examples of how to keep a basketball scorebook

The Basketball season has finally arrived.  Balls are bouncing in Junior and Senior High Schools, AAU's and College campus's.  That means ball games, timers and scorers.  This article will explain how to keep a basketball score book.
Step One;  Arrive early, at least 20 minutes before game time.
Step Two;  You have one job and that is the book.  You have nothing to do with the scoreboard.  Place the names of the players and their numbers into the score book.  Sometimes, coaches may have already done this.  Once they are entered, have each coach double check and initial their page.
Step Three;  Have the officials check the book before the start of the game.  Have them sign it.  They have the final say on any corrections.
Step Four;  Have a sheet of paper and write down the starting numbers of each team only.  You will use this paper on all substitutions.  Simply line out a number and add the replacement next to it.  Only players on the floor won't have a line through it.
Step Five;  Clearly mark all scores of baskets with either a 2 or 3.  For free throws, draw a circle for an attempt.  If a free throw is made, place an x inside the circle.  If it is a miss, leave it open.
Step Six;  Notify the timer and officials when the bonus after 7 fouls is in effect.  You should do this after the six foul, because on the next is the bonus.  Do the same with the super bonus on ten team fouls.  If a player fouls out, let the timer and officials know immediately.
Step Seven;  Always try to leave room in the fourth period area in case you go over time.
Finally, use whatever method you need to make the scoring easier.  Do not do any totals until the entire game is over.  You might need the extra space.  Use Number two pencils with erasers, if you can.

basketball how to improve your defense

 Basketball Defense Fundamentals

Basketball Defense Fundamental #1) Basic Stance Keep your feet positioned as wide as your shoulders with your weight balanced on the balls of your feet. If you're flat-footed, back on your heels or have your legs too close together, it's hard to move quickly and you'll find offensive players dribbling right around you. Keep your knees bent slightly with your butt low. Now, make sure you have one extended high to guard shots and passes and the other hand extended low on the ball.
Basketball Defense Fundamental #2) Focus On the Waist
If you want to avoid getting faked out, focus on a part of the offensive player's body that doesn't move. Many inexperienced players focus on the eyes, head and legs of their opponents. Or, they watch the ball. If you watch the ball, all the offender needs to do is fake a pass, fake a shot, or fake going one way and go the other way. Don't do this or you'll be sucking air as the offensive player goes in for the lay-up! Remember to watch your opponent's mid-section because they can't go anywhere without it. If they fake a pass or shot and then do something else, you'll be right there because you'll see the waist go where they really intend to go.
Basketball Defense Fundamental #3) Slide Side-to-Side
Position and footwork are two of the most important aspects of playing good basketball defense. Be sure to move side-to-side (laterally), without crossing your legs. As you slide, maintain your balance by keeping your feet as close to the width of your shoulders as possible. Also, avoid letting your feet to touch as you move.
Basketball Defense Fundamental #4) Be Aware of Tendancies
Becoming a good student of your opponent will turn you from an "OK" defensive player into a great one. You want to find out whether they are right-handed or left-handed. Do they like to drive to the hoop or do they prefer making jump shots? The key is to get your opponent doing the opposite of what they like. If they like making jumpers, try to make them drive. If they like to go to the left, make them go to the right.
An important element of this strategy is good footwork. If you're trying to make an offender dribble to the left, keep your left foot slightly in front by dropping your right foot back. Stay on the balls of your feet. If they still try to go right, you're in position to move in front of them. If you're successful in making them go left (your right), you can move quickly that way. Reverse this basketball defense strategy to make them go right, of course.
Basketball Defense Fundamental #5) Guarding the Offender
There are two important fundamentals to guarding players without the ball: Stay between the player and the basket and try not to turn your back to the ball. If the player you're guarding is on the right side of the floor and ball is on the left, raise your left hand and drop your right foot back a bit. Be sure your left arm is between your offender and the ball but don't turn completely around or else your back will be to the ball. Keep your head up so you can see your opponent and the ball at al times.
Basketball Defense Fundamental #6) Shot Blocking
When blocking shots, always use the hand closest to the basket. If a player is driving in from the right side of the basket, you'll use your left hand to block. This allows you to use the hand farthest from the offensive player's body and lessens the possibility of committing a foul. You won't be reaching across the offender's body (which would increase your chances of fouling them).
Basketball Defense Fundamental #7) Switching
A switch occurs when two defenders switch players they are guarding in order to give each of them better defensive position. As an example, the player you are guarding goes to the left. Their teammate sets a pick and the player you're guarding dribbles by them. Instead of you knocking the pick player over or going around them, your teammate, who was guarding the "pick" player, steps out in front of the player with the ball. You take over guarding the player without the ball and now you and your teammate have performed a switch. Make sure that when your teammate steps out to meet the player with the ball that you keep your shoulders even with your teammate's shoulders. If you drop back before your shoulders are at the same angle, the player with the ball can turn around and get by both of you.
Basketball Defense Fundamental #8) Low-Post Defense
The low post area is just to the left or right of the basket on or near the free-throw lane. This is where offensive players (usually the center or a forward) will stand waiting for the ball. They try to keep their defender behind them by spreading their legs wide and have an arm raised looking for the pass (they have their back to the basket). As a defensive player, the first thing you're trying to prevent is the pass. Don't try to get in front of the player. Move your body about three-quarters of the way in front with the arm farthest from the basket in the passing lane. Once the pass is in the air, drop back behind and get into good position to play defense.


