The Point Guard is an extremely important position on the court since he or she must not only have the game of a player, but have the mind of a coach.  If you are a point guard and want to improve, take the traits described below and closely examine yourself.  Use this list as a tool to advance your skills on and off the court because after all, that’s what a really good point guard would do.

TOUGH-  The really good Point Guard must be mentally tough to never give up when down and never believe the game is over until the final horn has sounded.  He must be physically tough so that he can take a beating handling the ball and still get the job done, go to the basket, get knocked down and still get the ball up to the basket, be double or tripled teamed and still get the ball to an open teammate.  He cannot complain, REGARDLESS of the circumstance he finds himself and his team in; he must be in complete control of his abilities and his emotions as well as in control of his teammates.

A GOOD TEAMMATE- The really good point guard must put his team’s success and his teammate’s individual success before his.  He must be there for them.  He must constantly give of himself for the betterment of the team in order to obtain team goals.

SMART- The really good point guard has great basketball smarts.  He must know where everyone on the team should be on every play and where his teammates should be on every defensive play as well.  If necessary, he should be able to play every position on the floor.  He should see the floor as if he is watching a wide-screen movie and he must anticipate, correctly, what his teammates will do next.   The really good point guard is a psychology guru, understanding and accepting his teammates’ actions or helping them change when necessary.

LEADERSHIP- Good leaders are hard to find…so are really good point guards!  The really good point guard leads by example, he is early to practice and games and is eager to get started each and every day.  He wants to stay late to help a teammate with his game.  A really good point guard is objective about himself and constantly looks for ways to make his game stronger.  He may not be the very best player on the team but is definitely the most positive thinker on the team!

STRONG- A really good point guard knows and values physical strength.  He needs to be as excited in the weight room as he is on the court.  The really good point guard may not be the strongest person on the team but his work toward that goal cannot be disputed.

QUICK- Quickness comes with strength and maturity and can be increased with strength gain and playing experience.  Being quick physically is important…being quick mentally, basketball-wise may be more important.

DEFEND- A really good point guard can & does defend – all the time.  He cannot be afraid of encouraging his teammates to play with great intensity.  He must BELIEVE that 6-8 stops per game will usually mean a win.  He must have a complete understanding of team defense - everyone guards the ball, everyone guards the hole, everyone works!  He must know how and be willing to work at stopping (or slowing down) the break.  He must make his teammates want to work as hard as he does on the defensive end.

CHARISMA- A really, really good point guard has this born-with, earned, learned, special magic of leadership that makes his teammates look forward to being around him anytime and look toward him at times of distress on the court.  This magnetic charm of leadership allows the really good point guard to applaud, encourage or mildly berate a teammate; but ultimately always be in charge.

The following is a list of musts for that good point guard as well as any player in the guard position.

A good guard…

        OFFENSIVELY:

1 - Penetrates the defense to create scoring opportunities for his teammates and himself by using creative recognition.

2 - Is able to score as a result of penetration.

3 - Always passes to his teammate away from the defense.

4 - Takes the ball to the defense to set up his team’s offense.

5 - Passes the ball ahead to the open man or pushes it up the quickest way possible to create early offense by getting good shots for teammates.

6 - Demonstrates a consistent ability to hit the open jumper inside the three point line off the dribble or coming off a screen or by stepping in the open gap.

7 - Demonstrates a consistent ability to hit the open jumper from the three point line.

8 - Has mastered all dribble moves enabling himself to maneuver in any situation:

cross-over, reverse pivot, between legs, behind back, change of pace & speed.

9 - Demonstrates the ability to handle the ball (pass/dribble) equally with either hand.

10 - Looks to make the EASY pass.  Is not interested in raising the level of difficulty.

11 - Understands the importance and has knowledge of “offensive tempo.”

12 - Is aware of time on game and shot clock. Is aware of score and strategy needed and understands special situations.

13 - Recognizes importance of ball movement, especially the swing pass, to create scoring opportunities by catching the defense off balance, not alert or out of position.

14 - Has complete knowledge of each position of each play in the offense.  Must know where each teammate should be every time a pass is made.

15 - Passes the ball aggressively and creatively in such a way to make his teammates more effective offensively.

16 - Gives himself to the team to make his team better.

17 - Encourages teammates positively.

18 - WANTS THE BALL and is willing to accept responsibility to take care of the ball through strength and demonstrated confidence.

19 - IS ABLE TO GET TO THE PAINT, with the ball, ANY TIME HE WANTS TO!

20 - KNOWS how to develop and use his post players.

21 - KNOWS when to dribble and when not to dribble.  DOES NOT fight the defense with the dribble.

22 - Knows how to get the ball to the post: ex. Shot fake, hard dribble toward corner, bounce pass.  NO lob passes to post man from wing or corner because of too much back-side help.

DEFENSIVELY:

1 - Completely understands Defensive Transition (stopping the Fast Break).

2 - Pressures the dribbler, without reaching and fouling, turns the dribbler and forces the dribbler to change direction, understands that the more the dribbler has to change the more chance of error is created, makes the dribbler pick up the ball.

3 - Is able to affect the Inside game with perimeter drop.

4 - Grasps SEE THE BALL/SEE THE MAN scheme.

5 - Is in proper Help position constantly and jumps when ball moves.

6 - Looks to be defensive rebound leader, creates turnovers by being a disruptive pest on the defensive end.

7 - Is alert and anticipates lazy pass or long bounce pass that can be stolen.

8 - Is willing to take a charge and understands it can be contagious.

9 - Does not allow dribble penetration.

10 - Demonstrates knowledge of Hand up, Close out, Block out.

11 - Knows how to and takes Pride in Stopping the Ball from Advancing.