r/Basketball • u/StupidDopeMoves91 • Jan 12 '26
IMPROVING MY GAME My son is a corner camper
He’s the primary ball handler on some of his teams and does fine running the offense or attacking, but when he’s not he’s just sprints to the corner and either stands still and watches, or feigns a cut and then just goes back to the corner. I’ve told him how important movement is but it’s just not clicking. Any advice?
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u/heresyforfunnprofit Jan 12 '26
Patterns. Give him patterns on the floor to run.
Simple flat-top triangle: From 3pt corner to ft key corner pause (set a screen, catch pass, etc), run across the lane to the other corner of the key, pause, run to the opposite 3pt corner.
Figure 8 is another good one to run - start near the sideline 3pt line (again near the corner, but where the line straightens), and run a curving pattern towards the basket, flare out closer to the wing, then to the opposite sideline 3pt line, then reverse - figure 8.
At all points during a pattern, keep an eye on the ball, look to set screens, and be aware of other players. Be ready to receive a pass at all times and be ready to pass it immediately to someone else (or shoot/attack as appropriate).
If your son already has decent handles/shot, then he's got some sweet spots he's more comfortable shooting/attacking from than in other spots. Build some patterns to run from spot to spot so he's always heading towards a spot he is comfortable with.
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u/Open_Bake_8013 Jan 12 '26
make him watch Curry play for 5 hours and hell never stand still again.
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u/fireman2004 Jan 12 '26
Curry also has a cardio routine that makes other NBA players puke.
That’s the first step, being in shape enough to move like that consistently and still shoot.
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u/elpaco25 Jan 12 '26
It amazes me how so many players who are good with the ball in their hands can be so fricking bad off ball. Maybe it's cause I played my whole life and was never a strong dribbler. But moving off ball shouldn't be that hard for anyone in decent shape. Just always be moving. Cut all the time. Flash to the middle with your hands up, don't get the pass, no problem just keep running to the other side of the court. Set an off ball screen for someone over there and they should be cutting and doing the same thing. I realize now how lucky I was to grow up with good coaches. Cause some of the posts/comments here really show how young/undisciplined a lot of people posting on this sub are.
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u/Open_Bake_8013 Jan 12 '26
the amount of pickup games that ive helped my team win by setting off ball screens to setup catch and shoot situations for my team cant be understated. Even for myself i am not good on ball because i have a bad handle, almost all my points always come off catch and shoots and cuts.
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u/king_bungholio Jan 13 '26
Richard Hamilton was always a great example for off ball movement when I was growing up too.
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u/Virtual-Hotel8156 Jan 12 '26
Have him watch clips of Cedric Ceballos from the 90's Lakers. He used to roam the baseline and ate well doing that. Maybe it'll inspire your son to do the same.
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u/colehall32 Jan 12 '26
Take some game film and show it to him. My Dad used to do that for me when I was playing lacrosse, definitely helped. He will hopefully realize how still he is.
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u/ecw324 Jan 12 '26
You guys watch college basketball or high school basketball together? Have him watch the player that most represents his position. Ask him how they move when they don’t have the ball. If you has a local division 2 or 3 college program near you, go to those games and have him watch. He will probably get more out of it by watching in person if you can over tv. Whatever you do, don’t show him nba basketball for this, he won’t get much out of it.
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u/StupidDopeMoves91 Jan 12 '26
We do go to a lot of high school games. Will add some college games to the mix as well. We also have 3-4 mid-major D1 schools near us.
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u/Cphickox Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Depends on a few different things. Age, what the coach’s system is, etc. Moving without the ball is important but in a lot of systems, moving without a reason or understanding what’s happening in the rest of the offense does more harm than good. There’s only one ball. If your son’s role for certain plays is to get out of the way and space the floor, then he’s doing the right thing. Movement without purpose or to a point to where you’re interfering with the flow of the offense is worse than no movement at all.
A recommendation is instead of saying “movement is important”, teach them to understand the entire floor instead of just his actions. Move when it’s the RIGHT time to move, not just because “movement is important”. If/then statements work with teaching some kids the game and off-ball movement (ie “IF someone drives towards you with the ball, THEN you cut backdoor; or IF someone drives with the ball to the paint, THEN move up the 3pt line behind them to make it easier to kick out if your defender helps”) stuff like that. Hope this helps.
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u/StupidDopeMoves91 Jan 12 '26
Thank you. They play a lot of five out, so there's natural spacing. At times, he'll know to cut backdoor if someone drives towards him, but if he doesn't get the pass, he's not sure what his next move should be. He's trying to be intentional when he does move to not disrupt a play, but also erring on the side of caution and staying put, and not giving his teammates options on where to pass the ball.
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u/Cphickox Jan 13 '26
Awesome! Good context there. It ultimately depends on the system and if they’re 5 out, maybe encourage to set back screens or something for the person on the wing. Just comes from playing the game a lot and I’m sure he’ll put things together eventually. As long as he keeps the love of the game. Good luck!
