As a part of our “Point Guard Camp” curriculum, we lecture our players on what it takes to be a great point guard. These notes have been taken from Bob Hurley’s video “Point Guard Play” and they provide an excellent description on what all great point guards have in common:
Notes taken from Bob Hurley’s DVD “Point Guard Play”
All great point guards:
Dreamed the dream
Played more than everyone else around them
Played with enthusiasm
Every one of them believed that their size was not going to be a disadvantage
Outwork everybody
Talents – had no week skill level (only area that you can be average is shooting)
Think pass first – shot second (we guy)
First step in every situation is towards defense basketball (take a step back)
Be a pest – annoying – people don’t like to play against you
Draw charges
Stripping the ball
Dribble north and south
Get inside the defense, get in the lane
Get the feet in the lane on offense (be under control)
Get dribble to mid-thigh level
Change of speeds when dribbling and moving
Fore arm is a position to protect and accept
Accept the challenge personally when team is pressed. Consider it a personal insult to you.
Be an extension of your coach
Always know the score and time
Game face at all times – never crack, have a stone face
Be the best communicator on the floor
Success is from neck up, not neck down.
Must be a good foul shooter
If you can shoot the three that makes you different – this stretches the defense because defense has to play you
Have your own style, be your own player and play to your strengths
Make your teammates better
Success = Titles
Remember, the point guard position is one of the toughest positions to play because it takes a unique type of player. This player must be great in all skill sets and must think “we” first. He is a floor captain and an extension of the coach.
With only about 4 months to go before try-outs and the start of the season there’s still time to make a significant impact in your game!
Of course, it’s important to set goals, but now is the time to track your progress! For example, if one of your goals is to improve your shooting, track your shooting percentage.
How many attempts does it take you to make 50 shots with one step inside of the foul line?
Or How many foul shots can you make in a row?
Track your progress so that you can see if you are actually making improvement!
The same can be done with a lot of different aspects in the course of your fall pre-season training. This article gives tips on drills and things you can do to be in top condition for the start of the season!
1. USE YOUR FRIENDS AND PARENTS!
When ever you want to go workout ask your parents or friends for help! For example, if you want to get a lot of shots up ask your mom or dad to help rebound for you or ask a basketball friend to workout together (that way you can rebound for each other)!
If you want to practice ball-handling drills ask your friends or parents to help time you!
If you want to increase your speed, ask your friends or parents to time how long takes for sprint the full length of the court – there and back!
Doing drills with the help of a workout buddy or parent is a great way to track your progress during the course of the pre-season.
2. DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO SOMEONE ELSE! There could be players who are quicker than you, better at shooting or more athletically gifted, but it’s important not to get stuck comparing yourself to them. There is still 4 months to go in the off-season and a lot of things can change. As long as you set your goals high and work to achieve them everyday, that’s all that matters and that’s all that you can control! After all of your hard work, you will notice that the peers who were better than you are now not as good as you thought! This means you have outworked them!
3. PLAY AS MUCH BASKETBALL AS POSSIBLE!
This pre-season make it a goal to play basketball every single day and have a basketball with you everywhere you go!
Dribble the ball on your walk to school and back!
Play pickup games at local parks
Challenge better players to play one on one
Work on dribbling/ball-handling drills at least 15 minutes every day
Find a team or league to play on/in
Attend skills clinics
Practice dribble moves, trick shots, and floaters (pretend like you are trying to make someone off balance when you are practicing)
Jump rope 5 minutes every day (try to get 100 in a row)!
Do 100 pushups/100 situps every day (middle/high schoolers)
GOOD PRE-SEASON DRILLS!
1. “BEAT THE PRO” DRILL
This is a great shooting drill that you can customize and work on with a parent or friend!
Track your progress! See how long it takes you to beat the pro (10 minutes?, 20 minutes?). If you are getting better at it then add -2 or -3 for a miss or try to get to +10 instead of +7 for a win!
Elementary Schoolers - A miss counts as -1, a make counts as +1, if you get +5 you win, if you get -5 you lose!
Middle/High Schoolers – A miss counts as -2, a make counts as +1, if you get +7 you win, if you get -7 you lose!
2. “10 RHYTHM DRILLS 1″ These are great ball-handling drills that will really improve your ball strength! They help for dribbling, rebounding, catching, and passing! You can do these drills anywhere… as long as you have a basketball!
Track your progress by seeing how long you can do these drills by finding a rhythm and not messing up, but you have to go your absolute hardest in every drill!
Have you parent or friend time you for these drills! If you are start off by being able to “around the backs” for 3 seconds without messing up, try to improve to 6 seconds, and then to 10 seconds!
3. MAKING SHOTS IN A ROW!
Great shooters are consistent, this drill requires players to make mid-range and 3 point shots in a row before they go on to the next spot!
Track your progress by seeing how long in time it takes you to finish the drill! Elementary Schoolers make 3 shots in a row from spots 1-5 Middle Schoolers make 5 shots in a row from spots 1-5 Elite Middle Schoolers make 5 shots in a row from spots 1-5 and 3 shots in a row from spots 6-10 High Schoolers make 5 shots in a row from spots 1-5 and 5 shots in a row from spots 6-10 Elite High Schoolers make 7 shots in a row from spots 1-5 and 7 shots in a row from spots 6-10