Most Common Defensive Formations Defensive Formation #1) Man-to-ManEach of the five defensive players guards one of the five offensive players. Even if switching is used, each player is responsible for one offensive player at a time.
Defensive Formation #2) Zone
Each defender is responsible for guarding a certain area, or zone, instead of guarding a specific offensive player. The goal is to double-team the player with the ball. When an offensive player with the ball enters a zone between two defenders, those two defenders attack the dribbler while the other 3 defenders guard their areas.
Defensive Formation #3) 2-1-2 Zone
Two defenders are positioned above the foul line, one is in the lane and the other two are low on either side of the basket.
Defensive Formation #4) 2-3 Zone
Two defenders spread out from another above the foul line and the other three players are spread across the bottom half of the lane.
Defensive Formation #5) 1-3-1 Zone
One defender is positioned out front, three are across the foul line extended and the fifth is down under the basket. The player out front tries to force the dribbler right or left. As that player drives, another defender comes up for the double-team.
Defensive Formation #6) 2-2-1 Zone Press
This is usually a full-court defense. As soon as the ball is thrown inbounds after a basket, the defense starts guarding immediately (called full-court press). Again, the idea is to get two defenders double-teaming (trapping) the dribbler while the other three guard the rest of the floor.

free tips on how to be a good basketball player

This is a quick tips section for all aspects of playing basketball. We'll eventually have basketball tip sections that get far more specific. This is just quick stuff to remember.

SHOOTING

Practice shots that you'd take in a game. Stand still, catch and shoot. Stand still, catch, dribble and shoot. Catch while on the move and shoot. Catch while on the move and fake or just go right into the dribble and then shoot. And, creating off of fakes (while a pivot foot is planted). Make sure you square up to the basket when shooting. Both feet should be pointing at the basket, and your body should square up to it. Make sure your power is coming from your legs, not your arms. Remember to follow-through on your shot. Practice like crazy. And be intense. Don't be lazy, work hard. If you half-heartedly practice getting shots off, they won't be very effective when a tough defender is near you in a real game.

PASSING

Be alert. Fire quick passes that peole can handle. If someone cuts, and you fire a pass at them, make sure you're leading them to where they're running with the pass, so they don't have to slow down to catch it. After you pass, keep moving, so you're of some use in the play. If it makes sense, cut hard to the basket after you pass, in the hope that your teammate can fire a quick return pass that results in a layup because your defender relaxed for a second after you got rid of the ball. And when your teammates have the ball, create passing lanes, so they can hit you with a pass. Use your hands to create targets. If you cut, have a hand up so the passer can hit it.

DRIBBLING

Dribble with your head up. If you have to look down while dribbling, it means you haven't practiced enough. Dribble all over town until you get used to it. Watch good point guards - they're looking forward and around while dribbling, not down. Get down low if you have to. but make sure you're seeing the floor while dribbling, or else unless you create something for yourself and score, you probably aren't helping the team. Learn to dribble with both hands. Obviously one hand will be stronger than the other, but make sure you can at least pull off basic moves with your weak hand (like driving and finishing a layup or passing with it). Watch good players and what they're actually doing with the ball and their bodies while they're dribbling the basketball.

REBOUNDING

You need to box out. Most players don't know how, or just don't do it. If the shot goes up and you don't box out, the other team has just a good a chance of grabbing the board as you do. Boxing out is absolutely essential when you're on defense, or else you're going to give up lots of offensive boards. Great rebounders always box out. You should know where your opponents are while playing defense, and when a shot goes up you should instinctively face the basket while boxing the closest opponent out. Boxing out also makes it easier for your teammates to grab the rebound in case you can't. It always helps.

free tips on how to improve my basketball skills

To improve your basketball skills during the offseason, you're best bet my be to focus on off-court conditioning. You will improve your shooting, passing, defense and other technical seasons best when you're with your coach and teammate. The offseason is the time to improve your strength, power, balance, speed, quickness and other physical attributes. Create a three-phase training plan to improve your first step, jumping ability and other skills.

