Dribble Deficit Enables Measurement of Dribbling Speed Independent of Sprinting Speed in Collegiate, Male, Basketball Players

Dribble deficit as an effective measure of dribbling ability independent of sprinting performance in professional female handball players

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between linear and change-of-direction sprinting performance with dribbling performance and Dribble Deficit in professional female handball players.

Methods

Eleven professional female handball players (mean age: 21.12 ± 4.34 years; body height: 171.59 ± 4.52 cm; body weight: 66.29 ± 5.73 kg) participated in the study. Each participant completed several linear (sprint over 10, 20, and 30 m) and change-of-direction tests (slalom test, zig-zag test, 505 test), first without the ball (sprinting performance) followed by ball dribbling (dribbling performance). Dribble Deficit was calculated indirectly as the time difference between the best trial while dribbling minus the best trial without dribbling.

Results

A large to very large correlation was observed between the linear sprint and dribbling performance (r = 0.53-0.78), as well as between change-of-direction sprinting performance and dribbling performance (r = 0.66-0.88). The study also showed a moderate to perfect relationship between linear dribbling performance and Dribble Deficit (r = 0.46-0.93), and a large relationship between change-of-direction dribbling performance and Dribble Deficit (r = 0.54-0.55), while the relationships between linear sprinting performance and Dribble Deficit (r = -0.51-0.21) and between change-of-direction sprinting performance and Dribble Deficit (r = -0.14-0.26) were small and non-significant.

Conclusion

In summary, Dribble Deficit reflects dribbling ability independent of sprinting ability and refines its application for practical use in assessing dribbling skills in female handball players.

A Systematic Review on Fitness Testing in Adult Male Basketball Players: Tests Adopted, Characteristics Reported and Recommendations for Practice

Background

As basketball match-play requires players to possess a wide range of physical characteristics, many tests have been introduced in the literature to identify talent and quantify fitness in various samples of players. However, a synthesis of the literature to identify the most frequently used tests, outcome variables, and normative values for basketball-related physical characteristics in adult male basketball players is yet to be conducted.

Objective

The primary objectives of this systematic review are to (1) identify tests and outcome variables used to assess physical characteristics in adult male basketball players across all competition levels, (2) report a summary of anthropometric, muscular power, linear speed, change-of-direction speed, agility, strength, anaerobic capacity, and aerobic capacity in adult male basketball players based on playing position and competition level, and (3) introduce a framework outlining recommended testing approaches to quantify physical characteristics in adult male basketball players.

Methods

A systematic review of MEDLINE, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, and Web of Science was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to identify relevant studies. To be eligible for inclusion, studies were required to: (1) be original research articles; (2) be published in a peer-reviewed journal; (3) have full-text versions available in the English language; and (4) include the primary aim of reporting tests used and/or the physical characteristics of adult (i.e., ≥ 18 years of age) male basketball players. Additionally, data from the top 10 draft picks who participated in the National Basketball Association combined from 2011–12 to 2020–21 were extracted from the official league website to highlight the physical characteristics of elite 19- to 24-year-old basketball players.

Results

A total of 1684 studies were identified, with 375 being duplicates. Consequently, the titles and abstracts of 1309 studies were screened and 231 studies were eligible for full-text review. The reference list of each study was searched, with a further 59 studies identified as eligible for review. After full-text screening, 137 studies identified tests, while 114 studies reported physical characteristics in adult male basketball players.

Conclusions

Physical characteristics reported indicate a wide range of abilities are present across playing competitions. The tests and outcome variables reported in the literature highlight the multitude of tests currently being used. Because there are no accepted international standards for physical assessment of basketball players, establishing normative data is challenging. Therefore, future testing should involve repeatable protocols that are standardised and provide outcomes that can be monitored across time. Recommendations for testing batteries in adult male basketball players are provided so improved interpretation of data can occur.

Clinical Trial Registration

This review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews and allocated registration number CRD42020187151 on 28 April, 2020.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40279-021-01626-3.

