BASKETBALL
Montevallo
Middle
School
Physical
Education
BASKETBALL
 Basketball is one of the few sports that can be
played in a team, dual, or individual format.
 Whether you play on a school or league team, or
if you play at home or “pick-up” games, it can
serve as a great source of cardiovascular exercise
and recreational fun.
SHOOTING
 Use the “B.E.E.F.” technique when shooting the
basketball. Whether it’s comfortable to you now or not,
practicing this technique and form will give you the best
chance to be successful when shooting.
 “B”- Balance. Get your feet set shoulder width apart and
evenly aligned. Square your feet and shoulders toward
the goal.
 “E”- Eyes on the Goal. Focus your eyes on the rim or
backboard, whichever is your target for the shot.
 “E”- Elbow Up. Keep the elbow on your shooting arm
elevated, bent at a 90 degree angle, and directly under
the basketball.
 “F”- Follow Through. As you extend your arm up and out
toward the goal, snap your wrist and fingers down, and
leave that arm and hand in that position. “Reaching into
the cookie jar.”
B.E.E.F .
Balance
Eyes
Elbow
Follow
Through
WHICH SHOT IS A GOOD SHOT?
 A shot closer to the basket is usually considered a
“high percentage” shot because if the shooter tries
several attempts from that distance/location they
would likely hit more shots than they would miss ,
resulting in a high percentage of makes.
 Layups are the most common type of high
percentage shot taken in games.
 When playing team basketball it’s always a good
idea to try to find a teammate who has a chance at
a “high percentage” shot and pass them the ball.
 An open three-point attempt is not a bad shot…
unless someone is open closer to the basket.
DRIBBLING
 One way the offensive player can move the ball up
the court is to dribble.
 When we dribble we want to focus on only
contacting the basketball with our fingertips . Avoid
hitting the ball with your palms because you will
lose the ability to control the direction of the ball.
 It’s also a good idea to keep your eyes forward so
you can see: a.) where you’re going, b.) the defense,
and c.) your teammates and the basket.
 Travelling = taking more than 2 steps with the
basketball, without dribbling.
T YPES OF DRIBBLES
 Control Dribble- This is the safest type
of dribble to protect the basketball
from a defender.
The control dribble is performed by
turning slightly to place your body
between the ball and the defender,
dribbling the ball near or behind your
back foot, and raising your off-hand
and arm to protect the ball from the
defender’s hands.
T YPES OF DRIBBLES
 Hand-Transfer Dribble- This could be used in order
to protect the ball while moving, change direction
under defensive pressure, or change hands without
picking up your dribble.
 We practiced 4 types of “hand-transfer” dribbles in
class:
Crossover
Between the Leg
Behind the Back
Spin
We also worked on some Ball-Handling Drills that
could help improve your dribbling ability.
BALL-HANDLING DRILLS
 Popcorn- tapping the
ball back and forth off
the fingertips
 Around the Worldpassing the ball from
one hand to the other
around, in front, and
behind your body
 The Blur- releasing and
catching the ball under
your legs while moving
your hands around, in
front, and behind your
legs
 Figure 8- passing the ball
from one hand to the
other around and
between your legs
 V Dribble- dribbling from
one hand to the other low
to the ground in a “V”
pattern
 Low Dribble- dribbling
with one hand while
kneeling or sitting and
keeping the ball low to
the ground
PASSING
 The other option for the offensive player to
advance the ball is to pass it to a teammate.
 Passing is the fastest way to advance the
basketball down the court when done correctly.
 There are three main types of passes:
Chest Pass
Bounce Pass
Overhead Pass
CHEST PASS
 The chest pass involves using two hands to pass
the ball to a teammate, at chest height, without
allowing the ball to hit the floor.
 We want to step towards our target when passing,
and be sure to press the thumbs down and out to
complete the follow through of the pass.
BOUNCE PASS
 The bounce pass is very similar to the chest pass
in how it is performed. The major difference is
that it is intended to bounce to your target.
 We use the bounce pass because it slows the
trajectory of the ball, and makes it easier for a
teammate to catch.
