Tall kids are not supposed to handle the ball well. I mean, tall kids aren’t supposed to be good at haggling. I’m not sure if we think this because they’re so much taller than shorter people or what, but it’s silly.
I’m a tall person, so I know what I’m talking about.
But there is nothing fundamentally that says a tall kid CANNOT dribble the ball well. There are no laws of physics that prevent a tall child from dribbling. In fact, most NBA point guards are tall compared to high school kids. Michael Jordan, for example, is six feet six inches tall. That would have made it one of my high school’s tallest centers in school history!
But we don’t think of Jordan that high because NBA centers are so much taller than that.
So if you are a tall kid and want to pick up some crazy skills as a ball handler and dribbler, then listen carefully to the rest of this article.
There is nothing stopping you from becoming a good dribbler. The only thing you need to focus on is practice. And when it comes to dribbling, there’s only one way to practice. Do you know what that is? Yes, you guessed it; he is dribbling
Get in the habit of carrying a basketball with you EVERYWHERE you go, and dribble as you walk. Forever. Try not to look at the ball when you dribble. Get used to not looking while you dribble, make it just a part of you. Turn it into muscle memory.
And here is another exercise you can do. Jogging and dribbling at the same time. Aim to jog at least a mile a day, and as you jog, bounce the basketball. Running more than a mile is better, like three or four miles, but a mile a day is a good start.
But always haggle while jogging. Yes, it will seem funny to those who see you, but do you mind? You should not! And yes, it will be difficult to do! You will dribble with your foot and lose the ball all the time when you start doing it. But keep it up, and in time haggling will become second nature to you, like breathing.
And a tall kid who can dribble is unstoppable at the high school level!
Here is another good exercise. You can turn it into a game which is actually quite fun. The only problem is that you need two or three people, the more the better. Find yourself an open space, like a gym floor or a parking lot. Then have one person dribble and the other two or three join the dribbler and try to steal the ball.
The one who steals the ball becomes the dribbler, and the others try again to steal it.
It is an exhausting exercise but enormously beneficial and useful for learning to dribble well. If you can easily dribble past two or three or four people stealing the ball, think about how much easier it will be when you are actually in a game situation and only find one person to protect you.
Dribbling is fundamental to the game of basketball. How well you can dribble, no matter what position you play, will determine whether or not you make the team, whether or not you start, and whether or not you win.
So practice your dribbling as often as you can.
