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Redgrendel2001 posted:Play with a few people who can set good picks that can give you enough distance between your defender so that you can get off your shot. Also, play help defense by blocking off lanes; it doesn't matter what your size is, a body blocking the path to a layup has the tendency to make people shoot from a greater distance or pass the ball. Since length/height is your issue, be extra sure to keep your hands at/above your mid-section at all times; it's cliched advice, but it will get you a surprising amount of turnovers. The last "pick-up" game I played, I was like a sophomore in HS. Unfortunately back then, I was morbidly obese (5'1" 300lbs), and as such, pretty loving horrrible outside of my just hanging around the wing, waiting for someone to pass it to me so I drop a wide-open 3. I slimmed down over the last few years to a lean 160 and have been looking to game a lot more, but never found the time to work on my fundamentals thoroughly. My new job has given me ample amounts of it though, giving me days where I can hit up my nearby court and do a shoot-around for an hour or two. Looking forward to it. The guys I normally play with (not pick-ups, but just loving around, horse, 21, etc.) are pretty big; two of them are 6'1, 6'3" dudes respectively who I've been playing against since elementary school. One of my best friends is also Filipino, but he's slightly taller (about 5'7") and he's quick as gently caress. Way faster than I am. They play in a winter/summer league occasionally at a park district here, and I might consider joining them. Maybe I can talk my two bigger friends to set picks for me. Heh. Also, the correct term for people hailing from the Philippines is spelled "Filipino". The more you know! 
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Mar 10, 2012 02:37
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mastershakeman posted:I'm 5'9, 170, white, can't jump, dribble, or shoot. I started playing pickup a year or two ago and do it every few weeks despite it being frustrating. All I do is set picks. I think you should work on your jump shot. Once you show that you can hit it, people will have to start respecting it, and it opens up a lot of penetration/drive opportunities. Good post moves I think are harder to develop. You have to have good foot work, and general awareness of where the defender is behind you. That can take a lot of time/experience to develop. teagone posted:The last "pick-up" game I played, I was like a sophomore in HS. Unfortunately back then, I was morbidly obese (5'1" 300lbs), and as such, pretty loving horrrible outside of my just hanging around the wing, waiting for someone to pass it to me so I drop a wide-open 3. I slimmed down over the last few years to a lean 160 and have been looking to game a lot more, but never found the time to work on my fundamentals thoroughly. My new job has given me ample amounts of it though, giving me days where I can hit up my nearby court and do a shoot-around for an hour or two. Looking forward to it. One of the best players that I used to play with was a guy who showed up at a park I balled in every once in awhile. He was a 5'3" Asian dude who was the best pure PG I ever played pickup with. He had good handle, but more importantly, he knew how to pass, set up people and do all the things a good PG did to help you win games. For example, he instinctively knew when to give up the ball on a 3v2 fastbreak and who would be the best person to pass to. He had excellent court vision and could "see" plays develop 2-3 steps ahead of everyone. Everytime I saw him, I would try to get on his team because I knew that he would just make it easier for all of us to win. All we had to do was run around and wait for the ball, and hit wide open shots/layups. Unfortunately, he had the worst, and I mean THE WORST jump shot I have ever seen. In like 6 years of playing pickup games with him I think I saw him hit like 10 jumpers. Vladimir Putin fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Mar 10, 2012 |
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Mar 10, 2012 03:31
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ad libitum posted:Any recommendations for good basketball shoes? I play outside almost exlusivley, and went through 2 pairs of Nikes in 3 months before getting my first pair of John Walls. I had those shoes for a year and a half and just finally tore the sole up on the bottom. They lasted so long and were so good I just purchased an identical pair. http://www.footlocker.com/product/model:165694/sku:186919/reebok-zig-encore-mens/white/black/?cm=GLOBAL%20SEARCH%3A%20KEYWORD%20SEARCH
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Mar 10, 2012 03:40
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For anyone just starting out or just getting back into playing pickup, the best thing you can do is work on your stamina. When you're tired you react slower, move slower, make more stupid mistakes, and your technique sucks. If you have better endurance, you can run around constantly, push the pace, and force the other team to keep up with you. If they get tired then they start making dumb mistakes, they react slower etc etc etc.
