Numbering Dribbles

A system for everyone

When we developed the dribble tree we did not know how impactful it could be. It was simply a system to teach math through basketball. Now after careful analysis of the game and how it is evolving, I realize that we stumbled upon something huge.

The dribble tree lists each dribble by number. Each dribble means something, and the dribbles go from least difficult to hardest.

Although basketball is a sport that takes on average humans’ many challenges, including height, wingspan, quickness, speed, agility, and many more. It still does not account for the skill it takes to be a great basketball player. We summed up the dribbling side of the game with five dribbles. There are many variations of the dribbles listed below but we are simplifying the game.

Dribble Tree system

• 1 = Pound
• 2 = Cross
• 3 = In & Out
• 4 = Between the legs
• 5 = Behind the back

The dribbles go from the easiest to hardest. The 1 dribble is putting the ball in front of you one time with one hand, the 2 dribble is interchanging both hands in front of you, the In & Out dribble is using one hand and going across your body and back, the four dribble is putting the ball through your legs with one hand and catching it with the other, and the five dribble is placing the ball behind you interchanging with both hands.

The analytics that will come from this system will be phenomenal. Our points system can determine who has the best ball-handling skills once and for all. It is a metric that enables us to see the difficulty of each player’s combo dribbles and also measure efficiency.

It will be interesting to see how it evolves. This system will particularly be impactful initially in places where basketball is not the primary sport. This is a system that will revolutionize one of my favorite parts of the game.