1. A player should always be aware that his best opportunity to take a jump shot is after receiving the ball because the defense is not yet set.

2. If you want to become a good offensive player, the first thing to work on is your shooting.

3. A good offensive player should posses the ability to score after just two or less dribbles.

4. A good offensive player should not create opportunities for himself, but also for his teammates.

5. A good offensive player focuses on making a shot right after catching the ball.

6. To improve your shooting percentage, you must read the defense and use picks properly to create an open scoring opportunity.

7. A good shooting percentage also depends on how comfortable you are with your stroke and how confident you are.

8. A good shooter catches a pass at the depth of his shot and does not dip the ball.

9. Do you handle the ball well? I now you’ll said yes, but think first! A good ball handler posses a good ball control compensated with quickness.

10. Post players rely on their height and strength to score in the post, but having a great footwork is must though only few posses this skill.

11. Avoid too much dribbling. Be aware that dribbling should only be done if you want to go somewhere, avoid a five second violation, and create scoring opportunities.

12. A team’s pressure defense will be successful if they will caught the opposing team off-guarded and lacks patience.

13. Turnover are sometimes acceptable if and only if the opposing players defended you aggresively.

14. Be choosy with your moves to preserve energy to stay quick and effective.

15. Right after passing the ball, move immediately to create an opening for yourself.

16. A team’s zone defense will work if the opposing team is unsure of their offensive set.

17. To break the zone, attack very aggressive as if you are working against a man-to-man defense.

Attacking the basket is not done by merely running fast towards the basket because there are lots of techniques that should be perfected to be an effective slasher. Even if you are not a good slasher now, a lot of practice and dedication can transform you to one.

There are lots of drills that can be done to improve your driving skill, and one of them is the “Straight Line Driving Drill”.

In this drill, the first thing that you should do is to mark five spots beyond the three-point line, preferably in the two corners, the two wings, and on the center. These spots will be the area in which you’ll receive the ball before attacking the basket.

This drill should be done with a partner, who will serve as the passer and the close-put defender as well. When you receive the pass from your partner, he will immediately try to close out your path to the basket. To escape and have a successful drive, you should go either to the left or right of the defender.

Before slashing you should see to it that you’ll bend your knees (butt down) to get some force and then explode and drive to the basket on an imaginary straight line. You should bounce the ball near the close-out defender and as much as possible, bounce it halfway to the basket (halfway between the spot and the basket). Repeat this drill for 4-6 times per spot and you should explode on alternate direction. Meaning, if you drive on the left of your defender, on the next try you should explode to the right.

After 4-6 tries, transfer to the other spots and repeat the same procedure in all the four other spots,

This drill, if done regularly and properly, can help make a player a dreaded slasher and will be a threat on the offensive end of the floor.

John Wooden, who died at the age of 99, was considered as one of the greatest coaches in history of any sports not only because of his achievement, but also with the lessons he etched in the hearts of his former players.

The legendary coach, who was born on October 4, 1910, has a lot of success during his tenure with the UCLA Bruins. He recorded an amazing feat by winning ten NCAA National Championships in his 12-year stint with the Bruins. During that period, the man known as the “Wizard of Westwood” guided his team to an 88-game winning run, which was one of the most remarkable achievements in World Basketball History.

His incredible feat with UCLA is still unmatched by any other coach in history. Unsurprisingly, he was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1961 and as a coach in 1973 to become the first ever person to be awarded in both categories. The former Navy man was also awarded by former President George W. Bush in 2003 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest Civilian Honor in the USA.

Wooden molded a lot of players that had a lot of success in their careers. One of them is Lew Alcindor who latter changed his name to Kareem Abdul Jabbar but Wooden still calls him as “Lewis”. The Wooden-Jabbar tandem produced three NCAA titles for UCLA and has only dropped two games during Kareem’s three-year stint with the Bruins.

Jabbar expressed his admiration and said that Wooden is not a coach to them; he’s like a father to all of his players. He also said that the legendary coach is a complex man but they taught them in a simple way.

During his coaching days, Wooden always stressed the importance of playing as a team. In his years with the Bruins, they played as as if they are a family which led to a lot of success for them.

One of the notable philosophy of Wooden is his “Pyramid of Success” which teaches ways on winning in basketball and in life. In this work, he said that success is in the apex of the pyramid and hard work should be done to achieve that.

“The cornerstones of success to me, in anything are hard work and enjoy what you’re doing. So one cornerstone is industriousness and the other is enthusiasm,” said John Wooden in his work.

For Wooden, success is the peace of mind resulted from knowing that you did your best to become what a person is capable of becoming.

This kind of Philosophy in Basketball in Life will be more remembered than his achievements because without it, Wooden and his players like Jabbar, Bill Walton, and Gail Goodrich will not be achieving all the success that they are enjoying.

John Wooden, a man of knowledge and a great teacher, will be forever remembered for all his contributions in the game of basketball and will be an inspiration to all the coaches and players around the World.