Develop This Ball Handling Habit That Most Middle School and High School Players Lack

During the Breakthrough Elite Guard Camp, Matt Keeley covers a very important ball handling habit that most players lack at all levels.

Matt was a point guard at Mid America Nazarene University and a 2-time All American and elected to the Hall of Fame. Matt is currently an assistant coach at Mid America Nazarene University.




It’s the habit of dribbling the ball hard.

When you dribble the ball hard, this results in fewer turnovers.

The ball spends less time out of your hand. And this gives the defense less time to reach in and knock the ball away. It also disrupts their timing.


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quordle today says:
5/23/2023 at 4:29:48 AM

this is fantastic for new basketball coach . i greatly appreciate it

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wordle today says:
7/27/2022 at 7:50:23 AM

This website has been fantastic for a young basketball coach just starting out. I greatly appreciate it.

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Info says:
7/27/2022 at 2:37:18 PM

Thank you for the feedback. If you need anything let us know.

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Ariel Rabe says:
1/15/2015 at 5:23:05 PM

One of the best examples is when you do the forward/attack spin move specially in transition one on one or on two. You need the hard dribble to be able to make a breezy turn and set your timing or in/out before you do the spin and elude the extra defensive body. The hard dribble will set up your tempo and momentum for whatever move you do next. Stronger legs will make the move easier.

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Jonny D says:
1/13/2015 at 10:00:59 PM

I think hard/pound dribbling has a part to play in improving hand strength and control. Although the drills where young athletes hands dribble the ball in multiple positions and they feel all parts of the ball. Pistol Pete Maravich created the ''square v'' and is a great example of handling the ball not just pounding it.
Trying to recreate all the different game situations and counters in practice is the key!

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Ross says:
1/13/2015 at 8:11:42 PM

Hi, I'm really not sold on this concept. Ball pounds have been around for a long time, most coaches do it.
To me, the best ball handlers don't come down the court smashing the ball into the ground, the ball is dribbled with ease (Steph Curry & Kyrie Irving) and use their change of pace in dribbling to deceive defenders.
The idea that the ball is in the hand longer therefore there is less chance of a turnover is plausible but what about the ball travelling with a lot more momentum than usual, so any mistake that you make will have consequences much worse than your normal dribble.
How often do you see people pounding the basketball in an actual game? I haven't seen it done much.
I think this concept has flawed logic.

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DLH says:
1/13/2015 at 8:15:06 PM

I fully understand your point and agree for the most part. I will say there are isolated cases where ball pounding can lure the defender and/or set up a move such as a change of pace move to the basket or a step back jumper. I think Damian Lillard is an excellent ball handler who uses the ball pound as his "change-up" to neutralize the defender to set up his deadly step back or to get the defender to stand straight up in anticipation of his step back and then accelerate by the defender. All-in-all, I think it depends on the player and knowing when to use it and in what situations the pound dribble is effective. Jerry West was a master of his last dribble being a hard pound before elevating when shooting off the dribble. Depending on the skillset of the player, I think it has its place as an ancillary ball handling skill/tactic.

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PJ says:
1/13/2015 at 8:23:38 PM

I happen to be watching a college game while I was reading this comment. So I paid attention to how the college players dribbled the ball. It was Iowa vs Minnesota. I watched for about 10 minutes and I'd say that every single dribble was pounded harder than what our high school players do. It seemed pretty obvious.

Now this was when they were closely guarded (which was basically the whole game because there was a lot of pressure defense). They seemed to always pound the ball with speed and force. However when advancing the ball with space the ballhandler was not pounding the ball in the ground and the point guards used change of pace with both the ball and their feet.

Part of the point is that the youth, high school, and college game is very different than the NBA. When watching the NBA you need to question everything because it's so much different than the games all of us normal people play.

And since you're only seeing a snippet from the camp, I can only assume the coach also teaches players when to change their pace, push the ball out to create separation, and so on.

But when closely guarded, I totally agree that young kids need to learn how to pound the ball with more force. Not to mention, by practicing this it improves your hand speed, strength, and confidence with the ball. Pounding the ball in practice improves your confidence and ability to control the ball. It should be "part" of every players ballhandling practice.

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JM says:
1/14/2015 at 2:29:36 PM

Chris Paul would be the prime example of someone who pounds the ball. He has some YouTube videos where he explains why he does it. Our PG is top level in our are and he pounds it like no other. It helps him play faster.

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Charlana Simmons says:
1/13/2015 at 8:44:07 AM

For a first year youth basketball coach this website has been phenomenal. Thank you so much!

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