My son is currently playing for his middle school team but needs help learning the game as well as skills training. What is the best way to prepare him for high school tryouts? Does he need experience with playing with a team or just individual training?

Most players will need both individual training and game play to continue to improve. The level of improvement needed is very individual.

Is he a competitive player on his 8th grade team?

Is the high school he will be attending a competitive one?

I know of a high school near me that was seeking out kids to join the basketball program so they could field all three boys teams (F/JV/Varsity). Another one had over 200 boys show up for basketball tryouts. Safe to say the level of preparation at the latter was a bit better.

It depends on where you are geographically, but it isn't too hard to find a coach or two to evaluate him independently and give you some feedback, this will likely cost you. You may also want to ask the middle school coach what he thinks about your son, though this is a delicate situation, especially if the coach perceives it to be an end run to secure more playing time or be argumentative.

Best of luck to you and your son.

I agree. Both are important. Generally and roughly speaking, something like 3 hours of skill practice to 1 hour of game play is a good ratio.

Agree with Coach Malik, really depends on the size of high school and the competitive environment. I live in a larger city, so it's near impossible to make a competitive high school team if you haven't been playing on a club team in the off season.

If your son has a chance to play in leagues (3v3, 5v5) during the spring, summer and fall before the high school tryouts, that would help. I'm a big proponent of getting a good coach for some private lessons if you can. A lot of times that coach can give you tips on preparing for high school tryouts.

Couple of things coaches look for in high school tryouts: Hustle and hustle. Whether it's running on/off the court for drills, running suicides, playing in a scrimmage, or running a basic drill. A player who hustles stands out.