This is especially true when the intended
teammate is on the move.
OVERHEAD PASS
 The overhead pass is typically used to pass the
ball over the defense in some way.
 The overhead pass differs from the chest and
bounce pass in that it is more of a throwing
motion. We start with the ball in both hands, held
over our head, and then bring the ball forward
and slightly up to elevate the pass over any
defender that might be in the passing lane.
 This pass is intended to cover a longer distance,
without allowing the defenders to easily interfere.
TRIPLE-THREAT POSITION
 When we catch the basketball we need to protect
it from the defender at all times.
 The “triple-threat position” allows us to not only
protect the ball, but also be able to dribble, pass,
or shoot quickly, hence the name triple-threat.
 In order to protect the ball in this position we
place the ball close to our hip, lean our opposite
shoulder and elbow in between the ball and the
defender, and keep both hands on the ball
securely.
DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES
Purpose
Stance
Positioning
Strategy
PURPOSE OF DEFENSE
 Why do we play defense when
offense is so much more fun?
 The purpose of defense in
basketball, like any other sport,
is to stop the offense from
scoring.
 Defenders are allowed to steal a
pass or dribble, block a shot,
rebound a missed shot, or cause
an offensive violation or mistake,
as long as they don’t foul the
offensive player in the process.
DEFENSIVE STANCE
 Proper defensive stance includes:
Feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart
Knees bent and a slight bend at the waist
Staying low with a wide base helps increase your
balance and agility to stay in front of the person
you’re guarding
Chest and eyes up
Active hands, out away from the body
When playing defense on the ball handler it is
especially important to have active hands to
prevent an open pass or shot
DEFENSIVE POSITIONING
 If our main objective on defense is to stop the
offense from scoring, we need to position ourselves
between the player we’re guarding and the basket .
 We covered person-to-person defense in class as the
main style of defense used in basketball.
 Within this style of defense there were two basic
defenders:
On-ball defense- when you’re defending the player
who currently has the ball
Off-ball defense- when you’re defending a player
who does not have the ball
DEFENSIVE STRATEGY
On-Ball
 If you’re defending the
player with the ball you
should stay at least an
arm’s length away to
avoid “overplaying”
them and possibly
allowing them to drive
past you to the basket.
Off-Ball
 If you’re defending off
the ball you should be
aware of playing “help
side” defense and move
and rotate closer to the
basket to assist your
teammates who are
defending the ball.
RULES
 There are offensive and defensive rules in the game
of basketball.
 Fouls- the offensive and defensive teams are
subject to committing a foul.
Any contact deemed unnecessary or intentional by
the official can by called a foul.
If a defensive player makes contact with an
offensive player in the act of shooting it is a foul.
If an offensive player makes contact with a
defensive player who has established their position
it is a foul.
RULES
 The most common mistake an offensive player
makes while learning the game of basketball is
often a moving violation. This is also known as
“travelling.”
 Travelling is called when an offensive player takes
more than two steps without dribbling the
basketball.
 Another moving violation is a double-dribble.
This occurs any time a player dribbles the ball with
both hands; or picks the ball up with both hands
while dribbling, and then returns to their dribble.
SPORTSMANSHIP
 One of the major focuses of this unit on basketball was
that everyone demonstrate good sportsmanship
throughout each day.
 Characteristics of someone who displays good
sportsmanship:
 Treats teammates, opponents, coaches, officials, and
spectators with respect.
 Maintains a good attitude no matter what the
circumstances are.
 Shows humility in victory and grace in defeat.
 Encourages teammates and accepts responsibility for
their own mistakes.
 Is honest at all times, even if it is to their disadvantage.
AND FINALLY
Be COACHABLE!
When learning or practicing any skill, sport, game,
lesson, subject, job, or task always be COACHABLE.
Not only will others respect you and appreciate your
efforts, but you’ll learn amazing things about
yourself and your potential to improve.
Compete with yourself, not your opponent.
“Hold yourself to a higher standard than
anyone else expects of you.”
- Henry Ward Beecher