PASSING FUNDAMENTALS

There are three types of passes that are essential for all players:

1. Chest Pass
2. Bounce Pass
3. Flip Pass

Chest Pass:  The most common pass in basketball is the chest pass.
 The ball is held in both hands with the fingers comfortably spread.
 The palms of the hands do not touch the ball. Thumbs point at an
 angle to each other with the ball directly in front of the chest. The
 pass is made with a forward thrust of the arms and a simultaneous
 snap of the wrists. Complete arm follow-throw is necessary for a
 proper follow through with the palms of the hands completely
 downward at the completion of the pass. It is very important that
 the ball be thrown so that the receiver can receive it above the
 waist, but not above the head.

Bounce Pass: The bounce pass is made in the same manner as the chest
pass; however, it is pushed down to the floor and bounces up to the
pass receiver. Considerable practice is necessary for the passer to know
how far from the receiver the ball should strike the floor. If it strikes
too far away from the receiver, the ball will float into the air and be
easily intercepted. On the other hand, if the ball strikes the floor too
close to the receiver, it will be difficult for the receiver to handle the
pass.

Flip Pass: The flip pass is necessary during a close exchange of the ball
as, for example, on a close weave when the ball is “flipped” softly from
one player to another. The pass is made by placing the passing hand
directly under the ball and flipping the wrist so that the ball will flip
slightly into the air. The ball should be flipped softly upward, not
outward, and should not be flipped more than a few inches above
the hand. Post players use this pass sometimes when feeding cutters
and the dribbling screener uses it to pass to players cutting by the
screen.

Two Handed Overhead Pass

Another pass to perfect is the Two-handed Overhead pass. The ball is held in
both hands relatively high above the head. This type of pass can be thrown with
little natural spin on the ball and is an easy pass to catch.

 

Notice that the ball is held so that the thumbs will be facing
away from the receiver.

This is a very good pass to use against zone defenses. It is easy to pass high to a teammate and it is very easy to fake one direction and pass another.

Passing Hints

1. Don’t “telegraph” the pass.  Look one way and pass another.
2. Fake the chest pass and throw the bounce pass. Fake the
    bounce pass and make the chest pass.
3. Use the "mis-direction" pass. Fake a pass to the right, pass to the left. Fake a pass left, pass right. This gets a defensive team off-balance and opens up areas for pass receivers and drivers.
4. Follow through!
5. Keep the palms off the ball.
6. Throw the flip pass in close quarters.
7. Pass to the receiver on the side away from the defensive player.
8. Pass to the region of the receiver’s chest. Passes are more
    easily handled there and the receiver is in position to make
    another pass without adjusting from the height of the ball.
9. Make firm, crisp, passes when making longer passes. Soft
    passes at a distance of 15 feet or more can be easily
    intercepted.

 

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