Crossover Dribble Tips

Three tips for ankle breaking crossovers

The crossover dribble is one of the most exciting and effective tools in a basketball player’s arsenal, but only if it is executed effectively.  These 3 crossover dribble tips will help you make the most of this ankle-breaking move.
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Tip #1 Always Change Speed and/or Direction

The main reason you need to master the crossover dribble is because it allows you to keep your defender guessing.  Being unpredictable to the defense is one of the best ways to excel in basketball in general, not just in your crossover.  That being said, standing in place and crossing over continuously without moving anywhere on the court will do you little good.

Any time you do a crossover dribble there should be some intent to change your speed and direction.  There are a lot of variations on the concept, but here are some basic ideas that you can build from:

1. You could be standing and dribbling in place and quickly crossover and attack to the basket
2. If you’re running full speed you could come to stop while crossing over, slightly change direction and set up for a shot
3. While running full speed you could slightly slow down, crossover and explode in another direction

There are literally thousands of variations you can mix on these concepts when you consider the different angles you can move at, the different speeds you can move at, and stopping and starting your body’s movement around the court.  I have a crossover ball handling program available right now with 25 different moves that will teach you to move at different speeds and directions so breaking ankles can become second nature for you.

Tip #2 Build Your Crossover Dribble Arsenal

Once you have basic dribbling down and have mastered the crossover dribble you’ll need variations of these basic moves so when a defender expects you to do your basic crossover you can have a counter move ready.  This can be as simple as adding hesitations to your dribble motion, or faking a like you’re going to change direction with your body within your dribble.

From there you can learn behind the back and between the leg crossovers so you can use them to protect the ball in situations when you’re closer to your defender.  After that you may want to work on 2-3 move combination dribble moves.  However, don’t get carried away with trying to learn too many new moves and combinations at once.

You should work on mastering 1-3 new variations at a time before moving onto another.  Being effective with your crossover dribble is always more important than having a huge arsenal.  If you’re looking for more detailed information I have time tested and effective crossover combinations and practice tips explained in depth in my Ultimate Breakdown Moves ball handling program.

Tip #3 Learn to Read and Set Up Your Defender

Once you have mastered the basic crossover, are comfortable with changing speed and directions and have built an arsenal of moves and counter moves you need to learn how to put your “toolkit” of moves to work.  At the end of the day your crossover dribble is only valuable to you if it allows you to gain an advantage over your opponent.  This is where learning how to read your defender and how to set them up is crucial.  There are a lot of ways to set up your defender and a lot of indicators to allow you to read them.  I talk about both of these aspects extensively in Ultimate Breakdown Moves.

Mastering the Crossover

If you follow these basic crossover dribble tips and put in the time and practice you can develop an effective crossover very quickly.  If you really want insane handles that will cross over any defender you need to get out my Ultimate Breakdown Moves ball handling program.