Firstly let me say I LOVE basketball, so that's why this post is so long.
I play basketball with guys at work about twice a week, played it all through school, play pickup games at the rec center, practice on Saturday mornings and get a tan, etc.
Good Forwards: A dime a dozen, me included. We block shots and make shots 2-6 feet from the basket with ease. Confused people can do well as forwards even, because like guard its a more dynamic position than center or point guard. Typically ectomorphs or naturally large (read:tall) mesomorphs. Most common mistakes: Too aggressive blocking shots, so they fall for the fakes or too passive and get no rebounds/points. A moderate amount of finesse is required for this position
Good Point Guard: Consistent, intelligent. Level-headed. This guy can control his state of mind and can read both team's players better than anyone else on the court. This guy shouldn't really have any faults, but the biggest one I've noticed is many of them aren't used to being aggressively defended. While a guard and a forward can get by without this feature, for point guards its kind of the deliniating factor. e.g. You come down the court, give the defender a look, he defends in a certain way, you knew he was going to do that so you're already making the play, reacting off his defense... its what you do, you set the stage so you have a lot of opening moves and read players like books.
Good Guard: Like the forwards, these guys are all-around players. Somewhere between point guard and power forward, these guys are more likely to PICK the defenders, and make plays. Usually average sized ecto/meso's. Same problems as forwards they're usually too passive or too aggressive.
Good Center: Tall. Big. Tall & Big. Slow paced, but fast in short bursts. Intimidating. Saves their energy for the big power moves. They usually screw up if you draw the offensive foul. Pay attention to the post up lines, because everyone does. Plant yourself. Its scary, though.. hehe.
OH YOU MEAN PHYSICAL TRAINING.
Well that's easy, just play more basketball
Squats help a lot for saving your energy and then doing the power moves, more on that later.. Running helps for cardio (duh.) You don't need a lot of upper body weight unless you're a center or a power forward (its basketball..) so just play more bball. Play with people, competitively. Basketball is a sport where there's no reason you should lose by more than two shots. If you're skinny be a forward or guard. If you're short be a point guard and foul a lot down low. If you're tall and/or big be a center. Pickup games you'll probably have to be all three. Realistically, the most tired person should be the point guard, so they can rest a bit if they have to.
Back to the squats thing: If you have a strong core from lifting, then SAVE it during the game and use it progressively over the course of the game. Outside of full-out college basketball, its usually a game of attrition. Meaning, you keep a certain pace you can maintain throughout the entire game and let your opponents wear themselves out. Your core will wear itself out quick if you do a lot of stretched, intense movements early on in the game when simple warmup shots & passes would have sufficed.
I love the intensity of basketball's physical workout, but for years I lost a lot of games because I gave in to the fun of that intensity too early in the game.
As far as how your body LOOKS: One thing I've noticed is its hard to keep upper pecs while playing bball because of the restricted movement associated with having big upper pecs. Your back and shoulders should be naturally strong and large from playing bball. Your forearms might need extra attention because of all the running & the option of upper body finesse over power. Legs & Core you probably don't have to worry about. DEFINATELY don't have to worry about if you do squats. Deadlift/rows & curls kind of work against basketball's finesse aspect, but its just a choice of where you want to be in relation to power and speed/finesse.
Also, expect to be asymmetrical if you play basketball and don't make ambidexterity a priority. Do a test: divide both of your hands into two sections:
1st part: pinky, ring, middle fingers.
2nd part: index & thumb.
(So like the spock sign, except the gap in your hand is between middle & index fingers.)
Ok, so test all (albeit generically divided) sections. Four total: Remember two sections, per two hands.
For the pinky side make a fist using only those fingers, then point to your chin like you're showing someone they have spaghetti in their beard with your index finger. Flex the pinky side of your hand. Relax your your index and thumb. Ok congrats, you just found one section of finger-to-forearm muscle physiology. Move it around.
The other is the grip from the index and thumb, this is best illustrated by making a fist with only your index finger and thumb then poking your belly button with the other three fingers. Ok, now flex ONLY your index and thumb while they are fistballed & move your hand further away from your belly button. Congrats thats the other side. DON'T FLEX THE OTHER THREE FINGERS.
Once you practice those positions, move them around and keep them flexed. You should be able to judge strength of both hands, and the sides of each hands very readily.
Now, unless you're ambidexerous I'm betting that your weak (usually left) hand's index & thumb grip muscles are much stronger in relation to your pinky, ring & middle finger muscles. Now compare that vs your strong (again, usually right) hand's features, which are probably a lot more evenly distributed.
Honestly the buffest, most balanced & ripped people I've ever known did wrestling and basketball. Basketball for legs & core. Wrestling for upper body & core. What a fun way to live, too eh? A good, symmetrical martial art, and a fun, finesse-based, yet cardio-intense sport. I should think the same ideas work with other cardio-based sports like tennis, volleyball, & soccer -- though I doubt any of those really hit the leg usage as much as bball because the variance of jumps & running.
Also, I did Wing Chun Kung Fu for a couple months, and I must say it improved my D in bball 100% just because some of the hand movements they teach you are very suited for basketball and its a VERY symmetrical martial art. That said, I don't think Wing Chun should be taken seriously as a fighting art unless you have some grappling or boxing training as well.
I drink my MRP meal replacements (From GNC, probably at your local mall) that have creatine, etc. before I play for more energy & power. I buy them for weightlifting, but find that power can be used in basketball as well. I probably drink at least about 32 - 48 oz. of water before, during, and immediately after the game. Remember if you get cotton mouth that means you're dehydrated. If you get it BAD during games you should down water before you play to ensure it doesn't happen, and sip during intermissions when needed.