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Mar 10, 2012 03:58
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Regnevelc posted:I'm the weirdest loving guy to have on a team. Set picks, rebound, get garbage buckets, block the And1 guys. It's an easy existence. The guys I loving hate playing against are short fat guys. You can't box them out, they take up space in the lane, all of them have some unstoppable move down low, and they board like crazy on me and I can't do a god drat thing about it. They are my kryptonite.
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Mar 10, 2012 04:01
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BIZORT posted:Set picks, rebound, get garbage buckets, block the And1 guys. It's an easy existence. Draw them out to the FT line and hit some jumpers over them or laugh as they try to keep up with you as you drive past them.
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Mar 10, 2012 04:27
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BIZORT posted:Set picks, rebound, get garbage buckets, block the And1 guys. It's an easy existence. Yeah that's me. I have a pretty good turn-around fade-away jumper from the boxes.
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Mar 10, 2012 04:28
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BIZORT posted:If you're in a weird foreign area or country like I am and want to find a court near you, courtsoftheworld.com has been kind of helpful.   Yeah, that seems about right. How I miss my old town and its college gyms. Jack's Flow fucked around with this message at 07:41 on Mar 10, 2012 |
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Mar 10, 2012 07:39
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ad libitum posted:Any recommendations for good basketball shoes? This may be a coincidence, but I bought a pair of LeBron Vs and tore my ACL twice in them. Outside of that, very comfy shoes. BIZORT posted:Set picks, rebound, get garbage buckets, block the And1 guys. It's an easy existence. I've found you can block them out, but you really have to lower your centre of gravity. Bend your knees, step across their legs like you're trying to get position in the post. Seems to work for me.
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Mar 10, 2012 14:36
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If you are playing full court run fat guys into the ground. Just keep running. Even if half court this works ok. Aerobic fitness can make a huge difference. Stand behind the 3 point line and then crash the boards when the shot goes up.
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Mar 10, 2012 14:43
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euphronius posted:If you are playing full court run fat guys into the ground. Just keep running.
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Mar 10, 2012 15:02
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Jack's Flow posted:Good point. If you don't keep on moving, you let fat and/or unfit guys off the hook. I always run my defenders ragged. As a perennially injured guy, I both hate and respect people like you on the court.
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Mar 10, 2012 15:12
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Vladimir Putin posted:I think you should work on your jump shot. Once you show that you can hit it, people will have to start respecting it, and it opens up a lot of penetration/drive opportunities. Good post moves I think are harder to develop. You have to have good foot work, and general awareness of where the defender is behind you. That can take a lot of time/experience to develop. Yep, that's what I'm slowly starting to realize. A question on jump shots-why is it that people don't jump as high as they can on their release, unless they're beyond the arc? Consistency issues? Since I'm going to have to learn a shot from scratch it seems I should be learning a real high release one so that I don't get rejected.
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Mar 10, 2012 15:36
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mastershakeman posted:Yep, that's what I'm slowly starting to realize. A question on jump shots-why is it that people don't jump as high as they can on their release, unless they're beyond the arc? Consistency issues? Since I'm going to have to learn a shot from scratch it seems I should be learning a real high release one so that I don't get rejected. From what I understand, you want your top half of your body (Arms/Torso) to be doing exactly the same thing every time you shoot. Then it has a consistent arc and always goes straight. Then, you just vary the distance on your shot from your legs, so jumping higher would give you a longer shot.
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Mar 10, 2012 16:00
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^^^^^^^^^^ Or what he just said From a physics standpoint, higher jump equals more acceleration for the ball. There's two components giving the ball energy 1.) your arms and 2.) your legs. Add the two together and that's how high/far your ball will go. People tend to jump higher when its farther from the hoop is probably because they want to give the ball extra energy because they are farther away.
