9. Get An Accountability Partner

It is a proven fact that you are much more likely to accomplish a goal if you have an accountability partner. Your partner should be someone who will challenge you to reach your goals. It could be a friend, a coach, or a teammate but it should be someone who you will be responsive to when they question your work ethic or challenge you to go harder.

Your partner should also preferably be someone who is also working to improve there ball handling because they need the motivation to be there too beyond just helping you out, and its fun to challenge one another with games like timing yourself to see who can do a drill faster. This makes working on your ball handling fun and challenging.

10. Read Your Defender

know your defender, are you quicker than them? are they taller or stronger? what is their defensive posture? These are all cues that tell you what will be effective against your defender so pay attention. For instance, if your defender has their weight on there heals, this could be a good time to pull up for a shot. Anytime you can make your defender shift their weight from one way to another is a good opportunity to beat them off the dribble. This is why crossovers and spin moves are so effective.

You should not only be concerned with your defender, but you should be aware of the entire defense. If you suspect that you can beat your man off the dribble it's a good idea to know where the help will come from and the likely options you will have once you beat your man. This also includes your teammates what are they likely to do and will you be able to get a good shot for yourself or one of your teammates.

11. Mix Up Your Training Routine

In your ball handling routine, you should have a variety of different drills. You should have some stationary drills and some drills on the move. Some dribbling drills, and some drills where you take the ball around your body without dribbling. You should have some footwork drills and some hand-eye coordination drills. All of these drills focus on different aspects of ball handling and there all important.

Switch up your routine also it makes your training fresher and gives you new challenges. Once you can do a drill at full speed without any errors consistently, its time for you to switch it up and find new challenges that push you to the edge of your skill level.

12. Keep Your Head Up

Your eyes should focus on what is in front of you. Find out were your teammates and your opponents are. You do not have time in the game to look down when dribbling the ball. Continually look up to see what is going on around you. You may only have a split second to make a pass to someone in a great position to score, and if your head is down you will miss them.

It is also extremely important to anticipate whats going to happen next. As you dribble up the court you should watch where your teammates are going and where they might go. Also watch the defense is someone out of position that you may be able to take advantage of? Be aware of whats going on, on the court and also be aware of what is going to happen. This is an elite skill that high-level basketball players have.

13. Use Your Imagination

While you work on your ball handling it is important to use your imagination. Imagine yourself being guarded by a defender while going through your drills. This is very important if you want to translate your training into an actual game. Instead of just going around cones pretend that's Chris Paul you are crossing over. What would the defense do how would they try to recover? These are important questions to think about while your training.

Your imagination is the most important thing you have. Just look around your house, everything in there started out in someone's imagination. What you truly believe to be possible usually is possible for you. So don't only use your imagination while you train. Use it all the time imagine yourself getting drafted and shaking Adam Silvers hand. Imagine every aspect of your future. Then work toward making your dreams a reality. I believe in you but its more important that you believe in yourself.

ARE YOU READY TO BECOME A GREAT BALL HANDLER?

Now that you have the keys to improving your handles, it's time to get out there and practice them. If you have desire and access to a ball there is no excuse for you not being a great ball handler.

There is no time like the present to start taking action.

Let me know in the comments if you need more help.