The timing could not have been any better or more gainfully perfect the day I learned how to increase my overall vertical jump.
The day was like any other as I, once again, dribbling the rock onto the court and looked up and gazed dreamily at the rim. I wanted to dunk so bad that I could have sprouted wings and flew to the hoop! I have always desired to dunk the basketball and thought that grabbing the rim one day while in practice at Memphis State was about as close as I would ever get to slamming like my idol Larry Bird.
Flying Like Bird
I understand that most of you will be thinking to yourself, “slamming like Bird?” Exactly. Larry Bird can dunk and although his dunks are not legendary I did get the opportunity to participate in a Get to Meet Larry Bird Shoot-Around and it was then that the hero of my dreams showed a group of aspiring basketball players just how a 6’9” forward can easily dunk whenever he wanted.
Keith Lee
I learned how to get my body and my mind into dunking-mode with a mentor from the Atlanta Hawks and my teammate and All-American center – Keith Lee. They both turned me onto a program called plyometrics and that was the way I was to dunk for the rest of my college career.
Plyometrics
The strenuous exercises that propelled me to smash the ball through the hoop not only once but twice during my college basketball career are plyometrics.
These incredibly fulfilling daily workouts lifted my vertical jumping ability as well as my point production and my love of the game. From the point I did my first jump up to the time I slammed the ball in for two points against Louisville I have always kept that feeling of elation elevation in my heart. Now you too can feel what I felt the very first time I raised the roof with a two-handed double-clutch dunk! In order to do that dunk live, I first had to learn how to increase my vertical jump with plyometrics as a training tool.
Tiger Pride
All through my Tiger basketball days in Memphis and on the road, I often was asked the exact same question time and time again. The question I got asked so many times after my game at the University of Louisville was “Can I learn how to increase my vertical jump like you?’ My answer back then was the same as it is today, most-certainly.
To start the quest for scoring more points, blocking more shots, and generally being the best organized as well as street basketball player that you can be you are going to have to do some book learning! More importantly you are going to have to educate yourself on not only the fundamentals of plyometrics but the side-exercises and lifestyle alterations that will be a large part of your learning to fly.
Prepare for Lift-Off
Are you ready for take-off? Do you have the desire as well as the passion for hoops that will be necessary in order for you to slam the ball through the hoop? It will take commitment and a commitment that few have ever reached in order for a player to learn how to train their muscles to respond each and every time like clockwork.
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