A diagonal move is one that pushes you toward the corners. They aren’t generally used for beating a defender, just for getting to a certain position on the court. For this purpose, the most useful diagonal is a three-quarter spin. This move is just like the spin discussed in the verticals section, but you don’t place the ball behind the defender. Instead, you put it in a place that directs you toward a corner. You’ll rarely get past a defender with this move, but it allows you to remain in control and get to the spot you need to get to.

Horizontals

A horizontal move pushes you straight ahead. At first, it seems like this would result in a charging call, but that’s not exactly true. There are three horizontal moves: the stop-and-go, the spin, and the skip. The stop-and-go is the simplest move in basketball. Just like it sounds, you dribble up to the defender, pause for a moment, and then blow past him. The effectiveness of the move lies in the pause. The natural inclination of the defender is to straighten up just a little bit at that point. When that happens, you lower shoulders and brush past him.

The second move, the spin, is also exactly what it sounds like. You approach the defender, take a hard bounce, and spin around the defender, putting the ball behind him/her as you spin. This is most useful on the fast break when a defender tries to take a stand because it results in only a small decrease in your speed as you run down the court.

The skip is like the stop-and-go, and it is also a full court move. With this move you control your speed, skip, this forces the defender to freeze or change the rhythm of their steps, and then you accelerate past them.

Lateral, by definition, means moving from one side to the other. Laterals are performed by crossing the ball from one side of the body to the other. During a lateral dribble, you do NOT move your body. The three laterals are under the knees, between the legs, and underneath the legs (behind the back). The goal of a lateral is not the beat the defender; the goal is to freeze the defender. After the lateral, push the ball out and explode past the defender. A common mistake is to push too soon. This will reduce the effectiveness of the move. You need to be patient. Wait for the ball to finish crossing over before making the burst forward.

Mario Hicks... Trinity Prep

 Mario Hicks... Trinity Prep

Three Types of Moves

While dribbling the ball, there are three different kinds of moves you can use to beat a defender. Each one has its own situations to in which it can be effectively used. The three types of moves, which will be explained in greater detail in subsequent posts, are laterals, verticals, and diagonals. If you want to see these moves used in game situations watch these players play: Amber Henson, Sickles, F, Sophomore, 6-4: Henson and her brother, North Carolina commit John Henson, moved to the Bay area this summer from Texas. Henson's got offers from Duke, North Carolina, and Texas - to name a few - and her style of play will draw a lot of national attention to the area. Michelle Taylor, Plant, G/F, Junior, 5-8: Taylor led her team with 16.6points per game last season.

TAMPA

When Michelle Taylor speaks of her need to slow the game down, the Plant junior isn't talking about ball control. She's talking about mind control. "When it's fast, it's kind of like a blur," Taylor said. "When you can slow the game down in your head, you're able to see it better." To help achieve this, the 5-foot-8 guard/forward has spent countless hours working under the watchful eye of well-known shooting coach Marvin Harvey. By doing so, she hopes to — like the best in her sport — almost see things before they happen.

"Marvin trains pro athletes," Taylor said. "And he has taught me to think at a higher level, like the pros and college kids do. In their mind, they slow the game down. They don't play at what he calls 10 speed. They play it between one and eight speed. Right now, Marvin says I'm still playing faster than what I should be. I'm trying to get between five and seven."

Taylor's cerebral approach to the game is something Plant Coach Carrie Mahon has come to expect from the three-year starter, who in addition to being a standout on the court has a 4.7 weighted GPA.

"She's just a thinker," Mahon said. "She understands basketball at a level most high school kids don't. She understands how to create space. She understands angles. She always knows where the ball is going. She's just a student of the game."

And, for that matter, she's also quite a talent.

As a sophomore, Taylor led Plant, which won the Class 5A, District 10 title and reached the second round of the playoffs, in scoring (16.6 points per game) and was second in both rebounding (7.1) and assists (3.3).

During the 2007-08 season, she saw action at every position but center, which says a lot about her versatility.

"There's not a position on the floor she can't play," Mahon said.

Colleges, including DePaul and Florida, have started to take notice.

"I get three or four calls a week from different schools," Mahon said.

At this point, Taylor's college destination is not on her mind. Instead, she is focused squarely on two things: winning and improving.

"I might score 30 in a game, but if we're not winning, I'm not happy," Taylor said.

We’ve all heard of the “hack-a-Shaq” technique. When this strategy is implemented, many people have the same questions. “Why doesn’t he just work on his free throws? He’s been in the NBA for over a decade, so why hasn’t he improved?” Many people will give you excuses that his hands are too big on the ball or that his height makes it too difficult. Both of these theories are disproved by Yao Ming, who is taller, has bigger hands, and shoots 80% at the line. The real reason Shaq hasn’t improved is that he’s scared. In order to improve his free throws, he’d have to improve his form. This would mean starting over at the beginning. At first, his percentage would drop even lower than it is now. In the end, however, the new form would eventually become natural, and his shooting would improve drastically.

Importance of Free Throws

If you watch basketball games on TV very often, chances are you’ve heard an announcer make a comment similar to the following: “He’s having a tough time shooting the ball tonight. He should try to get to the line to get himself into a rhythm.” Unlike many of the things commentators say, this is actually very true. The free throw is the most fundamental shot. At the foul line, you can take your time, make sure your form is correct, and think about any adjustments that need to be made.

Keep Everything inside the Rim

Most people don’t realize it, but the rim is actually pretty big. For most people, it’s actually as wide as or wider than their shoulders. So when you line up for a shot, make sure that every part of your body is pointing at the rim. Also, make sure that your fingers are pointing inside the rim when you release the ball.

In this clip of Raja Bell, with less than three points of a seconds left on the clock, he was still able to keep his body inside the lines of the rim, and then his release followed inside the lines of the rim; as well.

The remaining ways to miss (long and short) indicate different problems. Missing short is usually an indication of your timing being amiss. It can also be the result of too much or too little arc on your shot. If you’re missing your shots long, it’s actually not bad. It usually means that everything was done correctly, and you just put a little too much power into the shot. You can easily adjust by taking a little power off the shot or by adding more backspin.

There are four ways to miss any shot: short, long, left, and right. Missing to the left or right is the easiest to solve. The majority of misses to the left or right are a result of not remaining lined up with the basket. This can cover anything from having your hips turned to having your hand too far on one side of the ball. If you watch the great shooters, you’ll see that they rarely miss to the sides. This is because they have great form, and great form simply doesn’t allow you to miss to either side.