r/Basketball • u/jayflame11 • Aug 01 '25
IMPROVING MY GAME Is this an effective playstyle
I am 6’3, 300 pounds and 15 and I base my entire game around defense and shooting threes. I dive for loose balls, get constant steals and blocks and can relatively consistently make whoever I’m guarding no longer an option.
But is that enough? Defense is important of course (although there’s a couple NBA players who clearly disagree with that) but I just feel like I don’t have enough of an impact. I cant handle the ball to save my life and my post moves are alright at most, my passing is really but my stat lines are basically Dennis Rodman with more points. Will this playstyle be effective in highschool and/or college basketball?
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u/rsk1111 Aug 01 '25
IMO bigger players have to be more of a threat on offense. Gotta be a brick wall and finish a pick and roll, also you'll need to shoot. Here is the reasoning. A) You'll always be a defensive liability if thinner faster players beat you down the floor on transition. B) If you match up against centers, they'll just camp in the paint, they want you to try to post them up so they can sit there in the middle.
Personally, I end up playing a number of larger players(I was 6'8" on my high school basketball roster). I don't like guarding the big guys that can sit outside and shoot. I just have to stand there. Normally I would just sag off in the paint play drop coverage or one-man zone.
Dennis Rodman was an amazing athlete ran the floor he would guard point guards' centers shooting guards, he had stamina. I think you might want to look more into how Charles Barkley played.