can do it if they have the proper basketball training aids and choose to apply a workman like attitude as you are. Basketball fundamentals are not learned by watching but by doing. You need to get the reps that the starters get. You need to be in the group of players that the coaches invest the most time in cause they see a high level of potential.

The Separation Factor

Early on in an athletes playing days they get put into groups. These are the starters, and the role players (bench warmers). The differences between the two groups start out as a small separation, and the gap widens as the attention goes to the starters. Using the proper basketball training aids will help you to get in the starting group, and will greatly enhance your basketball fundamentals to the point where basketball coaches will take notice, and give you the time you earn through hard work. (more…)

Basketball Shooting Drills

The vital objective in the game of basketball is to score by making shots in the hoop. An aspiring basketball player needs proper fundamentals and basketball shooting drills to have high – percentage shooting opportunities. In rare cases, basketball players with relatively weak shooting ability but excellent athletic skill or an incomparable set of skills can contribute enormously to their team on other facets of the game. All other players must understand this technical skill in order for their team to bring home the bacon.

A pure shooter has level, free – flowing movement and soft stroke.  Several people think pure shooters were born with such talent, but this is a mistaken belief. Exceptional shooters were made, not born. These players take shots so smoothly that others think they are naturally gifted, but this “gifts” are the result of their tons of training and proper mind – set. Ray Allen, Steve Nash and Larry Bird, started off as a newbie at one period, however, each one of them developed into a tremendous shooter through with their commitment of practicing basketball shooting drills.

Basketball Shooting Drills

Balanced Stance

Good stability leads to control and rhythmic power of the shot. In maintaining player’s balance, proper foot position matters. When assuming this standpoint, shooter’s shoulder should be relaxed and slightly pointed towards the basket. Feet must be stretch comfortably about shoulder’s width and point toes directly at the forefront. Moreover, shooter’s head is positioned over the waist and feet and slightly forward to maintain body balance.

Focusing on the Target

Player’s eyes should be focused on aiming the basket to avoid blowing the hot. Players must be trained to focus on the rim or more specifically, the eyelet that grips the net.  Maintain focus on the target until the ball hits the hoop. Player’s eyes should never chase the flight of the ball or the defender’s hand. Proper concentration on target in spite of any disturbances and movements are extremely valuable. In this basketball shooting drill, player develops his steadiness and accuracy in making shots. (more…)

Back to Basics: The Proper Basketball Fundamentals

There’s really no arguing about it – learning the proper basketball fundamentals is the key to learning how to play and become better at the sport.

What are these basketball fundamentals?

These are the basic skills that an aspiring player should learn and develop. And by basic, we mean the essential team and individual skills, the offensive and the defensive skills. Players would not find it surprising if the better coaches out there stress on these basics.

Among the many advantages of going back to the fundamentals of basketball is that it molds the players to becoming a valuable asset to their team. If a player does not know how to pass, dribble or shoot properly and consistently, he might as well look for another career. As a coach, regardless of the competition or skill level you are coaching, you should never fail to stress the necessity of sticking to these fundamentals, especially those that have already been tried and tested on the court.

Once or twice, you’ll probably hear the modern streetballers complain of being held back from their real flare with the old-school, traditional game. To be fair, both sides of the coin have their own advantages. If we take a close look at the best streetballers in the field, we can see that their moves have a very solid grounding on the basketball fundamentals. They are quite good in shooting, dribbling, alley-ooping, etc., and they do it in a creative and more unique way, which is in every respect great. We could do well with players who have initiative and creativity, anyway.

basketball fundamentals

But what makes the fundamentalist coach apprehensive about these fancy moves is the tendency of the players to get distracted by being all theatrical and thereby losing focus on the simpler, more crucial aspect of the game, which is getting the ball and making the baskets. It’s great that the players innovate and be creative every now and then, but we have to make sure that there are no mistakes along the way because every point counts.

On another note, when we talk of basketball fundamentals, the things that immediately come to our mind are ball handling, dribbling, shooting and passing. One equally important but oftentimes taken for granted fundamental is catching. There are a lot of seasoned coaches out there who spend a great deal of drills in passing and shooting but not as much in catching. And this can be a huge mistake, given the total number of turnovers in the last couple of seasons due to improper catching.

Now let’s take a look at one of the fundamentals of shooting. Most of the time, players like to focus on their shooting skills while practicing by themselves. This is all good. But the question is do they do it properly? Bobby Knight once said that he didn’t allow his trainees to shoot freely before the start of a practice. This, according to him, is because they fail to simulate the necessary game speeds and conditions. Players often develop bad habits through this. (more…)

The Ultimate Basketball Movie List

This list is always growing and is intended to include every movie or video that has basketball in it in any way. The movies are not listed in any order.

