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No basketball coaches that I know of teach the finger roll to young people just learning how to play basketball, most likely cause they can't jump high enough to lay it nicely off the glass. It's almost like they learn it on their own watching NBA players.

yep. i don't ever remember being taught a finger roll by any coach. but i do remember as a kid (grammar school) throwing it underhand off the glass with a little english, like a finger roll...and then having that develop into a true finger roll as i got older, grew and could jump.

What do you consider a finger roll? I mean, I've been doing underhanded lay-ups since I was like 5, but I don't consider it a finger roll until you can elevate a little, and flip your wrist up to arc it over a defender, which I can do now.

Playing against my older and much taller big brother. Also taught me a floater which you don't see a lot of coaches teach.

I just got how to finger roll by watching the NBA and other basketball on TV. It came natural to me, but yeah they don't teach anyone because it's like your expected to know it.

Coaches probably don't teach it, because they don't recommend it. Sure, it somewhat looks better, but why not do a simple layup that is easier, and also more likely to keep the defender from blocking it?

I actually find the "simple" or "normal" layup harder especially when you are driving full or semi full speed because there is a tendency for your momentum to make you overshoot it.

Tear Drop > Finger Roll.

Love that shot when driving 1v1.

^^^ Yea that's when the finger roll is the best. Im pretty good at jumping the passing lanes so I get a lot of break away lay ups. T-Mac is right, If you just throw up a normal layup your momentum often causes you to overshoot. The finger roll helps give you a light touch in those situations.

You don't get taught it, it probably isn't considered to be fundamentally sound. At least when your dealing with younger kids, ideally you want to get them going up strong with the ball secured firmly in the shooting hand. Remember, younger kids have smaller hands and are further away from the rim/backboard, so you want them to be shooting it up strong--not laying it softly.

I guess as you get older, bigger and stronger you pick it up and it becomes more natural. I know I never intended to one day learn the finger roll, it just happened naturally.

As you get closer to the rim by elevating, it does become a whole lot easier to lay it in underhand than shooting a normal layup with your hand right underneath the ball.

EDIT>>>Yes, I love the teardrop too. My favorite move in the entire game. As long as you can get into the paint, it doesn't matter how big you are, if you drop a giant killer there ain't nobody who's going to contest that if you get the timing right.

In response to the guys who said the regular layup is harder. That just means you suck. I've never seen anyone at the middle school level and above ever miss a layup like that.

Albanian Damien wrote:In response to the guys who said the regular layup is harder. That just means you suck. I've never seen anyone at the middle school level and above ever miss a layup like that.

Not really. Both are easier, but I myself find a finger role a tad easier than a normal textbook layup. Only because you find a finger roll slightly easier it's not to say you find a regular layup hard..

Besides, these days a layup is a freakin' layup, be it a finger roll or a textbook layup. It's practically the same thing.

So I don't get your point.

Albanian Damien wrote:I've never seen anyone at the middle school level and above ever miss a layup like that.

and that just means you haven't watched kwame brown play in an nba game.

Albanian Damien wrote:In response to the guys who said the regular layup is harder. That just means you suck. I've never seen anyone at the middle school level and above ever miss a layup like that.

Just wow. I guess I assume too much.

To clarify. "Regular" layups are not hard. Finger roles just seem to be easier/more flashy/more of a sure thing when you're in certain situations, like on the break.

like most of my skills, I learned it from the Better Basketball instructional DVDs (90 degrees ftw)

I know almost every advanced move I know came from watching my favorite players and replicating the move in my yard, and practicing it on my friends.

My coach sucked hard, I basically was the coach of that team.

No coach told me how to do the finger-roll type of layup. We were always told as kids to do that layup where you jump and sort of shoot it like a jumper off the glass. It wasn't until I got bigger and became faster and stronger that I was really able to do the finger-roll type, so once I was able to do it, I then just practiced it, and now it's the way I do layups naturally.

i think i just learned it from watching grizzlies games back in the day reef would do a finger roll on a fast break and my dad told me thats what it was called

Don't really remember how or when I learned it, but growing older and having better elevation and stronger/bigger hands were key.

since i seen jason kidd do it all the time.