Need assistance dunking off of 2 legs.

So I am originally a 1-legged dunker and have been working over the past few months to transition into a 2-legged dunker because I feel that they are in much more control in the air, and this will help me rebound. I heard from various sources that the best way to transition from one jumping technique into another is to just keep jumping the way you want to, and they were right! Every time there has been a dead ball in a game or every time I missed a shot shooting round I would jump off of 2 legs and try to grab the rim. In the span of a couple of months I went from being able to grab rim with 1 hand, to being able to grab it with 2 hands with effort, to effortless being able to grab it with 2 hands, to finally where I am now, where I managed to get my entire wrist over the rim. One problem, I am never able to jump anywhere near as high when I actually try to jump with the ball in hand and dunk it.
Throughout all phases of my 2-legged improvement I have tried dunking the ball off of two legs and it feels like the ball weighs 10 pounds. Every time I tried dunking the ball at all stages of my improvement, I would get rim stuffed and not even be over the rim. Even today when I got my wrist over the rim without the ball, when I tried jumping with the ball I got rim stuffed once again. I should be able to at least get legitimate dunk attempts where the ball bounces off of the back rim and I grab the rim afterwards, but its always been a rim stuff. Now I know that jumping with the ball will take away an inch or two, but it shouldn't take away 4+ inches. I know that the biggest function of jumping that I lose when jumping without the ball versus jumping with the ball is the swinging of my arms. I can't really swing my arms when I have the ball, and I feel that swinging my arms helps a lot and gives me that extra lift I need, so is there anyway to compensate for this, or is it something else I am doing wrong?

A couple of routine two-foot takeoff suggestions:

1) Keep your dribble low (and subsequently, keep your body low): It might be a good idea to take some dry runs to the rim (i.e. without a basketball, as you mentioned you do). Only, concentrate on when and where your body needs to be in order to maximize your takeoff. It might even help to film yourself jumping to the rim without the ball then filming yourself trying to dunk [i]with[/i] a ball.

Oftentimes, the basketball can really mess things up due to a high dribble or other upright tendency that tends to zap a person of their normal springiness.

2) Stride it out, put your dribble in front of you: The idea is to duplicate your non-ball jumping routine for your actual dunk attempt. Sometimes I find slightly leading the ball out ahead of me (while not dribbling too hardly) can allow me to prepare for my normal, low, explosive takeoff. Getting low to the ground prior to takeoff is essential.

3) Start with a smaller ball: This is not something I've ever personally done, but it seems like it could make sense. Just in terms of maximizing your mechanics, it might not be a bad idea to give a smaller basketball a shot, just to get a feel for what success will look like.

4) Stay on your toes: Or more to the point, avoid setting strongly on the heels, thus zapping your leaping momentum.

5) If one-handers is all you've tried thus far, attempt the two-hand flush.

Above all else, as lame as this may sound, it may just be a matter of needing to add a few more inches to the ol' vertical (easier said than done).

My last thing I'll say though, if you don't already, try maximizing your running workouts. Sometimes I catch myself trying to preserve energy during pick-up games in hopes of saving up for a dunk opportunity at some point. However, it seems doing the opposite (going all out) is what provides me with the best opportunity. The benefits are two-fold: 1) Sprinting increases stride and stamina and 2) Running very hard then taking a short break seems to activate the leaping muscles. A lot of times, we can jump higher when we think we should be tired instead, if that makes any sense.

The only way to compensate for less momentum with the ball in yours hands is to create it otherwise.

Namely, your feet. Create as much momentum from your lower body as you can. From hip to toe.

[QUOTE=Rake2204]A couple of routine two-foot takeoff suggestions:

1) Keep your dribble low (and subsequently, keep your body low): It might be a good idea to take some dry runs to the rim (i.e. without a basketball, as you mentioned you do). Only, concentrate on when and where your body needs to be in order to maximize your takeoff. It might even help to film yourself jumping to the rim without the ball then filming yourself trying to dunk [i]with[/i] a ball.

Oftentimes, the basketball can really mess things up due to a high dribble or other upright tendency that tends to zap a person of their normal springiness.