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Mar 10, 2012 16:28
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Sweaty guy checking in. Who wants to guard me?  I've actually been working on my shooting of late, mainly close to the basket but working on moving out some. It's pretty fun to see the improvement over time. Two good sites I had recommended to me during a previous PickupChat were ihoops.com and nbaplaybook.com. Dr. Kyle Farnsworth fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Mar 10, 2012 |
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Mar 10, 2012 19:44
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Jack's Flow posted:I moved to this area two years ago and I actually stopped playing pick-up ball last summer because the competition is so woefully bad, that it is more fun to simply work on my shot for an hour and go home. How bad are they? I can't really play at a consistent hour/ place anymore because of work, so I've been playing a lot of bad pickup lately, it's maddening at first but I think I'm getting the hang of it.
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Mar 10, 2012 22:47
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It's getting blatantly obvious that I don't know what the gently caress I'm doing on the courts every game. I'm never in the right position and I don't know how to drive to the hoop when someones guarding me. I'm still playing great D and getting some easy layups, but I can't score otherwise. What are some really obvious pickup plays that I should learn, like give and goes and that stuff? I'm 5'9 150 and I like point so ya...
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Mar 10, 2012 22:53
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Doltos posted:It's getting blatantly obvious that I don't know what the gently caress I'm doing on the courts every game. I'm never in the right position and I don't know how to drive to the hoop when someones guarding me. I'm still playing great D and getting some easy layups, but I can't score otherwise. Pick and roll. http://www.coachesclipboard.net/Screens.html Everyone knows how to do it, it's hard to defend, and as a point guard, it's something you should at least be able to somewhat competently run. As far as getting to the basket and driving when someone's defending you, you either need to be faster or you need to trick him into thinking you're going to do something other than what you actually want to do. Get him off his feet or going in the wrong direction and you'll be able to score. No one is ever really good at scoring contested layups in pickup. The trick is to make them less contested.  E: Also, developing a somewhat reliable jumper is a good idea. That way you can pump fake which opens up a world of possibilities.
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Mar 10, 2012 22:56
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Doltos posted:It's getting blatantly obvious that I don't know what the gently caress I'm doing on the courts every game. I'm never in the right position and I don't know how to drive to the hoop when someones guarding me. I'm still playing great D and getting some easy layups, but I can't score otherwise. I have two words for you: Cherry Pick.
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Mar 10, 2012 23:49
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cisneros posted:How bad are they? I can't really play at a consistent hour/ place anymore because of work, so I've been playing a lot of bad pickup lately, it's maddening at first but I think I'm getting the hang of it. The clowns where I am living now are "pure" 3-on-3 kids who never played organized ball before. To sum it up: they just don't get it. Pick and roll? Give and go? Setting picks? Forget about it. As soon as one of them touches the ball, it's going up... usually wide left or right, because (naturally) they can't shoot at all. I counted the guys last summer who were able to finish with both hands around the rim. Final tally: 2 (me included). It's just stupid and I really prefer not playing to playing like that. Edit: As always... the more NBA gear and sweatbands people wear, the worse they usually are.
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Mar 11, 2012 00:04
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The people I play with do nothing but drive aggressively to the rim for layups. Probably one in five made shots is a jumper. How do you even stop people when they barrel in, beyond swiping at the ball?
mastershakeman fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Mar 11, 2012 |
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Mar 11, 2012 00:56
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mastershakeman posted:The people I play with do nothing but drive aggressively to the rim for layups. Probably one in five made shots is a jumper. How do you even stop people when the barrel in beyond swiping at the ball?
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Mar 11, 2012 01:02
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Jack's Flow posted:Coming from organized 5-on-5 full-court runs to this was pretty shocking. At my college, I used to play five times per week and the competition was usually pretty good, because at least 75% of the players used to play (or were still playing) organized ball in one of the various leagues around town. That sucks, my guys are bad, but at least they take it more or less seriously. I try to work on my game to pass the time, like, people here always play "zone"(basically they just pack the paint and stay there) and it's a good challenge to to try and drive on them, and in defense I just try to indulge my inner Javale McGee. What I can't take is their constant cherrypicking, every 2 plays or so someone won't go back to defense, and there's at least 1 guy that will straight up just stay under the other basket.
