Getting Started with Ben
So, I finally managed to link up with Ben Murphy for a session today. Been meaning to do this for ages. He’s got a reputation around here for really knowing his stuff, especially the fundamentals, which, let’s be honest, I always need to work on.
We met at the old court over on Maple Street. Weather was perfect, not too hot, just right for a good workout. I was pretty pumped to see what he had in store.
The Warm-Up Grind
Ben doesn’t mess around with warm-ups. He says it’s where you set the tone for the whole practice. We started with some dynamic stretching, not just your old-school static stuff. Lots of leg swings, arm circles, torso twists. Felt good to get the blood flowing. Then, some light jogging around the court, followed by what felt like endless defensive slides, baseline to baseline. My thighs were burning before we even picked up a basketball properly!
Seriously, those slides are killers. But he kept saying, “It’s all in the legs and core, man! Gotta build that foundation!” He’s not wrong, but man, it’s tough.
Drills, Drills, and More Drills
Then came the ball work. Ben’s big on handling, says you can’t do much if you can’t control the rock.
- First, a ton of stationary dribbling drills. Right hand, left hand, crossovers, behind the back, between the legs. He was really watching my form, making sure I kept my head up and wasn’t slapping at the ball. He kept tapping my head if I looked down.
- Then, dribbling on the move. Full court stuff. He had me doing variations, like speed dribbles, then change of pace, then more crossovers. He even threw in some two-ball dribbling, which is just chaos for my coordination, but he insists it helps your weak hand and overall feel. I dropped those balls a lot.
After what felt like an hour of just dribbling, we moved onto shooting. Ben broke down my shot a bit. Pointed out a few things with my elbow flaring out and my follow-through not being consistent. We did spot shooting, starting really close to the basket, like, form shooting, and gradually moving out. Lots of repetition. My arms felt like noodles afterwards.
He kept emphasizing “BEEF” – Balance, Eyes, Elbow, Follow-through. It sounds simple, but it’s so easy to forget one of those when you’re tired and just trying to get the ball in the hoop.
Putting It Together (and Getting Schooled a Bit)
Then we played some one-on-one. Not to keep score, really, but more to apply the things we worked on under a bit of pressure. Let me tell you, Ben still has moves. He’s not the quickest guy on the court anymore, but he’s so darn crafty. He used his body well, got me off balance a few times with fakes I totally fell for.
I tried some of the dribble moves we practiced, and a few actually worked! Felt good when I managed to get past him cleanly. But mostly, he was showing me how to read the defense, even in a simple one-on-one situation. He’d stop and point out what I missed or what he was thinking. It’s like he sees the game in slow motion sometimes. I definitely have a long way to go with that aspect.
Cool Down and Takeaways
We finished off with some free throws, about 50 of them, just to cool down and focus on routine. Ben said it’s important to end on a calm note, reinforce good habits, especially when you’re tired.
My biggest takeaway from today? Consistency. Ben kept stressing that doing the drills right, even if it’s slow at first, is way better than doing them fast and sloppy. And fundamentals, man, you can never work on them enough. I’m definitely feeling it now, pretty tired all over, but it’s that good kind of tired, you know? Already looking forward to the next session, whenever that might be. Gotta keep practicing what he showed me until then. Just gotta remember to ice my knees tonight!