2) Stride it out, put your dribble in front of you: The idea is to duplicate your non-ball jumping routine for your actual dunk attempt. Sometimes I find slightly leading the ball out ahead of me (while not dribbling too hardly) can allow me to prepare for my normal, low, explosive takeoff. Getting low to the ground prior to takeoff is essential.

3) Start with a smaller ball: This is not something I've ever personally done, but it seems like it could make sense. Just in terms of maximizing your mechanics, it might not be a bad idea to give a smaller basketball a shot, just to get a feel for what success will look like.

4) Stay on your toes: Or more to the point, avoid setting strongly on the heels, thus zapping your leaping momentum.

5) If one-handers is all you've tried thus far, attempt the two-hand flush.

Above all else, as lame as this may sound, it may just be a matter of needing to add a few more inches to the ol' vertical (easier said than done).

My last thing I'll say though, if you don't already, try maximizing your running workouts. Sometimes I catch myself trying to preserve energy during pick-up games in hopes of saving up for a dunk opportunity at some point. However, it seems doing the opposite (going all out) is what provides me with the best opportunity. The benefits are two-fold: 1) Sprinting increases stride and stamina and 2) Running very hard then taking a short break seems to activate the leaping muscles. A lot of times, we can jump higher when we think we should be tired instead, if that makes any sense.[/QUOTE]

I think my problem was that I was too upright. I was under the impression that by being slightly upright before taking off I will be able to go downward and then quickly upward allowing me to have more jumping force overall, basically like a spring that is quickly coiled and then uncoiled. I didn't know that I should have been low the entire time. Even as I approached the rim. This is because I thought that most of the power came from the coiling and then uncoiling motion of going from upright to a crouched position, and then quickly jumping in one motion, or am I over-thinking this solution? Also, I wasn't completely upright, but I wasn't low too the ground either. When going for the 2-legged dunk attempt I start in a position upright enough just to the point where I can put my hands on my knees, and my knees aren't bent until the take off. Also, wouldn't I have to jump higher in order to dunk with 2 hands, or is the discrepancy in vertical needed to flush it with 1 hand versus 2 negligible?

[QUOTE=Permodius]I think my problem was that I was too upright. I was under the impression that by being slightly upright before taking off I will be able to go downward and then quickly upward allowing me to have more jumping force overall, basically like a spring that is quickly coiled and then uncoiled. I didn't know that I should have been low the entire time. Even as I approached the rim. This is because I thought that most of the power came from the coiling and then uncoiling motion of going from upright to a crouched position, and then quickly jumping in one motion, or am I over-thinking this solution? Also, I wasn't completely upright, but I wasn't low too the ground either. When going for the 2-legged dunk attempt I start in a position upright enough just to the point where I can put my hands on my knees, and my knees aren't bent until the take off. Also, wouldn't I have to jump higher in order to dunk with 2 hands, or is the discrepancy in vertical needed to flush it with 1 hand versus 2 negligible?[/QUOTE]
To be honest, I'm still trying to figure all these things out for myself. Logically, you're right about the theory of starting straight up only so you can load your spring and explode. However, and this isn't substantiated by any proof aside from what works from me, I've found when I'm approaching standing straight up, I'll never fully load my spring - it either takes too long or my body just doesn't want to do it. I'll end up sort of bending my knees and more or less jumping from a relatively upright stance. I feel like if I were to try to fully load my spring from a stand still, most of my momentum would be lost in the process.

Conversely, when I make myself get lower to the ground (in part by keeping my dribble low) I'm still not [i]that[/i] low. I'm just not straight up. And even though I'm slightly lower, I still seem to take the same amount of time to load up my spring (that is, dropping even lower on takeoff). As such, I'm actually utilizing more of my leg muscles than if I were upright.

I kind of look at it the same way I look at jump shooting. Things just seem smoother when not beginning in the upright position. When I'm driving to the basket upright, it seems to take a lot more time and effort to really elevate off two feet. Whereas, when I'm driving and I'm a little lower, it seems I can really pop off the floor.

Also, regarding the loss of vertical from using one-hand to two-hands, that does indeed exist, as you likely know. However, for one reason or another, on two-foot takeoffs, I have a much better success rate at flushing with two hands than just one. I cannot palm a basketball and while that doesn't effect my one-foot flushes, it seems to bother the two-footers.