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| thecrossover |
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| Allen
Iverson's killer crossover is his most patented move. He has
crossed up players such as Stephon Marbury, Reggie Miller,
Gary Payton, and of course, Michael Jordan. AI is able to
use his superior ball-handling skills to set up the crossover.
It is the perfect compliment to his amazing quickness and
explosiveness, making Allen's crossover almost unguardable.
However, Iverson did not perfect this deadly move overnight
as it took years of practice. He first started using it when
he was 15 years old and perfected it when he was at Georgetown
with the help of several teammates. During this time, AI picked
up bits and pieces of other players' crossovers while adding
his own moves as well. The following are the basic steps of
the crossover. |
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Iverson
shakes Jordan.
Video: 825KB |
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STEP 1
Allen
will first dribble the ball in his left hand and will
look to go left. He will usually do a hesitation dribble
(This hesitation dribble was declared illegal by the
NBA as "carrying" after AI's rookie season).
[1]
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STEP 2
As
he is dribbling, Allen will then take a medium to
large step with his left foot and lean his body slightly
forward. Allen also incorporates a head fake to draw
the defender to his left side. [2]
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STEP 3
At
this point, the defender usually can do 2 things.
One, he could be convinced that Allen is going left
so the defender will move to his (not AI's) right
to block the ball-handler's path. Or, two, he could
simply stay directly in front of Allen or slightly
to his right, and therefore, not play AI's left side.
This means that AI has to "read" the defender.
[3]
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STEP 4
"Reading"
means that Allen will look at the defender's positioning
and determine which way to go. If the defender does
not try to play the left handed dribble then AI will
use his speed and burst by his hapless check. On the
other hand, if the defender does play Allen's left
side then the Answer will do a quick, low dribble
from the left to the right hand. As he does this,
Iverson will push off with this planted left foot
to go right in order to get away from the defender.
[4] AI can now pull up for the jumper, attack the
basket for a layup or dunk, or even dish the ball
to an open teammate. [5]
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