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Basketball für Dummies

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Bewundern Sie auch Shaquille O'Neal oder Dirk Nowitzky? Verfolgen Sie gespannt jedes Spiel Ihrer Stars, haben aber nicht den rechten Durchblick durch all die verschiedenen Fachbegriffe, Techniken und Namen? Keine Angst mehr vor der Blamage - mit diesem Buch sind Sie auf der sicheren Seite! Richard "Digger" Phelps, die Legende unter den amerikanischen Basketballtrainern, lässt Sie nicht im Stich. Sie lernen, wie man den Ball dribbelt, Körbe legt und das orange Gummi so richtig zum Quietschen bringt. Taktik und Strategie des schnellen Spiels werden Ihnen keine Rätsel mehr aufgeben und bald schon werden Sie wissen, wann ein Turnover auch ein Steal ist, und wann nicht!

312 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 1997

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5 stars
28 (19%)
4 stars
56 (38%)
3 stars
45 (31%)
2 stars
12 (8%)
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4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Laura Walin.
1,822 reviews84 followers
July 16, 2017
Since I started basketball 1½ years back I have wanted to know more. Hence I read this book. So now I know more about basketball but not necessarily the things I was after. I know about the history of the game, I know the great US players, the significant games, and the main basketball events of the year, both at college and pro level.

What I am still less savvy about is how the game should be practiced and played, as a total beginners. Admittedly, there are sections about these too, but even though the author is a coach, he is not giving too many hints. For me therefor, this was not a really a book for dummies but for folks who already know quite a lot about the sport.

Readingwise what bothered me as I read the book from cover to cover was that the book was written in a manner that allows you dive into any one section that you are interested in. This results in the fact that the same story can be told three times, in different contexts, and for a linear reader thus appears as annoying repetition.
Profile Image for Sarah.
73 reviews16 followers
January 22, 2025
I've never read a "Dummies For..." book before, and this was a pleasant surprise. It was a bit cringey in some places, and I feel a right dork reading about basketball for some reason. But if one takes in info better via reading, then it seems silly not to. For some parts I think I need a book about basketball for the dumber than dumb, mainly when it comes to the drills and plays. It's really helped improve the watching experience for a fast moving game where there's a lot more going on than first meets the eye.
Profile Image for Christina.
1,304 reviews
November 19, 2022
3.5 stars because the format is confusing. There are too many side notes and no glossary, so this book seems organized, but really jumps around. I'm having to re-read offense and defense chapters, because I did not understand some of the terminology the first time through. I would say I need a more simplified version of this book to be written!
Profile Image for James K.
6 reviews
October 5, 2020
The basics don’t change and will always be the best for young players
Profile Image for Alain Burrese.
Author 20 books49 followers
September 30, 2012
Richard "Digger" Phelps is the former coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team and a college basketball analyst for ESPN. In short, he knows basketball. Along with John Walters and Tim Bourret, he wrote "Basketball for Dummies." Like all the books in this series, it contains everything you need to truly appreciate and understand the sport. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about the game, about the sport, the players, game rules, regulations, equipment and so on. As the series likes to point out, this book makes learning about basketball easier.

The book contains six parts, with each part containing chapters related to that section's topic. After the Introduction, Part I: Basketball 101 provides chapters on the bare-bones of the game, the wear and where of basketball, the rules, and statistics. Part II: The Fundamentals of Basketball contains chapters on shooting, offense, defense, rebounding and moves, plays, and strategies. Part III: The Game looks at pickup basketball, high school basketball, college basketball, professional basketball, and the international game. Part IV: And You Don't Have to Pick Up a Ball focuses on fans with chapters on how you don't need to play to be a fan and filling out your NCAA tournament bracket. Part V: The Part of Tens is a standard part for "Dummies" books and has ten games that changed the course of basketball history, ten best Bball websites, ten NBA legends, and ten important dates in Bball history. The final part, Part VI: Appendixes includes a glossary of terms and drilling the basics.

The book also contains the little sidebars and tips you expect, including hall of fame, Digger says, player tips, coach tip, fan tip, and remember icons. These are fun and interesting and make certain points stand out depending if you are a player, coach or fan.

This book really does have a lot of good basic information about the game and sport, for players, coaches and fans. While I played in high school, and pick up games since, I wanted this book to brush up on some things as I prepare to coach my little girl in YMCA games in the future. I'll use this book, and probably pick a couple up on coaching too, to help out.

I like the simplicity and organization of the book, and that it covers a lot of information on various parts of the game. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to read more about the sport of Basketball.
Profile Image for CathyAyn.
150 reviews
October 12, 2024
Not as useful as I'd hoped. A lot of history and explains the basics of the game, but not as much education about the details, various plays and calls that can be somewhat nuanced if you've not played/coached the game (which is what I was looking fo).
Profile Image for Steven Peterson.
Author 19 books320 followers
October 26, 2012
Digger Phelps, basketball commentator and former basketball coach at Notre Dame, has authored another in the "for Dummies" series. This, about basketball.

Not a bad work. How do you attack a 1-3-1 defense? Go to page 104. What about offensive rebounding? Go to page 153. Interested in high school basketball? On page 207, we see a listing of the largest high school gyms in the U.S. What about professional basketball? On page 241, Phelps speaks of the globalization of basketball, with professional NBA players from throughout the world.

All in all, a nice addition to the "Dummies" series. Phelps does a nice job introducing readers to basketball in all of its manifestations.
2 reviews1 follower
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December 18, 2013
Basketball for dummies.The author is Richard "digger" Phelps.the main purpose of this book is to guide you how to play basketball.the book goes in very details about how to play basketball the proper way.You cant really say that its for the beginners because it you about stuff that the professional players don't even know about.The book is very useful because like I said it helps you get better in your basketball game.It is very easy to follow because it actually shows the pictures of how to do those plays.I would recommend this book to the people who really love the game of basketball and who have passion for it and want to learn something new.
thankyou
Profile Image for Nick Qui.
3 reviews1 follower
May 12, 2016
This whole book was very good to me, since I love the game basketball and I actually learned some new things from the former head coach of Notre Dame. It was both inspiring and a little frustrating trying to learn what the book is intending to tell me. It was a really good book to me and I believe that if you're trying to learn some new things about basketball, this is your book.
Profile Image for Denise.
11 reviews10 followers
May 31, 2008
One of these days I will understand all the rules and regulations of this game Sean plays between football seasons. Until then I will have to sustain myself with the knowledge that I'm pretty sure I figured out when Reg was ejected from Sean's second to last game. ;-)
Profile Image for Bill Forgeard.
797 reviews89 followers
July 25, 2011
Having been playing for years but never properly coached, I learned heaps from this book. (I read the Australian adaption by Andrew Gaze.)
Profile Image for Doug.
512 reviews
January 6, 2012
this is a great book of information on the game of basketball written by one of the great coach in NCAA basketball - Digger Phelps from the University of Notre Dame
Profile Image for Julliane Sunwar .
2 reviews
September 29, 2014
It's really good because it was clear when telling you stuff and also because there were pictures for most of the things that they were explaining to you. There were also diagrams.
Profile Image for Kati.
619 reviews12 followers
February 24, 2015
I learned a few things ... the game is starting to make more sense to me!
Profile Image for Margarita.
906 reviews9 followers
November 23, 2015
A very basic though helpful book about basketball. Chapters are nicely organized according to topic which makes it much easier to flip between them when looking for specific information.
Profile Image for David Tomlinson.
Author 1 book26 followers
July 1, 2016
For those of us who don't play the game, Digger explains basketball in hilarious, uncomplicated terms.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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