Rebounding
When you gain possession of the basketball after a missed shot or free throw, you have rebounded the ball. It's one of the most important aspects of the game because most possessions end when a team misses a shot and there is a rebound. There are two kinds of rebounds: offensive and defensive.
Offense and Defense
The offensive rebound comes when your team shoots and you or a teammate get the ball back. The defensive rebound comes when the opponent has shot the ball at the basket and missed and your team recovers the ball. The majority of rebounds go to the defensive side because the defenders usually have better position around the basket as they defend it.
Being a Good Rebounder
Rebounding is a part of the game that affects you both offensively and defensively. If you let the opposing team shoot and miss and get the ball again, they have another chance to put points on the board. If your team misses a shot and does not get the rebound, you've lost an opportunity to score. However, if you get the offensive rebound, you give your team another chance to score.
Rebounding is about body position and tenacity. Six-foot-four forward Charles Barkley averaged more rebounds for his career than seven-foot-one center Shaquille O'Neal has. While centers do get a lot of the rebounds because they are tall, they still need to get in the right position. A center that stands away from the basket or behind two offensive players who are closer to the rim probably won't get a rebound, no matter how tall she is. Besides, some of the best rebounders in the pro and college games have been players of only average basketball height. They end up with more rebounds by positioning themselves correctly and never giving up.
WORDS TO KNOW
After a team has committed a certain number of fouls — four in one quarter in the professional leagues, seven in one half for college-level basketball — their opponent gets to shoot free throws for every subsequent foul for the rest of the quarter or half.
A referee can call a technical foul on a player or coach for unsportsman-like conduct. A second technical foul results in ejection. Technical fouls can also be called for, well, technical reasons, such as trying to call a timeout when a team doesn't have any left. The penalty for drawing a technical foul varies by league.
A flagrant foul is called for a particularly hard foul that either injured a player or could have caused a serious injury. If a referee thinks the player committed a flagrant foul on purpose, that player can be thrown out of the game. The opposing team goes to the free throw line and gets to keep possession of the ball once play resumes.
If you are on the offensive end, your focus should be on getting in front of the defenders, closer to the rim but far enough away from it to get the ball if the shot misses. You don't want to be right under the rim because the only way you will get the ball is if it goes through the hoop, and in that case your team has scored and there's no rebound to be gotten! You want to be where you think the ball is likely to come down, never under the basket.
How to Rebound
The players who get the rebounds either don't have to jump or don't have to jump very high because they are in the right place and the ball actually seems to find them. You must believe that the ball is yours and you are going to do what it takes — within the rules, of course — to get it. That starts with proper positioning near the basket. Offensive rebounds are harder to get because the team on defense usually has two or three players gathered around the basket who are ready to stop you if you try to drive the lane, which means dribbling toward the basket on through the area on either side of the free throw area. If you are on the offensive end and you see a teammate taking a shot, try to get around your defender, especially if she has given up guarding you, and move into the best position to secure a possible rebound.
What to Do with Your Rebound
Once you get a rebound, bring the ball down close to your chest with your elbows out to each side, which will help you keep your balance and keep the ball from being knocked away or stolen from you. If it is an offensive rebound, you might want to jump right back up to try to score again or pivot and look to pass. If you are in a crowd and can dribble out, you can do that and pass it so your team can set up another play.
TIP - IN
The best rebounding team in NBA history was the 1959–1960 Boston Celtics, who averaged 71.5 rebounds per game. The team to average the fewest rebounds per game was the 1995–1996 Cleveland Cavaliers, who averaged 35.6 rebounds per game.
Defensive rebounds are really important to your team. If a team gets three or four rebounds every time they have the ball, there's a good chance they'll score every time. You want to give them one chance, if that; you have to protect the basket. Even if you are guarding the player who shoots, you can help with rebounding. When a player shoots the ball, you should move into position to get a rebound or box out your opponent — keeping a player from getting between you and the basket to get a rebound.
You can never work too hard at rebounding. You also want to work smart when getting the proper position. If you don't get the rebound, don't make your situation worse by fouling the player who did get the rebound. Instead, immediately refocus and commit to playing great defense and then double your awareness and effort to get the next rebound.
WORDS TO KNOW
One of the more common fouls is reaching in, which involves trying to grab the ball away from your opponent. A better way to get the ball is to bat it away or take it if your opponent is dribbling carelessly.