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Mar 11, 2012 01:27
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cisneros posted:What I can't take is their constant cherrypicking, every 2 plays or so someone won't go back to defense, and there's at least 1 guy that will straight up just stay under the other basket. That is literally not basketball, gently caress those people.
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Mar 11, 2012 01:30
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Hey fellow pick up players. 6'4 240, pretty much built like a linebacker. I have been told I play like a poor mans' version of Charles Barkley, except white. I primarily work in the post with layups and generally like to play back to the basket. Have a moderately good turnaround hook that I use to my advantage. Average jumpshooter, have issues with consistency and being able to spot up shoot. Have been known to hit a crazy three every once in a while. Always on the move and hustling on the defensive end and will fight for rebounds. Oddly enough just picked this up as a hobby a year ago or so. I have the ability to dribble with both hands, but my right is primary. Need to work on some crossover moves, I only know some basics. Can be a inconsistent ballhandler at times. Decent footwork though, can fake out some lesser defenders. I want to be able dunk but need a bit more in the hops department, working on my vert though. and usually don't play with fouls but I do tend to be bad at the free throw line haha. I have a group of people I usually play with, though will play anyone who wants to, all with varying stlyes of course. Have the short Asian kid who plays like Steve Nash, the short overweight guy who only drives to the hoop and can't shoot a jumper to save his life, etc. when it comes to pick up stereotypes, I tend to be the sweaty guy, making it fun for people who try and guard me. Mana Dragon fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Mar 11, 2012 |
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Mar 11, 2012 01:44
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Looking to play some pickup basketball for the first time once the weather stays warm. My question is this: what should I work on to be an effective pickup player? I'm 6'4" and ~140lb, so basically a mini-Manut Bol in terms of build. Assume I'm starting with absolutely no basketball skills at the moment.
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Mar 11, 2012 01:52
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You're 6'4? Rebound. Seriously, just pull down every board every game and people will be more than willing to make up for your lack of offensive output. Also, you could probably work on a little turn around jumpshot in the post, since you'll be tall enough to shoot over most pick-up players. I would try to focus on rebounding and perfecting one/two post moves that rely on your height. edit: And put backs. I don't know why more kids don't try those. Jump up and tip that poo poo in. I get at least one easy basket a game like that. Most of the time I don't even try to come down with it, just jump and try to put it back in in one motion. If you're just starting out, and don't have that type of body control, rebound it, power dribble once, and than go straight up. Waroduce fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Mar 11, 2012 |
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Mar 11, 2012 02:30
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Mana Dragon posted:
God if I were 6'4 and had my vert I'd be throwing 360's down in games all of the time  .All I need is one loving inch dammit.
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Mar 11, 2012 02:52
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If you're 6'4 you don't need much to be able to dunk. Your weight is probably the biggest obstacle. Do squats. If you're watching TV, do calf raises on your heels, up and down until it burns too much and rest for like 10 seconds and go at it again. Just keep going. If you have muscle in your legs already, this will help a lot more than you'd think. Set up a box that's about chest high on you and just practice jumping onto it with both feet at once, ie jump strong off two feet onto the top of the box, then hop off, jump back on, over and over. They taught us this one in conditioning way back when and it's a staple in all of those workout videos for your legs. Once you do get your vertical up, from there it's all about how you hold the ball going up for the dunk and timing. A lot can be learned from lowering the rim to 9 feet and just practicing dunking. Do that and maybe raise the rim to 9'6 after you feel you have it down pat. Don't raise the rim until you are 100% comfortable and it's almost too easy for you. Raising it before this point will either discourage or simply injure you in time. Interesting thing I read long ago: Dr J solely got his hops and dunking from practicing on a low rim as a kid and gradually raised it higher and higher edit: Aside from that, being 6'4 you're instantly more valuable than just about anyone else on the court even if you suck. Be confident in knowing that. Rebound and don't try to do too much. If you get a offensive board, learn when to use a pump fake and then go up and learn when to simply go back up strong. You'll be loving unstoppable if you learn when to use those two skills appropriately. Beyond that, just practice a couple of things and whatever interests you most, work on that. Having a jump shot from the free throw line is infinitely helpful for any big guy because it keeps defenders honest. BIZORT fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Mar 11, 2012 |
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Mar 11, 2012 03:05
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kingcobweb posted:Looking to play some pickup basketball for the first time once the weather stays warm. My question is this: what should I work on to be an effective pickup player? I'm 6'4" and ~140lb, so basically a mini-Manut Bol in terms of build. Assume I'm starting with absolutely no basketball skills at the moment. Work on your inside shot. If you can make all your shots from within 5 feet of the hoop you'll be a huge pain for anyone that isn't near your height to deal with. Make all the easy shots from getting passes in the post and grabbing rebounds. Keep the ball high all the time (head height or higher), big guys get stripped constantly if they have the bad habit of bringing it down where us non-giants live. Learn to do a simple in-turn after catching a pass/rebound. Rebound with two hands every time.
