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Click here to see the video: Basketball Fundamentals: Triple Threat to Ball Handling, Part 1

Coach Bill Thom: In this segment, we're going to work on the Triple Threat, and then go from the Triple Threat into ball handling. So, what I'd like to see from Ian is a good stance: feet shoulder's width apart, knees bent, back straight. The ball will be tucked in the shooting pocket; he has his non-shooting hand on the side, his shooting hand behind, his fingertips are pointing towards the ceiling, his elbow of his shooting hand is pointing towards the wall behind him. Shoulders are level, and he's ready to – in a Triple Threat – to shoot the ball, pass the ball or dribble the ball.

Right now, we're going to work on dribbling. Ian's a lefty, so we're going to work on showing you how to take it from your dominant side to your non-dominant side. All Ian's going to do is shift the ball in tight to his ribs to get his right hand on top, and then he's going to work on a dribble. Let's bring it back to the left, and let's shift it and go into a dribble. This is what we call a “pound dribble” – we really want the ball to hit the floor quickly. You can hear it pounding the floor almost like a machine gun, bang-bang-bang-bang-bang. We're trying to keep it out of his hands for the least amount of time possible, so the defender can't steal it from him.

Let's go back to a Triple Threat, let's snap into the Triple Threat quickly, and now let's dribble with the left hand. Ready? Dribble. Nice and low, knees are bent, and we're just working on pounding the ball. Eyes are up, and he's ready to pass to a teammate if that teammate was open.