How do I get better at basketball?

Wait really?

You tend to either be good or bad?

If your uncoordinated say goodbye to the sport.

What do you suck at specifically?

There's a good vhs series by Pistol Pete that you could take a look at. Get in shape. Basketball is an intuitive game just as most games are, be intuitive.

so this is what I don't get....and apologies, but my pet hate on the boards - as oft documented - is dudes who start threads as an excuse to not do what they know they have to do, and later post all the reasons why that would "be great advice for someone else, but here's the thing..." and then never do shit. It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of two things you need to work at that are, ostensibly, the basics. Left hand dribbling, and layups. So then why would you ask for advice online instead of heading to the park and bouncing a ball up and down a zillion times with your left hand until your arm is sore....then practising your crossovers to rest the arm a bit, and finishing with like 20 minutes of layups on alternating sides. Return next day. Repeat. Seems like that would be considerably better use of practise time than SF, is better exercise than typing, more fun, and takes about as long as 5 well thought out posts (although admittedly it takes about a month for SF to accrue five well thought out posts across the board!). I know jackshit about basketball, hell I know jackshit about most things, but when I was a kid I was in junior state rep teams for indoor cricket, a sport that exists in Australia and pretty much nowhere else. When I was training for the nationals I would go to the nearest highschool which had practice nets (American terms, think batting cages) with an old ball, and just bowl (pitch) to no one for like an hour. Middle of winter too, the off season. People looked at me funny. Marked out a target to aim at, and got better with each hour, and by the end of the week, those seven hours paid more dividends than seven hours of reading time ever would. edit: ok - here's a super simple one for you.... Basketball is damn hard on your cardio, whenever I get roped into playing with my friends, I sweat like I have raped a kindergarten...so as per Zombieland, Rule 1: Cardio. Run 3 mile three times a week, while bouncing a basketball with your left hand the entire way. Figuring some uneven surfaces along the way will give you some new skills. Somewhere en route find a park. Do 30 layups on either side when you are there. Easy, right? Saved you a bunch on books too Do that for a month, update this thread with your progress, and I'll concoct something else for you to do after that.

+1. You just told us what you need to do. work on your left and layups. Also likely strengthen your quads and calves for lateral movements as opposed to trying to steal. Stay low and wide.

A solid game is a game that doesn't show weakness to the opponent. Otherwise they obviously have something to key on. If you can't go left, they defend right etc, etc.

That said, above all get in better shape. When I went to school myself and some friends would routinely beat kids on the basketball team (DII) in pickup games because we were in far better shape. We weren't exactly playing against Duke here, but still - better endurance and solid fundamentals pretty much win out unless your opponent is DI/NBA caliber.

http://www.betterbasketball.com Shooting, dribbling and passing DVD's for basics and "scoring without the ball" for a better understanding of how to play with screens.

you can get better at shooting, especially helpful if you're white and slow. also, when going left, shoot with both hands if you have to. and, try dribbling every day. 300 left, 300 right, 300 crossover. also, learning to cycle through and move without the ball is key. i play with some ex college guys and a guy who played pro overseas and the better amateur and playground players will not tolerate you not knowing where to be.

I played basketball for four years of high school and a year in college. I'm also black, so doesn't that make me an expert on this subject? ..i keed.

Seriously, it really would almost be a waste of time and money to buy a book or videos. It's kind of tough to watch a video or read a book while doing what it is that will help you most: PRACTICE! yea, "we talkin' bout practice man.....practice....practice, man."

I GUESS if you wanna get a book, get one that has a few drills that will help you with fundamentals. Dribbling with your left hand, and certainly lay ups are things you should be practice, you're missing out on a whole segment of your game if you can only shoot a jumper. If you're not hitting your shot, and you always will have bad days, you probably won't get the ball if you can't do anything but shoot if you play with guys who have talent.

Secondly, you can garner a lot of respect by committing yourself to defense. There are a lot of good drills you can do to work on your foot speed among other things. Just keep learning more about the game though, if you're smarter than people you can make up for some of the skills you lack. Play, Play, Play!

...oh yea, and don't worry about plays unless your trying out for a team. Outside of a few VERY BASIC plays (pick and roll, give and go, etc.) most people won't know what the hell you're talking about.

i think shooting is your best bet for improvement. it's surprising how many nonbasketball college athletes can barely hit rim beyond ten feet. you can be productive in a fast paced game if you can shoot and defend. your own athleticism, height, what you are good at/what you are bad at should guide you. you can work on your dribble and lefty layup all you want but if you're an unathletic five five asian the reality is you won't be blowing by and finishing past any decent athlete. if you're a true novice it's probably best to try improving several skills and see which ones you plateau at and which ones you keep improving at.

"This ain't the game man... we talkin' bout practice. How am I going to make my teammates better in practice?"

Do the opposite of Allen Iverson as seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI

1. Meet LeBron James
2. Have sex with LeBron James
3. Wait 18 years
4. ???
5. PROFIT!