Developing Your Weak Hand

Too many kids these days are one-hand wonders. There was a kid we played last year, arguably the best player in state for his age, would dribble from the left wing all the up along the 3-point line and drive to the net from the right side, rather than just attack from the left wing.

There was an AAU game I watched in the summer, there was this great shooter on this one team. His teammates would come set ball-screens for this player to drive left, and he would always go right instead.

One thing that got me thinking last season when watching Greg Oden formerly of Ohio State, was after his right wrist injury, he worked exclusively on his off-hand shooting his free-throws and ball-handling. I think players need to spend a lot more time on developing their off-hand. Doing a lot of ball-handling, passing and shooting drills with their off-hand. After all, if the defense can force you to your weaker hand, they will have a big advantage in defending you.

I found this article that describes some drills and things that you can work on in developing your off-hand.

I like Jay Wright's DVD on footwork. Not only should you develop your weak hand, you should be able to attack using either foot to pivot. I see a lot of traveling calls with some kids because they can only use one foot, their strong foot, to make their first move.

Go over the Coaching Basketball Forum to discuss.