MyBasketball

This article is part of the series “30 days to being a better basketball player“.

"southside vs woodmont basketball (97 of 155)" by Gil Searcy,via flickr

On the court, basketball is a team game. No matter how good one player is, the team will only be successful if all the players can successfully work together and utilise the strengths of each player effectively.

So then, how can you really do that if you don’t know as much as you can about the players you play with? Maybe you know of a way, but I would say that you can’t do it effectively if you don’t know your teammates well enough.

Often this responsibility is left up to the coach, and perhaps to the team captain. For the team to be its best, and for you to be the best player you can be, its up to you to take on that responsibility too.

Today’s challenge is to make a point of getting to know each player on your team. Each player is different, but if you know what their strengths are and what they enjoy doing on the court, it will be easier to find the right opportunities at the right time.

One of the best ways to do this is obviously spending time on the court playing together. But don’t neglect the other things that will make a difference, such as spending time together off the court, as well as by talking about your team and basketball in general, asking them questions and importantly – watching them carefully during practices and games. You will be surprised how many chances you get to learn about each player if you just pay attention.

Once you understand your teammates better, you’ll better be able to create opportunities for your teammates and yourself, and this will improve not only your game but your team’s performance as well.

If you’re really lucky, your teammates will notice that you’re making the effort to learn, and they’ll do so too.

You’ve heard it a million times before, but that’s only because it’s true – the team that works together wins together.

"Work" by Kenneth B Moore, via flickr

Darren spent many years playing basketball in Pretoria, searching out every possible way to gain extra inches on his vertical in order to disprove the theory that white men can't jump. After being distracted by the corporate world for several years, Darren returned to the game he loves to contribute in some way to its' future. Darren firmly believes we will see basketball in its rightful place as one of the top sports in South Africa, and that one of the keys to doing so is seeing information about the game made easily accessible to everyone. This is why he is now part of the MyBasketball team.

Darren Gorton

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Darrens website

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• Day 30: Putting the lessons into practice
• Day 27: Rules of engagement
• Day 26: Defend your territory