[toussaints]

Ummmmmmmm...can't agree with the light weight and reps part. That absolutely does not build muscle, which to me is what I want the kids doing if they are weight lifting. Heavy and fewer reps is what builds muscle tissue and gets the kids stronger. When I was playing I was the only one on the bb team who took weight lifting as a PE elective, almost everyone else in the class was strickly football or wrestler. I was by far the strongest on the team and would have been even more so had I taken it a little more seriously, though to be honest I did have a little more to work with than some of the other bb players. The stronger you can be, the better it is for you as a player and the better player you can POTENTIALLY be.

An oft overlooked body part that needs to be strong are the hands. That helps everyone from the guards trying to protect the ball to the big guys snatching rebounds and keeping the ball beingg ripped from their grip. Strong hands are a huge asset in almost any sport.

but in basketball, you don't need to build a lot of muscle, you need to tone it. the only reason i said a little heavy on squats is for boxing out and jumping. basketball players need to be fast, quick, and flexible. having muscles popping out of your arms, neck, and chest don't help kids shoot, dribble, and run. toning muscles help prevent annoying injuries, protecting joints and strengthening ligaments and tendons

all that being said, there's nothing wrong with adding weight when a lift gets easy. i also agree, hand strength is very important