Step 1

Write a list of exercises you will do for a strength-training phase during the offseason. Include lower-body exercises such as deadlifts, squats, lunges, calf raises, leg presses and hamstring curls. Add upper-body exercises such as curls, kickbacks, rows, presses, pulldowns and pushdowns. Include core exercises, including a variety of crunches, Russian twists and those using an ab wheel.

Step 2

Calculate the maximum weight you can lift for each exercise. This is the most weight you can lift one. Learn the proper technique for each exercise, and practice each one without weights to help reduce your risk of injury.

Step 3

Begin muscle-building workouts one or two months after your basketball season ends. Perform three to five repetitions of one exercise, then take a break. Repeat the set two to four more times. Move to a new exercise, using different muscles. Rest a minimum of 24 to 48 hours before lifting with those muscles again.

Step 4

Perform non- or low-impact aerobic workout using exercise machines such as ellipticals, rowing machines or an exercise bike. Use workouts such as swimming, skating or biking.

Step 5

Write a list of explosive exercises that will help you improve your first step, passing and pushing against opponents. Include exercises such as box squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pullups and chin-ups, and box jumps. Use 50 percent of your maximum weight or less to perform these exercises. Perform three to six reps per set. Move from muscle building to this type of muscle training approximately three months before your season begins.

Step 6

Switch from aerobic exercise to sprint training when you begin explosive power training. Perform exercises very hard for 30 seconds, then take a 90-second break. Work toward a goal of two-minute sprints, followed by three- to four-minute recovery periods. This will train your cardio system to recover faster after fast-breaks, plays and during timeouts.

Step 7

Write a list of exercises that train your reactive power, or the coordination of two or more muscle groups, to train your muscles for jumping. Include reactive squats, depth jumps, bounding, standing jumps and high-knee skipping. Use 30 percent or less when doing weighted exercises. Start this at least two months before your season starts.

Step 8

Practice jumping for a standing position, and by taking two steps, simulating moves you will use on the basketball court. Practice with a basketball in your hand, as if you are shooting, and with your hand or hands raised, as if you are defending.

Step 9

Perform specific, on-court basketball skill drills at least two months before your season begins. Play low-intensity pickup games or practice dribbling and shooting throughout the offseason, but make practice more game-like as you near your season. For example, you never shoot 100 free throws in a row during a game, so don't practice this way. Drive to the basket and dunk the ball; run to the other end of the court and defend, running backward; run to your basket and shoot a jumper; then throw only two free throws, similar to a game situation.

how to achieve in basketball

Every year, thousands of high school and junior college basketball players compete to get one of the few basketball scholarships that are awarded each year. Here are some basketball tips on how to increase your chances of being selected to receive one of those coveted positions.
Talent and Ability
First and foremost, you have to maximize your basketball skill. Every day you are not getting better, someone else is getting better than you. You have to work and work to become the best player you can be. Work on your skills, be in condition and get stronger.
The jump from high school to college is a big jump. Players are bigger, stronger and more experienced. The game is longer, faster and more physical than anything you have experienced so far in your career. Don’t fall into the trap that you are doing enough to get yourself ready. Without exception, when new college players report for their first workouts they are surprised at how different it is compared to high school. Work to be ready.
The Value of Summer Basketball
Basketball recruiting has changed drastically over the last 15 years. Rules that colleges have to abide by have become more restrictive. The pressure to get commitments from players has resulted in players deciding earlier and earlier on what schools they are going to attend. It is no longer sufficient to be a good player with your high school team. Your senior year in college has almost become irrelevant! Colleges need to identify prospects earlier and earlier in their career. Coaches now go to places where they can identify and evaluate multiple prospects at one time. The places for that have become AAU tournaments and high profile “recruiting summer camps.”
AAU (or Amateur Athletic Union) is an organization that sponsors amateur sporting events. In basketball, they sponsor spring, summer and fall tournaments in multiple age groups. The age brackets are usually 19 & under, 17 & under, 15 & under, etc. The advantage of that system is that you can play up a bracket to get in better competition (a 15 year old can play in a 17 & U tournament but a 17 year cannot play in a 15 & U tournament). The tournaments are usually played during “live” college recruiting periods so college recruiters heavily attend them. If you can find an AAU basketball team in your area and it is an appropriate age bracket it would be well worth your effort to join the program.
High profile “recruiting camps” are basketball camps that are held during the summer that attract high-level players, which in turn, attract college recruiters. Most of these are private camps, not camps owned by universities, colleges or high schools. They usually offer excellent instruction and very competitive games. Call a couple of colleges and find out what camps they attend to evaluate prospects and make plans to attend.
Summer basketball has become the most significant aspect of recruiting. At no other time can a college coach go to one spot and evaluate 300-400 players at one time. If you want to get one of those scholarships, you have to be where the coaches are.
Be Pro-Active
Don’t wait for a college to find you, go find them. If there are schools that you are interested in, contact them early, and let them know of your interest. Visit the campus, invite the coach to come and see you play. Have your high school coach contact the schools you are interested in. Be sure they have the information they need to evaluate you. Things like game schedules, summer schedules, etc. should be sent to all schools you are interested in. Return all questionnaires and comply with all the requirements that they have for acceptance to school.
Take Care of Your Schoolwork
Believe it or not, college coaches want athletes with good grades! Players in college are “student-athletes.” They attend class, write papers, and do research. Coaches really don’t like to take chances on academic risks. Get good grades; take your standardized tests (SATs, ACTs) as early and as often as possible. Unless you are truly a great player, coaches will not wait for you.
To get a scholarship, you have to register for the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. This is the organization that will evaluate your grades to determine whether or not you are eligible to play. Even if you are in junior college, they will go back to your high school grades to determine your eligibility (there are different rules for “qualifiers” and “non-qualifiers” coming out of high school and junior college). Take care of your registration as early as possible.
There used to be a saying, “if you can play, they will find you.” That is NOT true any more!! Being able to play is not enough, now. You have to be out where the coaches can find you.

