What to do about officiating and refs?

Refs make some bad calls. That's just life. Check out Mark Cuban's (owner of the Dalls Mavs) thoughts on the matter here.

Top 5 Guards of All Time

Without a doubt, the following is a list of the top 5 guards of all time. These guys could flat out play. Whether it was putting the ball in the basket, dishing off to a teammate for a dunk, or pushing the ball up the floor on the fast break, these guys could ball.

Here's the list (not necessarily in any order):

1.) Michael Jordan
Need we say more?

2.) Magic Johnson
Look at all of those championship rings. Brought the no-look pass back into the game (we tip our hats to Pistol Pete of course), and started the alley-oop pass to Michael Cooper.

3.) Isiah Thomas
He's a terrible genral manager, but I've got to give him props for his playing days. He ran the show for the Bad Boy Pistons and could be unstoppable. Great ball handler.

4.) John Stockton
No rings, but could be play. Great ball handler, clutch shooter, and the glue that held all those solid Jazz teams together.

5.) Jerry West
Mr. Clutch. He's the NBA logo. How can you not respect his game?

There may be one or two other guys that could possible squeak onto this list, but you'd have to make a pretty solid argument to unseat any of the 5 super stars mentioned above.

So, who do you think is in the top 5?

Is Your Cross-Over a Killer?

The cross-over dribble is one of the best change of direction moves around. You get the defender back on his heels, thinking you're going one direction, then boom...you cross-over and head the other direction, right by him and to the rim.

The keys are to get the defender on his heels. Keep him off-balance by giving a slight fake and hesitation to one side, and then quickly and powerfully swing the dribble to the other side. As the dribble crosses your body and bounces to your other hand, this is when you explode by the D. Make sure to stay low, and keep the dribble low, so your opponent can't tip the ball away from behind.

After you've made a great, quick cross-over move, the defense should be looking at the name on the back of your jersey as you pass him by. That's a good cross-over move. The "killer" cross-0ver.

For great tips like this, visit our Basketball Tips site.

New sites up and running

We've been working on a few other basketball-related sites that we wanted to tell you about.

In addition to Basketballsuccess.com (which has tons of great playing and training tips and drills, we've launched a couple of lenses (sites with information and links).

Here's a link to the Basketball Tips lens.
Here's a link to the Basketball Drills lens.

We'll continue to put together playing tips and drills, and training information to help you become a better player.

We've also just launched a new e-book called Average 20 Pts. per Game - How to Become a Big-Time Scorer. It's got tons of information on how to improve your scoring average. Click here to get more info and to order.

Sign up for our free newsletter

If you aren't already a subscriber, you owe it to yourself to go to our website and sign up for our free newsletter. It's full of great playing and training tips and drills that will help you become a better player.

To sign up for the newsletter (which you can unsubscribe from at any time), go to our Basketballsuccess.com homepage.

If you're looking to become a better offensive player, we've got just what you're looking for. Check out our new e-book: Average 20 Pts. per Game - How to Become a Big-Time Scorer. It's got tons of great tips and drills to help you increase your scoring average and become a force on the offensive end of the floor.

Would you like to average 20 points a game?

How would you like to learn how to average double-digits in scoring? How great would it be to average 20 points a game?

We've just released our newest e-book entitled Average 20 Points per Game: How to Become a Big-Time Scorer.

It's got tons of great tips and secrets on how to increase your scoring average so you can become a better scorer and get more playing time. Click here to get all the info and to order at a big discount off of the regular price.

Don't wait...the discounted price is only for a limited time.

For great basketball tips, go to Basketballsuccess.com.

Improve as a basketball player by becoming a better athlete

As you train to become a better ball player, working on your basketball skills (shooting, dribbling, passing, rebounding, etc.) is essential.

But you shouldn't overlook how important it is to be a great athlete, and how improving as an athlete can dramatically impact how good you are as a player.

Basketball is a game of movement and athleticism. So in addition to working out on the basketball court, you should look into other workout equipment and exercises.

We've put together a great page of information on workout equipment that can help you improve your balance, footspeed, agility, and power. Click here.

Check out the Basketball Drills website here.

It takes more than shooting ability

Being a great basketball player is more than just having a good jump shot, or being able to dribble the ball.

Most of the truly great basketball players have been exceptional athletes as well. Basketball is a game of movement, so it's logical to think that the better able you are to move around the court, the more agile you are, the more effective you'll be as a player.

Check out our training and workouts webpage with tons of great info on how to improve as an athlete, and as a result, become a better player.

And for great basketball drills, check out Basketball Drills.

Is talent enough?

Is talent enough to make a player great?

What makes a great team? Talent or teammwork?

The answer is both. It takes talent to be a great player, and for a team to excel. But basketball is a team game. The combination of talent and teammwork result in great teams. Either one (the talent part, and the teamwork part), on their own, and the player or team falls short.

Need an example? Take a look at USA basketball. Do they have talent? Yes. More than you can imagine. Do they play like a team? Yes. Under Coach K, team USA is playing more like a team than they have in quite some time.

But basketball isn't a game where the most talented team wins. If you take Team USA, and the talent level of all the players, and compare those to the talent levels of the teams they have (and will) face, there's hardly a comparison.

But it's the combination of that individual talent and the teamwork that results in a win or loss. Teamwork takes players and makes them better. The whole is great than the sum of its parts.

Don't forget: no matter how talented you are, no matter how good you become as a player, you have to play as part of a team. In fact, your talent will shine even brighter if you help your team and teammates play at a higher level.

For more insight into becoming a big-time player, check out or basketball tips page.

Check out 12 new basketball playing tips online

Do you want to become a better offensive player? Dominate the paint? Improve your first step?

Our website has tons of great basketball playing and training tips.

We have several pages with info and playing tips, including our basketball article page, which has tips on things like:

• Becoming a big-time offensive player
• Creating space like NBA players do
• How to dominate the inside game
• And 9 other great insider tips...

Click here to check out our basketball articles page.

If you want to become a big-time basketball player, you owe it to yourself to check out our webpage.

Great players have this. Do you?

Watch a good player on the court and you'll see an effort level that exceeds that of most of the other players on the court.

Michael Jordan was great, there's no dount about that. And part of what made him great was his effort level. He played the game with intensity and a high level of effort.

Whether it was on offense (attacking the D), or playing great defense. Jordan knew that his success depended on his effort level.

How much effort do you put into the game? Do you try hard, or just think you're trying hard? Do you give 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th efforts when going for rebounds or loose balls?

What do great players have? Work ethic. Amazingly high effort levels. These things translate into success on the court.

For great playing tips, check out Basketballsuccess.com.