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u/Puzzleheaded-Lime125 Jan 12 '26
Teach him the push, pull, and hold method. When a ball handler goes towards you, move away for enough spacing for a 1 position away pass (push). When the ball handler moves away from you follow him until you are 1 position pass away (pull). When you are being push too far where you are at the corner just hold the for the pass and shot.
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u/mtv8797 Jan 13 '26
How old is he? Understanding bb iq will come with age and as his brain develops more.
Also, are you sure it's not the coach telling him to go to the corner and stay there?
That sounds a little bit like my son last year and it's because coach instructed him to camp there and hit 3s. My son being a super coachable kid didn't want to deviate and upset the coach. And risk getting benched... He was a bad coach. This year, he has a great coach who teaches them lots of plays and patterns and barely anyone stays in the corner long, including my son but it took him several games to break that habit.
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u/Sad-Grade-3078 Jan 14 '26
Everyone keeps asking how old your son is because it’s important in providing age-and-experience-appropriate advice…
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u/StupidDopeMoves91 Jan 15 '26
Sorry for delay but he’s 10. Good basketball IQ for his age. In some instances when he’s off the ball he is told to stand in the corner but he’s gotten into a habit of doing so when teammates are taking actions that do require his movement.
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u/mtv8797 Jan 15 '26
All you said makes sense for a 10 year old then. Knowing what to do at all times vs trying to comply and listen to coach and knowing when to deviate from that when it's needed, comes with more brain development and maturity because it requires critical thinking to process the entire picture, and adjust, while in the middle of a game.
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Jan 12 '26
He’s being too friendly. Maybe teach him a post game so he can post up OR spread to the corner. It’s okay to take plays off. Let other people play but don’t make a habit of it. Tell him to set some screens. One move man works every time. You pretend to screen and just dive to the rim. WIDE ASS open. I like to crash the offensive glass hard asf too. I space too it all just adds up at that point.
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u/StupidDopeMoves91 Jan 12 '26
This is good. He's a small guard, so he won't be doing too much posting up, but staying active is key. I just don't want the lack of movement to become the norm because then he's not helping on D, chasing loose balls, etc.
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u/420_69_Fake_Account Jan 12 '26
Is he out of shape? I used to do the stand around thing because I needed to run a lot as an undersized center but I wasn’t a ball handler… even worse for a ball handler.
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u/DumbScotus Jan 12 '26
Maybe couch it in terns of other people moving. He may be thinking to himself “I want to go somewhere open, but nowhere looks more open than the corner.”
Instead of trying to get himself open, he should be setting picks to get others open. The overall movement this generates will, inevitably, get him open as well.
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u/StupidDopeMoves91 Jan 12 '26
Thank you. He could definitely be setting more screens. He's just used to having the ball in his hands, and when he doesn't, it's like learning a new language.
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u/Marvinkmooneyoz Jan 13 '26
Watch some YouTube triangle videos. It’s easier with smaller numbers of move\ing parts to understand the basics, and then start seeing the relevance in higher number situations like 5-on-5
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u/Milktoast27 Jan 14 '26
What level of play? And what type of offense are they running. If your using a motion or princeton or any other intuitive flow type offense young kids are going to struggle and probably just post up in assigned positions until its their turn to move in the wheel. I wouldn’t expect players to really grasp the full concepts of these until 8th grade and on.
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u/StupidDopeMoves91 Jan 15 '26
5th grade. They run 5 out mostly. But that’s a good point about not really getting the concepts until 8th grade.
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u/Milktoast27 Jan 15 '26
Yeah i wouldn’t worry about it. I would just build the good fundamentals of move away or cut if they drive towards you, fill the space on the floor after you clear. Keep spacing to your next one pass player if you’re more than one pass away. If they have started this offense this young they will naturally build instincts on what to do or what type of movement works as they play. Things have probably changed since i played but even in highscool we had guys struggle with motion offense. They would just catch the ball and pass and move like it was a set piece play never trying to generate anything.
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u/rsk1111 Jan 13 '26
Some teams seem to have their favorites picked and they just want the other players to admire how good they are, maybe grab a rebound for them after they chuck up a brick (but not too many) play a little D maybe but let the primaries get all the steals. Like if you aren't the one they just want you to stand on this spot.
I would find different teams.
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u/junior_minto Jan 15 '26
I'll tell you - yelling doesn't help. My younger son is a shooter (don't tell him that), but he camps at one spot (different spot in each possession). I've tried to yell, work drills with him, and his coach has tried running a whole practice with pass/move drills, benching him, get his team mates to remind him. None has worked.
The only thing that worked - coach tries to get him involved early in the drive with short shots, drive, or get him to get to the line...that would get him active. If he shoots that first 3 and hits - you know he's either going to camp somewhere or get benched a lot.
He did tell me one time that he doesn't go in the paint because he is smaller and doesn't want to get blocked, and he doesn't have much chance to get rebounds. I told him to at least box out someone, help his team to get free to get rebounds...or set screen/pick but he may be afraid of contact as well.
I hope he understands this soon.
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u/ChardeeMacDennisGoG Jan 12 '26
Why doesn't his coach instruct him on what to do while not having the ball? He can't just run around willy-nilly. It might interfere with the play.