While I feel the coaches, I see the And1 Tour as this generation’s Harlem Globetrotters, and I have never heard any coach accuse the Globetrotters of hurting basketball. Just as the Globetrotters combine basketball and entertainment, so too does the Tour. The Globetrotters entertain and please the crowd because of their exceptional abilities, just like the Tour. The Tapes and Tour generate basketball interest, arriving on the scene between Jordan’s reign and the dawn of Generation Next: Kobe, TMac, VC, KG, etc. As the NBA searched desperately for the next superstar, and as NBA games deteriorated into defensive slugfests in the seventies and eighties, the Tapes illustrated basketball’s fun side, the game’s individualism, an artistry...

The Tapes encourage players to play; kids are excited to grab a ball and practice until they master the moves. Only a shortsighted coach sees this enthusiasm negatively; when harnessed, this enthusiasm creates a more willing student. At summer camps, I run impromptu lunchtime ball handling clinics. Most camps teach ball handling poorly, and typically a couple players see me handling the ball or doing tricks, and ask for help. Other players see the workout, and the players having fun, and join in. The lure is not simply improving; usually, it is the promise of learning some moves to use in one-on-one camp competition or to learn the slip-and-slide, a move where the player rolls on the ground while maintaining the dribble. I’ve had a dozen twelve-year-old girls doing ball-handling drills, willing to skip lunch to play on the asphalt and do twenty-five minutes of skill-building drills in order to learn the slip-and-slide move. Maybe their motive is skewed; however, the result is players wanting to spend more time improving because it is fun and they have a goal to achieve. Is the half hour of drills a waste because the player spends the last five minutes doing tricks or because the motive is not necessarily centered on improving for improvement’s sake?

I want players I train to watch the tapes to see the mentality the players have with the ball. The And1 players possess supreme confidence; they know nobody can take the ball from them. This knowledge allows them to make moves and do tricks that embarrass the opposition. I want young players to focus on the mindset, not the actual moves. I will spend a little time working on tricks or moves they will likely never use in a game (basketball is supposed to be fun), but the mindset is the aspect of the tapes I use. If a player can build his handles to the point where he can do these tricks and moves, he will naturally gain confidence. Then, the games become easy; players will have the confidence that nobody can guard him, and that is the confidence I try to breed in the players I train or coach. I want players to be hard to guard, and to know they are hard to guard.

Two years ago, I worked with an U9 boys’ team in Los Angeles, and my co-head coach and I stressed ball handling and individual moves. We spent almost half of each practice on individual offense, and to keep the ball handling drills fun and fresh, one of the exercises was follow the leader, led by Ahmed, the other coach. Ahmed was and is a great player and has all kinds of handles and confidence with the ball. He led and the players followed, doing the same moves and tricks, building the ball handling ability through the drills, but more importantly, instilling a confidence. U9 AAU basketball is largely based on pressing and trapping, forcing turnovers and shooting lay-ups, but we were more or less immune to pressure; the players had the confidence that allowed them to dispel pressure easily, as it was nothing compared to the drills and competition in practice.

Basketball is largely based on three physical qualities: balance, quickness and control. By using the slip-and-slide or the straight-leg cross or another move as the goal, a player naturally has to acquire a greater level of balance, quickness and control, thus making a hard crossover or a through-the-legs dribble that much easier and more effective. And, the goal, the “playground” move, makes the work fun and keeps the player motivated. Ball handling is different than shooting; if a player needs to improve his shooting, a coach can give him drills and a percentage for which to shoot, like 80% from the free throw line or thee of five from the three-point line. However, with ball handling, it is more difficult to measure ones improvement and to give the player a goal for which to shoot and thus stay motivated. The “And1 moves” give the player a recognizable and attainable goal with which to measure progress and remain motivated. And the practice with the ball will allow the player to make better, tighter moves, to protect the ball better and to confidently attack the defense.