When you think of dribbling tricks, you might imagine the Harlem Globetrotters or other trick artists doing some crazy stunts with a basketball. But some of the most impressive-looking tricks stem from traditional exercises aimed at simply improving the ball-handling skills of young players. To get better at tricks and just basic ball-handling skills, keep a basketball in your hands as often as possible and practice, even against imaginary opponents, so you occasionally have to dribble around your back or dive after a ball and dribble as you stand up.
Figure 8
This is a traditional dribbling exercise, but when it's done at high speed, it's an impressive trick. Dribbling between the legs may be the oldest basketball stunt in the world. To start, have the player with the ball start dribbling with his legs slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Then, simply use the right hand to push the ball back through the legs to the left hand, which dribbles around the left leg and pushes the ball back through the legs to the right hand, which dribbles the ball around the right leg and back to where you started. To make this trick a little easier, have the player crouch and lower his center of gravity. To make it more challenging, have the player advance up court while dribbling in a figure 8.
Two Balls at a Time
To help players learn the coordination needed to master their left and right hands, coaches have long been having players dribble two basketballs at a time up and down the court. To make this trick even more challenging, have the players dribble two basketballs at full speed up the court and back down. Then mix it up and have the players make a 360-degree turn while maintaining control of both basketballs at least three or four times down the court.
Crossover
This trick looks especially good in a game situation, when the offensive player can fool her defender. To execute a solid crossover dribble if the ball handler is right-handed, the ball handler should approach her defender with small steps and favor her right hand. When she is close to the defender, the ball handler should fake with a step to the right. If the defender reacts to the fake, the ball handler should quickly push the ball to her left side and drive left to the basket.
Start from Stop
Another oldie but a goodie, this trick can be done anywhere with a hard surface. Just start with the basketball still on the ground. Take your strong hand and slap the ball to get it bouncing and then give it little taps with your fingertips to get the ball bouncing the way you want it to. The key with any dribbling trick is to use your fingertips as much as possible.
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