Fingertips

Here's an interesting fact, among all of the areas of your skin, your fingertips possess the highest concentration of touch receptors. This means they are most sensitive to pressure, vibration and general activities involving motion. They are you're body's sensory probes. Taking this information into account in the game of basketball, why wouldn't you want your fingertips involved in every aspect of your game?

When dribbling the basketball, you will need to keep your head up and eyes open so the necessary passes or open shots are made. Sure, you should keep the basketball in your peripheral vision, but an expert dribbler will trust and confide in their fingertips to ensure total control of the basketball. Simple dribble moves to get you out of trouble such as the cross-over or the backup dribble, are done effectively with hand strength and the fingertips. It is extremely necessary to have an established grip on the ball and this can be done without having a ball that feels like glue.

Let's switch to another fundamental part of the game, shooting. Your on a fastbreak, sprinting at your fastest pace, controlling the ball with your finger strenghth and fingertips as you keep your head up and eyes focused on the basket. There's no teammate ahead to pass the ball to and the defense seems to be catching up with you fast. It just so happens that the opposing team's big man is the only guy back (he never made it completely down the court from the previous posession) so you decide between two types of shots: lay-up or short jump shot. The big guy is hedging at you trying to slow you up and it works. You make the quick decision as soon as you dribble below the three point line to stop and pop. You take one more dribble and just as you get below the freethrow line you pick the ball up. PAUSE!

[Picking the ball up involves coordination and because your head is up and you're not looking at the ball your fingertips have engaged into action and will do the work for you. They give the ball one last pound as both hands come together.] PLAY!

You place the ball in your shooting hand with the fingertips locking onto the ball and your supportive hand is also locked onto the ball. Your thumbs are in the "T" position and the ball is only touching the fingertips and the pads of your hand. PAUSE!

[It is so important to get a perfect shooting grip on the ball. It is critical that the fingertips are involved in this process. Just as you control the ball with the fingertips when dribbling, you must also control the ball when shooting. You fingertips should be the last part of your hand that touches the ball when released. They are the "final director's cut" before the ball is in the air under the control of no one. The pressure they apply should be just right as you follow through to give the ball the backspin it needs.] PLAY!

You shoot! Perfect rotation on the ball, thanks to the proper pressure applied by the fingertips. The mechanics of B.E.E.E.F. were in tact and you felt confident that the ball left your hands just right. Swish...



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