True PG skill set ?'s

[mike.1283]

As I start writing this I have no idea how long it might turn out or what I will include, and I'm sure I'll edit it 12 times by the end of today.
That being said I am trying to find out more about being a "true PG" and what skills and especially what intangibles that make a great PG. Basically my quick story is I'm 5'10 I've never had to run Point even though I should be I've never been skilled enough for it. (Dribble with my head down, not confident in my dribbling abilities) I know that I would be a more effective player if I was more of a PG specifically talking about playing pickup with the groups that I would play with. I don't like the idea of dribbling the ball up the court and having someone waiting for me at half court because I tend to want to dribble off to the side and always give the defender the ability to think that "he owns me", and he can take the ball from me at any given moment, knowing that when I do end up bringing up the ball I usually will pass it as quickly possible right before I get to half court which I know is completely uneffective.
My thoughts are even though I know a decent amount of ball handling drills I don't really do them, and I've always thought that they don't have a ton of carry over to games (maybe cuz I'm not doing them enough not intense/game situation enough). Right now I am a pure shooter, and I'd like to take my game a little beyond that (from Taylor's terms of being a pure shooter). Anyways just wanted to throw something together to start a little discussion.

[LilBallerx8]

I'm what most people call a true PG, and basically, what you gotta do is practice EXACTLY what you're bad at. Pressure defense was a HUGE problem for me as well. I took the ball over the half-court line, and I got mobbed by 3 people. There's two things you do about this:

1) Pass it off. Yeah, I know you said that you don't like to, but before the game, talk to the other guard on your team. Right before you get to half court tell him to get open so you two can perform a quick give and go. Sure, it's not flashy like a crossover,etc. but it works. You could also work a (very) high pick and roll or a just a normal screen. Communicate! That's one of the most important things you gotta do as a PG.

2) Drive his ass. The way to render a defender ineffective is to put him onto his heels. One he starts backing up, he's dead. This is where the drills come into play. Get past the half court line and settle into a control dribble, back nearly to basket. Look UP (drills again), and find which one of his feet are in the front. Whichever one it is, you gotta run past him in that direction like your life depended on it. Make sure you dribble long/far away and have some contact way you go past him. This way, you get a one-step advantage in which the defender had to switch his legs around.

Lance gave me two really effective drills that I used in driving. I have felt the same as you before, but trust me, drills are effective. In the two ways I just talked about, you need to master: crossover, pick and roll, give and go, LOOKING UP, left hand, and communication while you dribble. Find and do drills to improve your weaknesses as directly as you can.

Lol that was probably my longest post so far, hope I didn't confuse you

[JelloPuddinPup]

I don't have much to add to LilBaller's post but I have some suggestions to follow after you work on the issues he addressed for you.

1. Understanding passing angles. There's 2 types of pg's in my book. The type that makes his team better, and the type that doesn't. The ones that make his team better are typically the more successful pgs (unless you have a ball dominating sg, example: Brandon Roy from the Portland Trailblazers). A good PG knows the basics of setting a teammate up to succeed. And to do that well you need to understand passing angles. Anybody can pass to an open player on the wing, but it takes a great player to get that player open while taking care of the ball and drawing both his man and the wing players man to him. If you can learn to draw a defense one way or the other (by draw I mean make them adjust their positions how you want them to) and figure out ways to set up your teammates in areas they can succeed then you will go a long way at that position.

2. Knowing when to change your game. Some games, your teammates just aren't going to hit shots. At that time you need to develop the ability to take over a scoring load from the team. Example here is Steve Nash. Nash is arguably one of the best shooters, if not -the- best shooter in NBA history. But he only averages 15ppg on his career and while that is good, it is not a dominating statistic. However, there are many many games that Nash has of 25pts+. On those nights, Nash has realized that a teammate or the whole team is not hitting or he is just extra hot and he takes over a different role for the team to help them succeed. Sure he could average a lot more points, but that is not his tasked job. He is a passer first, a scorer second. I think that defines a true point guard for most teams. But ideally, a true point guard does what it takes to help his team succeed.

I know those are kind of random additions to the thread discussion, but I believe those to be valuable goals for a point guard. If he can ascend to those points in his abilities, there will be a team looking for his services.

[mike.1283]

These are all good and very helpful ways of thinking of things. The other thing I was going to add/edit in my post but now since we have a couple of replies to the thread already I'll add it down here, I was looking for ways to break down a defender, I know the fact that if you go by him once you can really get in his head, and that's what I want to be able to do I just don't have a "go to move" or series of moves to create space and to get into the lane, when I'm not running the point its usually a headfake or series of headfakes and jab steps but while dribbling up the court you don't have that same option.
My question specifically about drills, (and I'm having trouble figuring a way to word it to make sense) the issue I had when I was doing drills, was that if there was a point that I would "fail" at the drill - either dribble it off my foot or lose the coordination, then the drill for me seemed ineffective and I spent time trying to figure out ways with those drills to take steps back to become better at them so I'd get better. (Don't know if the wording makes sense) to use something to relate it to, if you're trying to jump rope and you're not good at jumping rope then you aren't going to be able to do it for a long period of time, thus not gaining the benefits of it, thats how I felt about certain drills.

[LilBallerx8]

ah.

Think of it this way. If your not gonna do the drills more, your not gonna get better at them. If you aren't gonna get good at the drills, how are you supposed to be good DURING the game? There's a quote: "You are only as good as the level of your weakness" or something like that. If your not good at the drill, you won't be able to do it in the game.

[amak]

So basically consistency?

Here's how i built my game. First i started learning to dribble wit coordination. They way i did it was back in middle school we start getting class periods right i would dribble under the legs all the way to next class. Everyday i kept on dribbling. Next year came around, i drove the ball crossed over 2 people n made a lay up. After that i was jumping up and down like Jordan. I was confident enough that i would be able to drive the ball more. Eventually got used to it. So basically play people 1on1 to drive and dribble. If you can split up the defense or make them guard you pass out. ill post more later going to the gym lol

[mike.1283]

Great posts thanks guys, I wanted to ask as far as coming off off picks what's your 1st read or what do you look for coming off screens? I know with some of the guards I play with as the guy setting the picks I know if the Point drags them and either allows me to pop out for a shot or roll to the hoop, but I have no clue what to look for when running through screens as the ball handler (I've always come off screens and been the shooter). The other thing I wanted anyone's opinion on was getting shots over bigger players and creating space around bigger players, any thoughts?

[LilBallerx8]

look for these (hopfully in the order):
pick and roll option,
if open shoot,
teammates,
if none just reset.

[amak]

hmm idk actually i play point basically unconsciously kind of weird but yea. if u get used to it you will know what to do and when to do it. creating space on big guys would be agility use plus screens, pick and rolls, hop step fade thing n jumper, floaters, and vertfreak training. lol

[JelloPuddinPup]

Your options off of the picks are what your coaches want you to do within the offense. Are they setting you a pick to get open? or is it for the P&R? Or is it just to get a smaller player on a bigger guard or a diversion pick? There are so many things you can do with a pick that you can't really say definitively that you should do one thing or the other first.