You've got to wonder how professional players do it, day in and day out, non-stop and with such tremendous skill. The skill especially, I know I've wondered countless times, and that thought has always invited me to an essence of curiosity which has in turn allowed me to experiment and research exactly how these professionals do it day and day out. If you want a straight answer, I'd be obliged to say endurance is the key, but exactly what's needed to achieve that level of endurance has to be taken into account on and off the court.

The first and possibly the most important "rule" to reaching a better basketball status is drinking lots of fluids two to three hours before you start rockin' the court. That alone can improve your overall mentality and boost your stamina without even really trying, how great is that? Don't tell yourself you don't sweat much, because it doesn't matter, you still need to drink as many fluids as possible.

Secondly, is getting into relatively good shape (at least), and that takes a steady dose of endurance in itself. You must run, there's no getting past it. I played on a basketball team for seven years, and every practice we ran three miles. Now, having said that, you do not have to run three miles to be a good basketball player, though I encourage you to do so. Instead, jog the three miles at a rapid enough pace that you aren't constantly out of breath, but still put a little zip into it. The important thing is that your heart rate never drops, and you should never stop to rest, though if you need to slow down, feel free to do so, because eventually your stamina/endurance will grow so that you can run more than at first. Pacing yourself is of the utmost importance, and running should preferably be done at least three times a week. Before running, one should always stretch to warm the muscles up and to get them as flexible and well kept as possible. Stretching exercises include back and leg warm ups.

Now is when the fun stuff begins, shooting. Set up a mental routine for yourself like shooting low post on both sides, then moving to medium jump shots on either side of the basket and down the middle; then moving to layups and three pointers. Keep practicing a routine like that, maybe putting an emphasis on the shooting distance you enjoy the most because it can turn into a sort of specialty shot, but by no means ignore the other shots. The more you practice, the better you'll be, no questions asked, so I'll let you decide

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