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Why these two aspects of the game go hand-in-hand

Jumping ability is an important part of the game.  But if you aren't a great leaper, don't get down.  You can still be a great player without having amazing hops.

But as part of your overall generally athleticism, jumping ability is an important part of the game.  Jumping comes into play in a variety of circumstance:  jump shooting, shot blocking, post moves down low, rebounding, and contesting shots in the lane (just to name a few).

But tied closely to jumping ability is explosiveness, or power, that you use during a game.  Explosiveness is an especially big part of the low post game because of the power moves necessary on the low post, in offensive rebound situations, when contesting shots, and the like.

So in my book, these two things (jumping ability and explosiveness, go hand in hand).  If you've got great jumping ability and have explosiveness, even better.  But if you aren't a great leaper, you can make up for some of that lack of jumping ability by taking it up strong, and quick, inside the paint.

So how can you develop these two important aspects of your game?

Jumping ability is part of overall athleticism.  So the best way to become a better jumper:  become a better athlete.  The better shape you're in, the more basketball you play, the better your core strength, the better your balance...all of these thing go into making you a better jumper.  Timing is also a key element of jumping.  The better able you are to time jumps (for shots, rebounds, and blocked shots), the more effective you'll be as a leaper.

As far as explosiveness goes, this is part physical and part mental.  Your training routine should include training for explosive moves (doing things like climbing stairs, jumping rope, doing agility ladder drills, doing post move drills where jumping is involved), but you also need to have a mentality of explosiveness, and dominance inside the paint.

If you grab a rebound and are going up for a put-back shot, it's no time for weakness.  Explode up to the rim and put the ball back in.  If you're going up to contest a shot in the lane, time it right and explode up, extend out, and go after the shot.

Jumping ability and explosiveness are part physical and part mental.  Train hard to develop the athleticism required, but also train yourself to be a tough, hard-nosed, power player inside the paint.

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