how to be a basketball champion

From the rafters at Allen Fieldhouse hang five banners — one for each national championship the Kansas men's basketball team claims to have won.
Most people look at the banners and don't think twice. Kansas is one of the winningest programs in college basketball, so five national championships is no surprise.

The more basketball-educated, however, do a double-take. There are national championship banners for 1922 and 1923, despite the fact that the NCAA tournament didn't start until 1939.
So if the NCAA didn't declare Kansas to be the champion, who did? The answer is somewhat unusual.
The Helms Athletic Foundation
In 1939, a group of so-called experts led by Bill Schroeder got together and voted on who had won the championship each year since 1901. The group, called the Helms Athletic Foundation, retroactively named Kansas the national champion for 1922 and 1923. Up went the banners.
"If they want to count championships from 1922 and 1923, then that's fine," Missouri senior guard Kim English said. "I respect Kansas basketball to the fullest. I respect their players, respect their coaches big time.
"I just hate their fans. I hate them. Their fans kind of have a false sense of reality about what Kansas basketball is. It's not Kentucky. It's not UCLA."
In terms of championships, that much is certainly true. Kentucky has won seven NCAA tournament championships, and UCLA has won 11. Kansas has won three.
Kentucky has also won two Helms Foundation national championships. But unlike Allen Fieldhouse, Rupp Arena shows no mention of those championships.
Kansas Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said he doesn't think there's anybody still at Kansas who was part of the process to include those championships.
"We've always counted them," he said.
1922: Did Kansas or Missouri win the national championship?
Author and former Kansas City Star writer Martin Manley has done a lot of research into Kansas' Helms Foundation national championships. He agrees with English, writing last year, "It’s as though the school didn’t think its tradition was good enough that it needed to exaggerate its accomplishments."
A quick look to the rafters of Mizzou Arena is all it takes to see that the Missouri men's basketball program never exaggerated its accomplishments. There isn't much up there.
But there could be. Believe it or not, Missouri actually won two mythical national championships of its own. The Helms Foundation never awarded one to Missouri, but a guy sitting in front of his computer in 1993 did.
Patrick Premo, a professor at St. Bonaventure, unveiled his Premo Power Polls in 1993. Like the Helms Foundation, the Premo Poll retroactively named national champions back to 1901. Missouri was named the champion for 1921 and 1922.
What better way to add more fuel to the Missouri-Kansas rivalry than to have both schools claim the 1922 national championship?
Legendary Kansas coach Phog Allen, after whom the Jayhawks' arena is named, wrote about the last game of the 1922 season in his book "Better Basketball." The game was between 16-0 Missouri and 15-2 Kansas in Columbia. Missouri had beat Kansas in Lawrence earlier in the season, but Kansas won the last game 26-16. (Clearly, teams have gotten better at scoring in the past 90 years.)
Without an NCAA tournament, the season ended there. There was no clear-cut winner then, and there will never be one.
Confusion about conference championships
Although they still exist in college football, mythical national championships seem to be a thing of the past in college basketball. But schools still exaggerate their success in terms of conference championships.
Again, Kansas is an offender. The KU athletics website says that the Jayhawks just won their eighth-straight Big 12 championship. This is true if the conference's regular season champion — and not the conference tournament champion — is the official Big 12 champion. Which it isn't.
Missouri and Kansas both call themselves the 2009 Big 12 basketball champion. Both teams have rings to show for it.
The Big 12, like just about every conference in the country, crowns a regular season champion and a conference tournament champion. In 2009, Kansas went 14-2 during the Big 12 regular season, the best record in the league. Missouri won three straight games at the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.
Neither school bothers to clarify which championship it won.
More impressive: a regular-season title or a tournament title?
The case for which one is more impressive could be made either way.
"Personally, I think that the regular season champion is more important than the tournament," Marchiony said. "It speaks to achievement over the course of the season rather than a few games."
Manley agrees.
"The tournaments are not to decide conference championships," he said. "They are for two reasons only — one, make money, and two, make money."
The flip side of the argument is that a conference tournament championship is important because every major professional sports entity rules the winner of its playoff to be the champion. The winner of the Super Bowl, for example, is the team that won all of its playoff games, not the team with the best record during the regular season.
All across the country, conference tournaments are treated as equally or more important than the regular season.
"I know in the ACC, and its been this way for a long time, there's no question winning the ACC tournament is what it was all about," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "I think that's probably the case around the country in some leagues.
"You can't take away from what Kansas has done. I mean, they won the first true round robin in this league. They should be commended for that. That was a hell of a job, and I think they'll get their due in terms of how they're seeded in the NCAA tournament."
In some conferences, the distinction is extremely important. Every conference except the Ivy League, which doesn't have a tournament, grants its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament to the winner of its conference tournament.
Some people, such as junior guard Michael Dixon, don't see the need to declare one championship any more important than the other.
"I guess it's two seasons," Dixon said. "I mean, we consider the tournament a season, a three-game season. Hopefully. So, I mean, it's two different champions, just like there's a conference champion and an NCAA champion."
Missouri lost out on the Big 12 regular season championship but has a chance to win the Big 12 tournament championship this weekend in Kansas City. The Tigers play their first game at 6 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday's game between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
If Missouri wins, it'll be sure to call itself the Big 12 Champion.
But before you get impressed by this, or by a national championship banner hanging from the rafter of an arena, do some research first.