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Mar 11, 2012 03:06
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Regnevelc posted:God if I were 6'4 and had my vert I'd be throwing 360's down in games all of the time Only an inch? You should be able to get over that easily(unless you're like 5'5" with Kwame hands or something).
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Mar 11, 2012 03:14
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kingcobweb posted:Looking to play some pickup basketball for the first time once the weather stays warm. My question is this: what should I work on to be an effective pickup player? I'm 6'4" and ~140lb, so basically a mini-Manut Bol in terms of build. Assume I'm starting with absolutely no basketball skills at the moment. Being tall and skinny presents disadvantages but incredible advantages at the same time. I've always been in the same boat, as I'm 6'2 and usually been in the 155-165 range but I've finally been able to keep a bit more weight on now that I'm older. The biggest thing for me has been coordination. I've always been aware of how awful guys of my stature are at playing ball, even if they're really skilled, because they're hardly ever coordinated. Practice having guys throw hard passes at you from semi-close distances. ALWAYS expect a pass coming your way. Keep your hands up. I can't stress how loving annoying it is to fit a pass in a tight space to a guy only to have him not expect it and it hits off his head. Guys of our stature almost always do that. But having this body, you can really do almost anything on the court. You probably have longer arms than anyone else out there so you can be a very good defender, either on the post or on the perimeter. Learn to shuffle your feet left and right without getting them tangled up. You'll see drills for this in basic basketball training videos. But being so tall, you can develop a perimeter game since your arms and body are so long that you can get your shot off at will so you can go in that direction. I've changed my game so many times because of various physical limitations that were thrown at me and I've been pretty successful. I started out as a guard type with an erratic jumper but very athletic. I hurt my knee and developed a midrange jumper that was almost automatic. Nowadays I still have the jumper but like to bang down low a little bit more and rebound, get easy garbage baskets, and play good defense on the perimeter. Since you're only 140, I'd try to focus on a midrange game. Go out to a basket and just practice shooting from very close. Get your form down and just keep shooting them. Keep your feet planted on the ground and just use your arms. Do this for awhile and then practice bringing the ball up from your hip, set your arms and shoot. Don't use your legs yet; keep them set. Then once you feel comfortable and automatic doing this, introduce a little jump. A jump shot is like anything else; the more you introduce to it, the more that can go wrong. Get your upper body down before you practice it with your legs. You'll find a rhythm you like to shoot with. Try to shoot at the top of your jump but it's not always how guys like to shoot. General tip for others: When you warm up, don't just start shooting from 20 feet out. Put some shots up from close in and gradually work your way out. Your shot will thank you later on.
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Mar 11, 2012 03:24
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BIZORT posted:General tip for others: When you warm up, don't just start shooting from 20 feet out. Put some shots up from close in and gradually work your way out. Your shot will thank you later on. Hmm, never though to do this. Usually when I warm up I just try to shoot tons of threes for a while and then shoot from other ranges. Have to give it a try tomorrow when the college gym opens back up from spring break. Lately I've been trying to introduce a 3pt game with decent results. I'm 6'2 210 and play down low most of the time and can usually rebound better than most people just because of effort and hustle but every now and then I'll sneak out or get in the corner on a fast break and have been hitting 3's decently now.
