Rebounding is dirty work, but everyone - not someone,
but everyone - has to do it. Your team won't score if they don't have the ball.
Your team won't have the ball as often as possible if you don't rebound.
For beginners, "rebounding" means grabbing the
ball after a shot is taken and missed. If your team has the ball, and someone
on your team shoots but misses and you grab the ball, that's an "offensive
rebound." If the other team has the ball, and they shoot and miss, and you
grab the ball, you have grabbed a "defensive rebound." Generally, the
bigger the player the better the rebounder, but rebounding takes effort, strength,
quickness and positioning.
Below are some key rebounding tips from InsideHoops.com:
- Get down low, preparing to jump. Also, getting low makes
you have a low center of gravity, which makes it easier to lean against opposing
players and push them away with your body.
- Box out. That means finding an opposing player and
positioning your body in between the player and the rim. In other words, when
a shot goes up, don't just get low and prepare to grab a miss. Do that, but while
also "boxing out" opposing players so that they'll have a harder time
grabbing the rebound.
- Work hard for good position. If the shot goes up and
you find yourself boxed out by an opposing player, or in a position that makes
it hard for you to grab a potential miss, work hard to get into a better position.
- Keep in mind that shots taken close to the basket will
usually result in rebounds that are close to the basket, while shots taken from
far away will often result in long rebounds.
- Keep your hands up, and when you jump for a rebound,
try to grab the ball with two hands. If that's not possible, and you can't grab
the basketball but tipping it is possible, tip the ball, either to yourself or
a teammate.