how to be a basketball director

• 

  Training and Experience

  The director of basketball operations must have experience in the game of basketball either as a former player or team manager. The position requires a bachelors degree in almost all cases to work at the collegiate level and most high school levels. The applicant must also have a strong basketball network of coaches, administrators and assistants. While the position doesn't directly fall under the coaching staff, it essentially is a branch of the coaching staff and is often hired directly by the head basketball coach. Therefore it's necessary to have strong relationships and an even stronger reputation within the world of basketball coaches in order to be considered for the position.
  
  

  Job Description

  The director of basketball operations is responsible for the daily assistance of the program (basketball team) for which they work. The description is vague in nature because of the various responsibilities that can and do fall under the director of basketball operations authority. Most listings for the job will include assisting in scheduling, equipment ordering, camp planning and programing, marketing and sponsor finding and community service.
  
  The job requires night, weekend and holiday work as well as travel. Ultimately the position also serves as a catch all for the coaching staff to have assistance in whatever area they may need it except on the court. On the college level, the NCAA strictly prohibits the director of basketball operations from coaching, assisting in coaching or recruiting.

  
  

  Work Environment

  At the collegiate level the work place will include the athletic offices, the practice facility, the home arena, the team bus and plane, and the hotel the teams stay in while traveling. It is an environment filled with athletes and coaches, as well as college administrators and fans. It also comes with a responsibility of acting as representative of the university in each location and with each person with whom the director interacts.
  At the high school level the job is mostly done at the high school athletic offices and at the gym when the team practices and plays its games. There is some travel but it is mostly done with minimal if any overnight responsibilities.

  Salary and Benefits

  The salary for a director of basketball operations varies by the school or program. Top level programs do not always have the best pay though. As of 2010, the salary was expected to be between $28,000 to $35,000 on average. But while the salary isn't extremely high most colleges offer a program that allows employees to further their education for free while working for the school. Therefore, if the director of basketball operations makes full use of his opportunity he could earn his masters degree at no cost.

  Job prospects and hiring

  The job market for Directors of Basketball Operations fluctuates as college and high school programs grow. But even as opportunities are created, the job is often earmarked for someone before its even announced. This position is often gained through connections in the basketball coaching world through recommendations or first hand experience with the coach or the coaching staff.