Nator: Training to be a PF

[AMenace]

Hey guys, I have been playing for 2 years, and I would like to train to become a better PF, I got the idea today when I looked at CKal's thread.

Here are my strengths and weaknesses

General:

Height: 6 foot 2
Weight: 68kgs
Age: 15
High Score: 16 pts

Strengths:

Foul Shot shooting: About 80% and I practise often
Can do a variety of post moves
Good Mid Range shooting
Passing is above average
Vertical Jump: off a running start 68cm, often 10cm away from dunking, can dunk on a 9 foot 6 ring

Average:
Fitness
Lay up skills (though I can do some tricky lay-ups)


Weaknesses:

Low self confidence when I play
Below average dribbling skills
Often change shooting styles
Defense Intensity is low
Easy to drive past

That is a general idea of how I play. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance to all those willing to help me improve.

[Lamrock]

Oh dear god these forums are in trouble.

[benji]

Master physics.

[Dan's Brain]

My advice:

Low self confidence when I play

Get more self-confident.

Below average dribbling skills

Learn to dribble better.

Often change shooting styles

Dont change shooting styles so often

Defense Intensity is low

Be more intense on defense.

Easy to drive past

Be less easy to drive past.

[BIG GREEN]

Good advice there^^^. These blog-esque posts are obviously not taken seriously anymore..and rightly so.

/me waits for spoof threads from people who think they're funny...

[Angelo]

I dont think your even qualified to be a good PF since your not that tall and your body is not that bulk to banged up bodies with other big men..

[Eich]

he is 15, he is still growing.
I'm 6'3 and I play for center with a weight of 70kg. I'm not bulk as you may see in my theat. But I'm still a good C.

[The X]

Weaknesses:

Low self confidence when I play
Below average dribbling skills
Often change shooting styles
Defense Intensity is low
Easy to drive past

That is a general idea of how I play. Any suggestions?

As a PF you can't have low self confidence....you have to be someone that doesn't give a flying f if you get elbowed in the head....and if you do take a shot to the head, give it to your opponent....you need defensive intensity & you can't be a sieve defensively....main thing is a PF has to be hard....you're playing close to the hoop so you've gotta play like a man....

[Valor]

Weaknesses:

Low self confidence when I play
Below average dribbling skills
Often change shooting styles
Defense Intensity is low
Easy to drive past

That is a general idea of how I play. Any suggestions?

As a PF you can't have low self confidence....you have to be someone that doesn't give a flying f if you get elbowed in the head....and if you do take a shot to the head, give it to your opponent....you need defensive intensity & you can't be a sieve defensively....main thing is a PF has to be hard....you're playing close to the hoop so you've gotta play like a man....

agreed, also u need to be good at rebounding, able to box-out opponents.
just wondering...why would u have low defensive intensity if u want to play down low? sometimes i want to play C/PF just cause i want to block every single person that comes at me (and i do just that )

[diddy]

man, i'm 6'1" and i'm 90 kg, my body is kinda like jao's! but i am jumping 2" away from dunking and i've got speed and quickness enought to beat some smaller and light weight pg or sg! u just need to practice!

[kevC]

I'm 5'8", 70 kg and am sick of these threads.

[tee-pane]

How can u be a good mid range shooter when u change shooting styles? This means u don't have consistent stroke, so i guess ur shots r flukes? If ur a consistent shooter u should get a good constant stroke. I guess being a good big man would need:
-good rebounding skills
-being able to defend the paint
-being able to get easy buckets inside
-u need to have confidence when u play, ur a big man not puny guard!
Assuming u play on school team or local team (not pickup)
-put on some weight, can't play with 68kg, that is insane, most big guys can back u down easyly! (i'm 5"10, 76 kg) and play on the wings
-work on ur reaction and quickness(ask coach for drills)

[cyanide]

............................................______ __
....................................,.-‘”...................``~.,
.............................,.-”...................................“-.,
.........................,/...............................................”:,
.....................,?........................... ...........................,
.................../.................................................. .........,}
................./.................................................. ....,:`^`..}
.............../.................................................. .,:”........./
..............?.....__............................ .............:`.........../
............./__.(.....“~-,_..............................,:`........../
.........../(_....”~,_........“~,_....................,:`..... ..._/
..........{.._$;_......”=,_.......“-,_.......,.-~-,},.~”;/....}
...........((.....*~_.......”=-._......“;,,./`..../”............../
...,,,___.`~,......“~.,....................`..... }............../
............(....`=-,,.......`........................(......;_,,-”
............/.`~,......`-...................................../
.............`~.*-,.....................................|,./.....,__
,,_..........}.>-._...................................|........... ...`=~-,
.....`=~-,__......`,.................................
...................`=~-,,.,...............................
................................`:,,.............. .............`..............__
.....................................`=-,...................,%`>--==``
........................................_........ ..._,-%.......`

[Andrew]

Seems to me that the time and effort spent on mocking these threads, expressing boredom with them and lamenting the state of the forum could be put to use starting threads about topics that you're actually interested in. I'm not saying don't speak your mind, but if you're not interested in what someone else posts, why not post something you'd like to talk about? Just a thought.

As for the topic at hand, it's pretty straight forward. You know your weaknesses, now work on them. You're still growing and if you're 6'2" at the age of 15 then you're off to a pretty good start. If you're passionate enough, you might want to look into some fitness programs that will allow you to add muscle and bulk but I wouldn't say you're particularly underweight at this time anyway.

[[Q]]

/me waits for spoof threads from people who think they're funny...

too late. it's already been done by Jackal.

[bowdown]

Im 6'4 164 or 74.5KG. i have a pretty hard upper body and u just need to be able to feel like a rock inside to create problems. as long as u are not easy to move around u are good. stick your ass outand grab the reb and pass it out to someone else and let him get all the glory. take your aldridge type fadeaways on mismatches once in a while works out fine. maybe grab people in wrong places once in a while. works out

[Patr1ck]

I suggest not trying to become better at just the PF position, but work on your fundamentals in every aspect. Don't limit yourself based on the position.

The only way to improve your confidence is to take risks. Don't lower your head when you make a mistake, just learn from it, and try something different the next time.

[Andrew]

I suggest not trying to become better at just the PF position, but work on your fundamentals in every aspect. Don't limit yourself based on the position.

Agreed, good advice for anyone looking to improve their game. If you're at all serious about playing basketball at a higher level or simply want to be a well-rounded player, you'll do well to work on any and all weaknesses and develop different facets of our game. You may be a 6'2" centre at the age of 15 but it could be that you don't grow a whole lot more, leaving you unsuited to the centre position down the road.

If you develop other skills then you could transition to forward or guard if you don't end up with the height to play centre and in the meantime, take advantage of being a big man that can also play a bit like a guard.

[shadowgrin]

take advantage of being a big man that can also play a bit like a guard.

Like Kevin Garnett, who plays PF and can also play PG.

[Drex]

Are you kidding me? He IS a PG, but they make him play other positions.