The 10 Points You Never Notice in Basketball & How To Score Them






Gerald Wallace (center) doesn't have great offensive skill but always out hustles his opponent

      10 MORE POINTS!... if you could add 10 points to your average what would that do for your stat line? From  5 pts to 15, 10 pts to 20, or maybe you go from offensively invisible to finding ways to get your name in the box score (or the newspaper!).

       The best thing about these 10 "hidden" points is that it WILL NOT require thousands of hours mastering a special move. Instead you just have to make a commitment to play smart & aggressive basketball every game. So ANYBODY can do it!!

1. Run the floor in transition
2. Set smart screens on & off the ball
3. Offensive rebound & putback
4. Make free throws
5. Force Turnovers

1. Run the floor in transition. Whenever your team is off on a fast break RUN RUN RUN!! Just make sure you ask your coach how you should fill the lanes in your offense, but basically just out-hustle the defense down the floor. You can get 2-3 great scoring chances per game by being aggressive up the floor.

Amare Stoudemire sets screens to score all the time in the NBA

2. Set smart screens. There's an infinite amount of ways to set a screen to get a teammate open. You can learn about specific screens from your coach or anywhere on the internet. The important thing is to set a good solid screen and then: roll hard, pop out quick, or slip if the defenders cheat.

3. Grab offensive rebounds! Since no team can make ALL their shots you can be sure you'll get at least a few chances to grab rebounds in a game. So consider every missed shot YOUR PROPERTY. Box out once the shot is released and track the ball off the rim.

4. Make FREE throws. You have to make free throws because.. thats exactly what they are! practically free points. You get a lot of time, a reasonable distance straight away from the rim, and the game clock isn't moving.. PERFECT. So make free throw shooting a major part of your skill work and use 75% as a good starting point.

5. Force Turnovers. Most basketball games are won in either the rebounding battle or the turnover margin. So if you're a post player make sure you protect the basket and contest EVERY shot near the rim. While all you guards should contest every shot (without fouling) and stay active in passing lanes.

       My best advice with all of these in mind would be to bring this aggressiveness and determination with you EVERY time you step on the floor. Players like Joakim Noah and Dennis Rodman made it all the way to the NBA by hustling out these opportunities every game. Down below is a video of Rodman showing how relentless he played every single night