Basketball: Steps to Success-3rd Edition

Learning and teaching basketball skills and tactics can be challenging. Executing them in competition can be troubling. Mastering them can be a career-long quest.

Is it possible that a single book can provide all the instruction you need to conquer these basketball roadblocks? First you must know exactly how the skill or tactic is properly performed. Check! Then you need to attempt it again and again, with corrective advice through those trials until you get it right. Check! Next comes practice. Lots of practice, with drills designed to make performance of the skill or tactic efficient and effective. Check!

In Basketball: Steps to Success, Coach Hal Wissel covers the entire progression of technical and tactical development needed to become a complete player. From essential footwork to key principles of defense, this guide details the skills and tactics needed to excel in today’s game. Shooting off the catch and creating shots off the dribble, running two- and three-player offensive plays, and many more topics in the book will prepare players to succeed in every situation on the court.

Dr. Hal Wissel has a wealth of experience in the National Basketball Association as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Jersey Nets. Hal was also director of player personnel with the Nets and scout and special assignment coach with the Milwaukee Bucks.

As a collegiate head coach, Wissel compiled more than 300 wins. He turned losing programs at Trenton State College and Lafayette College into conference and division champions, respectively. Wissel led Florida Southern College to four straight trips to the NCAA Division II tournament and three straight trips to the Division II final four (’80, ’81, and ’82), winning the Divi­sion II national championship in 1981. Wissel coached Fordham University into the 1972 NIT Tournament and also coached the Dominican Republic national team in 1975.

Wissel founded Basketball World and CoachWissel.com, instructional ventures featuring basketball camps, clinics, books, and DVDs. Basketball World’s highly succes­sful Shoot It Better Mini Camps are conducted worldwide for players from youth level to NBA and WNBA level.

Wissel received a bachelor’s degree from Springfield College, a master’s degree from Indiana University, and a doctorate in physical education from Springfield College. Wissel’s best-selling book Basketball: Steps to Success has been translated into eleven languages. Wissel is also the author of Becoming a Basketball Player: Individual Drills, which has been made into a DVD. Wissel has also produced five basketball shooting DVDs.

Wissel’s honors include being named Coach & Athlete magazine’s Eastern Coach of the Year in 1972; Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year (’79, ’80, and ’81); and Division II National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1980. Wissel has been inducted into the Florida Southern College Athletic Hall of Fame, the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame, and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

Hal and his wife, Trudy, reside in Suffield, Connecticut, and have five grown children and one granddaughter.

"Hal Wissel demonstrates to the world why he is recognized as one of America's top-rated basketball clinicians. This book is a must-read for players and coaches at all levels of play."

Hubie Brown -- Basketball Hall of Fame, two-time NBA Coach of the Year, NBA Analyst for ESPN, ABC and NBA TV

"Hal Wissel is an outstanding teacher and has many years of experience coaching and scouting in the NBA. He knows what he's talking and writing about. This book will help players improve and help coaches teach."

Phil Jackson -- Basketball Hall of Fame, 11-time NBA Champion coach

"Hal Wissel shows you ways to build your own confidence. Coach Wissel helped me understand my own shot and become my own best coach."

Pau Gasol -- Player Los Angeles Lakers, NBA All-Star

"Hal Wissel's personalized teaching helped me improve my free-throw shooting, three-point shooting, and post-up ability."

Dale Ellis -- Former NBA All-Star, ranks fifth in NBA career three-point shots made, career .403 three-point percentage

“Hal Wissel helped me improve my field-goal percentage and three-point percentage, and his training led to my shooting over 40 percent on three-pointers for four consecutive seasons.”

Mike Miller -- Miami Heat, Former USA National Team Member