Passing
 

I've been told by coaches that I have great vision and I sometimes can make some very good passes, but a lot of the times, I end up missing the guy or not having enough power in my arms to throw the long pass on a fastbreak. I know that court vision can be quite natural, but is actual passing natural? Any ways to improve my passing and to get more strength in my arms?

Re: Passing
 

Make passes with medecine balls against a wall, probably not 1 handed though..

Do close grip bench press, it works the triceps a lot which you use for dribbling and passing.

Re: Passing
 

I've said this many times, but I'll say it again, forearm curls are a great exercise. Low weight, high reps. The game is played at the extremeties, and everyone is willing to do calf raises because they think it'll lead to dunking, but strong forearms beget quick snappy handles, ball control in traffic, better on ball defense, quick release on jumpers, improved range, and will snap off passes quicker and with more range as well.


The actual skill of passing is a little different. A box on a wall is a great target. Jason White Chocolate Williams talked about throwing 500 passes a day against a wall target with each hand on the move, behind the back, and just about every other variation you can think of, in an interview a hundred years ago.

Re: Passing
 

Would rep if I could. One of the best posters on here. :cheers:

Re: Passing
 

:cheers:

Re: Passing
 

My greatest easily implemented passing tip is knowing where everyone is. When you've cut and are about to receive the ball or are waiting on a wing, really note where all your players are. If you fire off a good on point pass from within a moment of receiving the ball it does wonders for the offence.

Re: Passing
 

This. It'll also come in handy because you won't have to 'think' about passing, you'll just do it knowing that somebody will be there. I consider myself a bit of a natural passer, and the most effective passes are often the ones I haven't looked for. One of my teammates has gone for a cut and I know that's his game, next thing I know I've picked the gap and he's getting an easy layup. If I didn't know what his game was, I might of missed that chance.

As for the long distance passes, are you throwing one or two handed? Are you passing straight away or letting them really run out in front? As mugiwara said above if you pass straight away you don't have to cover as much distance, just enough to get them on the move ahead. A good strong two handed chest pass will often cover the distance, and won't take as long as a big wind up.

Just practice, practice and try and play with people who can move off the ball . I play on two teams, one has people who don't move, and you kind of have to do everything to get them a good pass. The other team has players who move and cut, and your natural court vision will be far more effective if you have guys like that (especially once you learn their patterns)

Re: Passing
 

As mentioned above get as many hard passing reps in as you can. Not the stationary two handed chest pass that most coaches teach young players but the one handed pass that you can actually use in the game.

Weights help, I spend quite a bit of time in the weight room but it'll take several compound movements. It wouldn't hurt to do some pushups on a basketball then work up to doing them on 2, then 3, then 4 basketballs.

Re: Passing
 

Put a mark on the floor infront of a wall and train bounce passes, they can be effective if used at the right moment, but require alot of accuracy since you have to hit 2 spots correctly.

Re: Passing
 

I've never really worked on my passing. I always found it to be the easiest part of the game (I'm not talking about vision though) And it always baffles me when I see a decent player throwing a really bad pass. I know some guys who turn the ball over by throwing it away all the time. And it's not like they don't have any game at all, but for some unknown reason they seem to have a really hard time to make a precise pass...

Re: Passing
 

You know what I struggled with for a while (and still do to some extent)? Passing up a pass. When I see a guy running the floor and he makes eye contact with me, I sometimes feel like it's my obligation to try to get him the ball, especially if I've taken a couple of shots in a row. I know all the reasons as to why that's the wrong approach yet, it lingers.

Sometimes I think I'm just self-conscious about whether my teammates believe I'm looking to share enough so it's almost as if I'm willing to risk a turnover sometimes as a tradeoff for the goodwill gesture of letting those guys know that I'm trying to hook them up. In similar situations, sometimes I'll feel bad when I realize I've missed a passing lane. I know if I see the opening it's already too late, yet again, I've had to fight myself over the years not to attempt it anyway just to go all-in on continually trying to show everyone I'm trying to get them involved.

Lastly, and briefly, I've also developed a bad habit of passing to players in positions they shouldn't be getting passed to. I have this hope that if I play with them long enough and pass to them in that uncomfortable spot enough times, they'll improve, but I'm not sure that's always the case. Sometimes players just suck at certain things, so I have to tell myself that if they can't finish on the fast break filling a wing, I should probably go away from passing to them on the fast break when they're filling a wing (or, say, spotting up for three when they can't shoot).