The player that has excellent footwork in my mind has a football and track background. He has great body positioning while cutting that I think leads to his strong footwork. His cuts are strong as a result of pushing his weight into the ground and exploding after getting low and chopping his feet. This helps his play because I believe he is able to get open on players that are bigger and stronger and faster than him by using good technical footwork.
In my own game, my footwork is very important. Because I have developed myself into a deep cutter and mid-range receiver and thrower, my defender does not know where I’m going to cut in an ideal world. Typically defenders play me just on the force side, not necessarily fronting or backing. Because of this I have to make some kind of fake to cut anywhere. Generally I move into the space a few feet away from the stack to make my move (or in spread, a few feet away from the sideline). Then I either get low, chop my feet, and explode or shake and bake (I think this is more effective for me because it plays to my power cutting and gets faster defenders on their heels).
I think more than any drills, thinking about cutting and training explosivitiy is key. If you can envision yourself making a strong cut, you will be able to do that. Cutting drills will help this come to fruition.
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