Change of Direction Speed Tests in Basketball Players: A Brief Review of Test Varieties and Recent Trends

Change of direction speed (CODS) is essential for basketball performance, extensively assessed by various tests. This review aimed to summarize the CODS test varieties for basketball players on publications until 2019 and identify recent trends regarding what types of tests have gained attention in the 2010s. Electronic literature searches were conducted using three databases with relevant keywords. 104 studies were found eligible, conducting CODS tests 159 times in total with 48 test varieties. To facilitate distinctions between the tests, each test was categorized into one of three types based on the distinctive movement characteristics and changing angles as follows: Defensive (involving lateral shuffling), 180°-turn (exerting only 180°-turns), and Cutting (performing diagonal- or side-cut). We then counted the number of publications and adopted times reported per year for each test, and calculated the adoption rate for each categorized test type. The first CODS test performed in basketball players was the T-Test, reported in 1991, and this was the most commonly adopted test (44/159 times). The 2010s saw abrupt increases in the number of publications (1990s-2000s-2010s: 5-9-90) and test varieties (4-7-44). The adoption rates in the 2010s were similar among the three types (i.e., Defensive/180°-turn/Cutting: 37%/30%/33%), with the Cutting type gradually increasing over the last three decades (1990s-2000s-2010s: 0%-9%-33%). These results suggest that while CODS performances in basketball players are increasingly studied with various tests, recent studies give equal weight to all of the three categorized test types, with increasing adoption of the Cutting type, to assess specific CODS performances.

Dribble Deficit quantifies dribbling speed independently of sprinting speed and differentiates between age categories in pre-adolescent basketball players

The aims of this study were to a) quantify the relationships between sprinting and dribbling speed measured using dribble time and Dribble Deficit and b) assess the difference between age categories in sprinting and dribbling speed in pre-adolescent basketball players. Pre-adolescent, male basketball players (Total, N = 81; Under-10, n = 32, Under-9, n = 49) completed two trials of different tasks including 20-m linear sprints without dribbling, 20-m linear sprints dribbling with dominant and non-dominant hands, and change-of-direction (COD) sprints with and without dribbling. Sprinting time, dribbling time and Dribble Deficit were then calculated for each trial. Spearman rank correlations were used to assess the relationships between outcome measures for Under-9 and Under-10 players separately and combined. The Mann-Whitney U test with effect sizes (ES) was used to assess differences in outcome measures between Under-9 and Under-10 players. Moderate-to-very large significant relationships (p <0.05) between linear and COD sprinting time and dribbling time using dominant and non-dominant hands were found in Under-9, Under-10 and all players combined. Trivial-to-moderate relationships were found between sprinting time and Dribble Deficit in all age categories across linear and COD paths. Quicker performance times (p <0.05) were found for Under-10 compared to Under-9 players in all outcome measures (ES: small-to-moderate), except for COD sprinting time (p >0.05; ES: small). Dribble Deficit measures dribbling speed independently of sprinting speed across linear and COD paths in pre-adolescent basketball players and differentiates between age categories.

Agreement Between Dribble and Change of Direction Deficits to Assess Directional Asymmetry in Young Elite Football Players

This study aimed to examine the agreement between asymmetries of dribble and change of direction (COD) deficits and to determine their potential difference to each other. Sixteen young elite football players were recruited and tested for sprint (over 10 m), dribbling (90°CODdribbling) and COD (90°CODrunning) performance in dominant (fastest) and non-dominant (slowest) directions. Dribble and COD deficits were computed to express dribbling and COD ability without the influence of acceleration. The asymmetric index (AI%) of both dribble and COD deficits were obtained for both directions. The level of agreement between dribble and COD deficits was assessed by Cohen’s kappa statistic (κ). Results showed that AI% measured by dribble and COD deficits presented a poor level of agreement (κ = −0.159), indicating their imbalance did not favor the same direction. Moreover, AI% of the dribble deficit was significantly higher than those of the COD deficit. This study demonstrated that asymmetries in dribbling and change of direction performance (measured by dribble and COD deficit) were not in agreement to favor the same direction, also displaying a significant difference to each other. Practitioners should consider the task-specificity of asymmetry to reduce the imbalance in dribbling and COD performance.