My daughter – 5′11″ Cyndra Couch (Hun School of Princeton) working on her ball handling.

Games of 21, Utah, and 3-on-3 are the games of choice when the run is not full court,
but what to do when your by yourself and you want to get your handle right. Good strong
ball handling is a practiced skill. Coordinated foot and hand movements make it easier
to pierce the zone for kickouts, dips, or dimes.

Try this drill: The shuffle crossover dribble.
Purpose: Quick hand-to-hand transitions in tight areas when you catch in the middle of a zone defense.

Using this drill, Cyndra Couch, a rising senior, grabbed the Sportsmanship Award in the Holcombe Rucker (goes to best player on losing chip team), and played well in the Uptown Challenge playground tournament in NYC. She scored double-figures (18pts and 16pts) in both of her games against top comp with Unique Sports at the Vincent Cannizzaro’s National Recruiting College Showcase at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and played with the Exodus Elite Team in the highly competitive Big Apple Tournament of Champions. She has received interest from Liberty, Wagner and others. In my opinion, she is a late-blooming wing in the mold of Danielle Hood, formerly of Hartford, and has been working out with Cecil King, Coach of the New York Gazelles.

So here’s the step by step:

1. Dribble the ball knee-level in a zig-zag moving your feet on your toes – foot fire drill – in tight short steps.
2. Make your opposite hand always available to receive the ball.
3. Keep your head up.

As you become quicker and more hand-ready you can vary the the ball distance from
your body, the ball-level, and the speed to create the moments when defenders get stuck-on-the-movement of the ball instead of watching the defender’s waist catching asphalt instead of cookies.

Results:

1. Better ball control in tight areas.
2. Better Zone penetration skills.