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Mar 11, 2012 04:02
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BIZORT posted:General tip for others: When you warm up, don't just start shooting from 20 feet out. Put some shots up from close in and gradually work your way out. Your shot will thank you later on. Concentrate on your form when you are doing this. Whenever I first get to the gym I start shooting from 5 feet with just one hand and slowly move further away. If you are serious about improving your shot, have a routine so you aren't just running around shooting whatever. Most importantly concentrate on footwork. If you are really serious you can start recording your shots. In college we had to record all our shooting drill results. It was annoying then, but it is always nice to see some tangible progress.
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Mar 11, 2012 04:31
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cisneros posted:Only an inch? You should be able to get over that easily(unless you're like 5'5" with Kwame hands or something). God, Kwame hands. I'm 6 feet even, above-average athletically, with a solid mid-range shot, solid 3 point shot, and a pretty decent post game if I can get in there, but my Kwame hands are the bane of me. I literally have the smallest hands of anyone I've ever met. That's including girls. They are tiny. So while I've learned to compensate and can handle the ball well just practicing by myself, put the slightest amount of body on me in a game and it's almost guaranteed I'm going to lose it. This all means that while I technically have the speed, vision, and competency to drive well, unless I've got a wide open route (like, all the defenders are out on the arc for some reason), it isn't going to happen and I won't even bother trying it. Same with rebounding, catching a pass on the move, etc. That would be fine except the college rec center where I play is packed with college athletes, and I'm almost always the shortest, smallest, fastest dude on my team which means I pretty regularly end up running point to start the game. It's legitimately embarrassing, and the looks on people's faces when I point out my hands and we compare is a look of deep heartfelt sympathy that I've become extremely familiar with. The amount of time I spend as a spot-up guy while some gigantic 300 lb 6'5 linebacker with no feel for the position is forced to run point because he can actually hold onto the ball kills me.
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Mar 11, 2012 05:48
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cisneros posted:Only an inch? You should be able to get over that easily(unless you're like 5'5" with Kwame hands or something).
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Mar 11, 2012 06:11
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Mandrel posted:*Kwame hands* Sup tiny hands buddy  , my hands are smaller than guys I know who are a full 6 inches shorter than I am. It is so weird for me to read about guys who are 6'0 being the smallest guy on the court. I feel so small.Does anyone have any tips for going for steals? I know the basic 'wait for their crossover with your hand out', and just being low and ready will let you get a few off of mistakes but is there more to it? I've seen guys do this reach around steal as someone is driving by them and I don't know how to replicate it.
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Mar 11, 2012 06:17
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I'm 6'2" and just started seriously working out and trying to eat okay about 3 months ago, went from 205lbs to 185. I'm going to try and dedicate the summer to making a serious attempt at dunking a ball. I can grab a 10' rim fairly easy and can dunk fine on 9' but absolutely no hope in getting a ball over a 10' rim it seems. My basketballs skills are a strange strange mix of average at everything, I had most of my height really early on and my uncle was my YMCA coach and always had me playing under the rim and actually learned a decent amount of post stuff. But as I got older and kept playing, kids caught up to me so 6'2" wasn't that great and I had to start learning how to dribble, face people up, jump shooting and so on. Just never got great at anything, I spend most of my pickup games under the basket collecting the trash. streetlamp fucked around with this message at 06:37 on Mar 11, 2012 |
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Mar 11, 2012 06:18
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BigLeafyTree posted:I've seen guys do this reach around steal as someone is driving by them and I don't know how to replicate it. I don't recommend doing or even learning it. It is lazy defense and makes it so your teammates are picking up your slack. I love it when I know the guy is doing this because he is going to let me go by him. All I have to do is switch hands real quick right after I get by him or pick up my dribble on a hopstep or jumper. It is a free pass to the middle of the lane. stephelopholus fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Mar 11, 2012 |
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Mar 11, 2012 06:26
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