Basketball is a team sport that needs a team leader for the team to advance to triumph, without a leader the team will fall. To be a team leader one should be smart, knows how to handle the ball, and understand what the coach says in one glimpse. Point guards are the players that usually lead the team inside the court. The point guard is the coach’s deputy on the court.
Today we are going to talk about the role of a point guard inside the court. We are going to take a deeper understanding of point guards. Let’s get it now!
Role Of Point Guard In Basketball
A point guard is the focal point of every basketball team, point guard is the one who runs plays for the team to score. To give you better information, we are going to recite the different roles of a point guard and explain each bullet.
Execute Different Plays
Every coach has different plays to run, plays are the strategic material of every basketball team. Point guards are the one who is required to execute each play inside the court. That is why a point guard should be smart, quick to learn, and understand what coaches say in one glimpse.
Point guards also study how the game of basketball flows to understand different types of plays. They also analyze each play to know when and what type of play should be executed in different situations.
Ball Handler
Point guards practice every technique to be a good ball handler inside the court. If a point guard is bad at handling the ball, he will have a hard time to enact different plays. It takes time for a point guard to master different dribbling moves.
Motivate The Team
For a team to perform hard work, they need a lot of motivation. The point guard is the team captain of the team and he must motivate the team. Every point guard should act like a leader, not a boss, being a boss, and being a leader is different.
In times of dilemma, it is required to have the motivation to escape that dilemma. Point guards give their time to talk to each player and motivate them to perform well inside the court.
Pass First Player
Point guards do not mind how many shots they sink in, instead, they focus on how they can help their teammates score and how the team can win. If we take a look at game stats, we often see the assist numbers of point guards are higher than their scores, or sometimes both of their points and assists are abundant.
Point guards focus on how they can properly pass the ball into their teammates and avoid turnovers caused by bad passes. They are just sick of committing turnovers and they don’t like committing one.
3 Point Guard Workout Drills
These are the different workouts to be a good point guard. The drills listed are scientifically proven and are effective if performed consistently.
Stationary Two Ball Dribbling
How It Works
Players perform several two-basketball dribbling drills for five to ten minutes.
Purpose
This drill will help you to improve your hand-eye coordination and dribbling skills. This drill is great to use before a game.
Instructions
Pick different drills below and perform each drill for one minute.
- Double Pound at Ankle Height: Dribble both basketballs at the same time and dribble it as hard as you can that will reach your ankle.
- Double Pound at Waist Height: Dribble both basketballs at the same time and dribble it as hard as you can that will reach your Waist.
- Double Pound at Shoulders Height: Dribble both basketballs at the same time and dribble it as hard as you can that will reach your shoulders.
- Double Pound Alternating: Balls should be at a comfortable height, alternate the dribbling of each basketball.
- One High/ One Low: Dribble both balls in different locations, one should be at ankle height and the other ball should reach the shoulder level.
- Double Wall Dribbling: Dribble both basketballs against the wall simultaneously and should be in shoulder height.
- Double V-Dribble in Front: Dribble both basketballs at the same time side to side in front of you.
- Double V-Dribble on Side: Dribble both basketballs at the same time from back to front beside you.
- 3 Dribble Double Crossover: Pound dribble both basketballs 3 times and then cross the balls over at the same time. Then perform another 3 dribbles before crossing over again.
- 3 Dribble Through the Legs/Crossover: Pound dribble both basketballs 3 times and then cross one ball over in front of you and one ball through your legs at the same time.
- 3 Dribble Behind the Back/Crossover: Pound dribble both basketballs 3 times and then cross one ball over in front of you and one ball behind your back at the same time.
Monkey In The Middle
How it works
Players are divided into the group of three. Each group is required to have one ball, two passers, and one player who will try to steal the ball. Two passers should be 12-15 feet apart from each other. The third man is required to be in the middle and attempt to steal or deflect the ball. The two players must pass the ball to each other without the use of lob passes or dribbling, just pivoting or fake pass to open up a passing space and get the ball past the defender.
Purpose
This drill will teach players how to properly use fakes and pivots to create areas to pass the ball without committing a turnover.
Instructions
- The drill will start with the defender playing tight on a player who holds the ball
- The player who holds the ball utilizes pivots and fakes to make a successful pass to the other player. The player in the middle will attempt to steal the ball
- After each pass is executed, the defender sprints to the receiver of the ball and try to steal the ball again.
- When the middle man successfully stole the ball, players rotate their positions
Tennis Ball Drill
How It Works
A player is required to have one tennis ball and one basketball. Players are required to face in front of the wall. Players will dribble the basketball continuously for five minutes while tossing the tennis ball in the wall and catching the tennis ball after it bounces back from the wall.
Purpose
This drill will enhance players’ dribbling skills, this drill also helps to improve the players dribbling without looking at the ball.
Instructions
- Player should face the wall
- Choose what hand will dribble the ball
- Dribble the ball continuously and toss the tennis ball into the wall. Catch the tennis ball after it bounces back from the wall
- Do this for 1-3 minutes and after that switch the basketball to the other hand
Is It Required To Be Small To Be A Point Guard?
To be honest with you, it is not required to be small to be a point guard. Many tall point guards play well and contribute many basketball moves in today’s basketball era. Tall point guards like Magic Johnson, Ben Simmons, etc. prove that to be a point guard you need to be short.
To be a point guard all you need is good basketball IQ, good ball handling, and good court vision. It is a complete myth that requires players to be short to be a point guard.
Conclusion
Without a good point guard, the team is close to defeat. To be a good point guard all you need is a lot of consistent practice and consistent learning. Yes, it will be a lot of hard work, but remember that every hard work will soon pay off. Good luck playing guys!
