For all the players out there following Temeka's blog, she will occasionally post some basketball pointers. Temeka is a big believer in the fundamentals of the game and will share some of her thoughts and theories.
There is probably nothing more important in offensive play than the ability to handle the basketball without making mistakes. Regardless of the offense that you are attempting to execute, it is unlikely that you will have much success if you’re unable to pass and catch the basketball. Because of this, we make ball handling a high priority each day we practice.
In the basic handling of the basketball, we have two primary principles that we constantly stress. The first is that we never want the palms of the hands touching the basketball. We want to couple this with the finger placement which should allow the fingers to be comfortably spaced. We want the fingers spread as wide as possible but not to the point where it is uncomfortable to the ball handler. The second important ingredient of good ball handling is that it should always be done in the proper stance with the main emphasis on keeping the head up. It does not matter how impressively you can handle the ball if you can not see your teammates or anything else that transpires on the court, including how the player with the ball themselves might be defended.
The positive thing about proper ball handling is that it is without question a teachable trait. Those players that are poor in this area can improve by constantly working the ball with their hands. The other aspect of importance is that it is something that a player can work on without a partner or even a basket. Simply a good work ethic and a basketball and you can improve your ball handling.