Teen Wolf

Michael J Fox
Micheal J. Fox plays as both himself and the Wolf. He’s the shortest player on the floor by about 5 inches, but it doesn’t stop him from driving the lane and throwing around the back passes like crazy. He unstoppable when he’s the Wolf, but he longs to play as himself. He decides to risk his teammates wrath by playing the finals as his Alex P. Keaton-like self. The most tense moment in the film occurs when Mike is nailed at the buzzer and goes nose to nose with the bully before sinking both free throws.

He Got Game

He Got Game
Spike Lee’s take on the high stakes world of college recruiting contains some of the best basketball seen in any recent movie. The deal is this: Denzel’s locked up in the joint, and can earn his freedom if he gets his phenom son, Jesus Shuttlesworth (nice name Spike), to go to the prison warden’s Alma Mater. I know, the plot is a bit of a stretch. The movie then shows all the moves people try to make on Jesus trying to make his talent pay off for themselves.

Various highlights: Ray Allen does a decent acting job. Rick Fox continues to try and establish himself as basketball’s master thespian. Denzel rocks a fro and displays a pretty decent game himself. However, having Ray Allen as the star presents one problem. When he played Denzel in one on one, I found it hard to buy into the hard-fought competitive game. I mean Denzel’s got some game, but I think we all realize Ray could beat him even if he was tied up like Garnett is in those Nike commercials. If Denzel really could give Ray a run for his money, chances are he’d be winding up his career in the NBA right now.

This movie features some good cameos (Walter McCarty puts in a briliant, quitely determined performance as one of Jesus’s teammates) and is overall a very good show. However, it has a universally disliked ending that kind of puts a damper on things. In spite of that, I recommend this movie to all ballers.

Blue Chips

blue-chips
As you might be able to tell by the title, Blue Chips deals with the many ups and downs of college basketball. Nick Nolte plays a formerly successful coach whose program has fallen on hard times. It chronicles his attempt to resurrect his team through some old-fashioned recruiting, and some new school shady business.

Blue Chips contains lots of basketball players playing major roles and some coaches in cameos. This movie was the first time Penny and Shaq played as teammates and the chemistry they displayed was rumored to be one of the reasons the Magic traded for Penny. I bet the Magic wish they could have kept their two former stars reading from a script, so they could have kept them together by writing best buddy roles for them. They might well have become the dynasty people thought they’d be, instead of the NCAA all-star team they were back then.

The basketball in Blue Chips is pretty good quality and has a great scene with Shaq playing in some basement court and blocking the bejesus out of everyone. It also contains one of Hero Hill executive Bryan’s favorite moments on film – Bobby Hurley playing for Indiana. Nick Nolte does a great impression of a coach blowing a gasket on more than one occasion. One interesting note, Shaq speaks better and with more feeling in this movie than he does in most interviews. Perhaps the interviews are just bad acting.

Celtic Pride

Celtic Pride
Note to all Celtic fans…this movie attacks us when we are down. Filling the stereotypical role of the early Celtic teams, everyone is white, no one can dunk, and I think they even use the picket fence once! However aside from that, the movie has merit. There are lots of cameos, and the scenes in the bar are hilarious. Watch for a huge cameo by the great one…Mr. Larry Bird.

Negatively, the actual basketball is weak, and Damon Wayans looks like he couldn’t be a star in the WNBA, but on the whole, a funny rental. As for those who crush the movie strictly because it is about the Celtics…Pitino is starting to hook things up in Beantown, so get on your knees now, because when the Green machine runs rampant, we Celtic fans will have taken names, and will be looking for some asses to kick. (more…)

Basketball For Kids – Starting With Basics

In any sport, kids are sometimes one of the most difficult and at the same time the easiest players to teach. Difficult because they can be impatient and can easily get frustrated. On the other hand they are on the stage where they are flexible both in mind and body. That is why it is important that in these early stages they are taught the fundamentals of basketball, but with a lot of diligence and patience they might just be your biggest success.

Since you are teaching beginners, and kids especially, remember to keep the training light and easy before moving on to some serious balling stuff. To help you with these here are some few tips:

Step by Step

Sometimes coaches forget to tell their players to not rush it. Most eager students want to take the fast lane and learn the tricks immediately. But as all things in life this is only good for the short run. If you really want to be good at something, invest time on it. Do it step by step to ensure maximum retention and in the end you’ll master what you need.

Basketball For Kids

Get Your Head In The Game

Focus is good. But I’m talking about a different head here. Tell them to use their brain in basketball. If you really want to be good in basketball, do some research. Find stuff that could be useful to you as a player. Understanding the game better will help you become a better player. Watch some videos, read some articles and even go to live games and see what really happens on the court. This will eventually lead to you becoming a more knowledgeable player .

Simply, basketball needs a lot of things to be done at one time. Teach them to dribble and think of strategies at the same time and be good at it. You’ll see that this will come in handy in real live games.

Be Selective

As a coach do your part. Create drills that will ensure kids will love and be comfortable doing. Then practice them until they perfect it. Always remember that kids are a lot different than adults so there are a lot of things more to consider than just the game. If you do this, in time they will be the players you want them to be.