Hubie Brown Thoughts

Hubie Brown Thoughts-
You try to tell guys, will you please wait 'til the screener is set?-
You cannot feed a guy in the post from above the free throw line.
-When you're defending the postman, never turn your back back when someone's cutting.
- You try to tell guys, you never dribble just once.
- You must remember, young players, who are you fouling?
- You cannot allow a big man to take the ball uncontested from half court. You must cut him off at the circle.
- Your man leaves you, you cut to the front of the rim
- You must pound the boards, force the ball up, and the fatigue factor will free up easy threes.- You always give it to the guy who's cutting and has the high percentage shot.
- You must take advantage of turnovers and second shots.
- When running the UCLA offense, you must jam the passer.
- Any time the ball goes to the wing and a back screen is set by the center or forward or the point guard, someone must help him out -- or else jam the passer.
- If you front the low post or gamble for a steal, it's a layup.
- Any time you get in that area [the lane], you try to make a bounce pass.
- You're either going to trap or you're going to force the dribbler high -- but you cannot allow him to turn the corner.
- If you're going to force him, force him baseline -- do not allow him to get into the lane.
- Post-up guys, will you please catch the ball with both hands, then get good position, then turn to the basket.
- You always want to create angles when you start the fast break.
- If you're going to front and you catch a lob you cannot send up anything soft.- On dribble penetration you can let your man go baseline, but if they go to the lane instead... Come on! Where's the help?
- You cannot send all 3 guys to the basket because the post up man will have no one to pass to.- Whenever the defensive team fronts the low post, you must clear out the opposite side low box defender.
- You try to tell guys, when you're playing against good half-court defense not to pass the ball off the dribble because you cannot take it back if the defense reacts.
- You cannot front a great post-up player unless you also jam the passer.- In the transition offense you cannot post a man that close to the basket
.- You cannot leave your feet unless you are shooting the ball.- You always tell defenders, make the ball change direction.

Things Asked Of Our Players Daily

Things asked of our players daily:
1. Work Hard
2. Concentrate
3. Talk

Mental Management--Goal Setting System

MENTAL MANAGEMENT GOAL SETTING SYSTEM


Step 1—Decide Exactly What You Want. Be specific.

Step 2—Decide When You Want It.

Step 3—List The Pay Value. List all the reasons that are important to you for getting the goal.

Step 4—Answer, “Why don’t I have this now?”

Step 5—Ask, “What is my plan to get this goal. What will price will I pay to get this goal?”

Step 6—Ask, “Is the prize worth the price?”

Step 7—Schedule my plan. If it isn’t scheduled, it will not get done.

Essential Wooden--10 Team Tips

10 TEAM TIPS

1. Be thinking at all times.
2. If you do your best, never lose your temper and never be out-fought or out-hustled, you'll have nothing to worry about.
3. Without faith and courage, you are lost.
4. Have respect for, without fear of, every opponent, and confidence without cockiness in regard to yourself.
5. Never be a spectator. Be in the fight at all times.
6. Unselfish team play and team spirit are two of the foremost essentials for our success.
7. We have tough battles ahead. Enjoy the thrill of being a hard fight.
8. Never stoop to playing dirty--play hard and don't complain.
9. Be sure to acknowledge and give credit to a teammate who hits you with a scoring pass or for any fine play he can make.
10. Be a competitor. When the going gets tough, really get going.
    
    

What Makes A Winning Team

The game is very simple and as Pete Newell said, "it is overcoached and undertaught." Here are a few things we believe that makes a winning team:

• Be in condition--physically and mentally
• Make FT's
• Don't let the other team fast break you
• Solid half-court defense
• Keep the ball out of the middle 1/3.
• Deny the ball to the post
• Defensive rebounds--5 defenders block out 4 offensive players
• Handle the ball well
• Pass the ball well
• Shot selection--take good shots to be good--great shots to be great
• Offensive rebounds
• Being a better player--take one charge per game; put my body on somebody on every shot; know my role as a passer; don't waste possessions by getting emotional; go everytime to the offensive boards

Coach Meyer Lessons To UCF Team #2

Here are a few "quick hitters" from Coach Meyer to our team:

• Those who won't compete--complain.
• Can't spend 90% of time on 10% of the team. What are you bringing to the table?
• Work to become wiser, not smarter.
• He asked Buster Olney is intelligence what stops players? Buster replied, "No. It's getting past failure. Great hitters get past an 0 for 4 night.
• You will encounter failure, and you will overcome with toughness.

Respect:

• Eye Contact vs Eye Roll
• Energy Provider vs Energy Sucker
• Selfish and Soft vs Being Tough and a Servant

Coach Meyer--Working To Be A Family

Our program had a great opportunity on Wednesday for Coach Meyer to speak to our team. He spoke to them about several things, but the theme of his message was, "working hard to be a family." I wanted to share a few of the items he passed on to our team:

• Work hard at being a family here, a family looking out for each other.
• Some people will watch you and want you to do something wrong.
• Do the next right thing right.
• Everyone will get cheated in life at some point. How will you respond? Don't say, "Why me? Instead, ask 'What now?'
• N.B.A.--Next Best Action
• Don't be a whiner. Find a way to move on.
• You have a great opportunity here, but it's only going to last 4 years. Get your education, think in terms of being professional, think in terms of being a cut above.
• Work at a higher standard than the people you "run" with may expect.
  

Team Attitude--Discipline

There's one truth I know--Where you find success, you find discipline. To maintain and sustain success, one's discipline must continue to grow and develop. Here are more thoughts from Coach Meyer on DISCIPLINE:

• Make the right choice
• Do the right thing for the right reason.
• Bad choices destroy discipline.
• Do the right thing and do it right.
• Do the next right thing right.
• Motivation vs Manipulation. Manipulate--making someone else do something for you. Motivation--making someone do something for themselves.
• When you do the next right thing right, you are as close to perfect as possible.
• Discipline yourself so others won't have to.
• Must be able to trust you with the smallest of things in order to trust you with the largest of things.
  

Team ATTITUDE--Unselfish

Focusing on the "U" in Attitude--Unselfish. Here are a few thoughts:

• Caring about others
• Two natures--Bad or human nature (take away all you can get from others). Spiritual nature (giving to others). Soldiers give their lives in war.
• Some people never die to themselves to give to others.
• To be a great player you must die to yourself and give to the team.
• You can never be happy when you focus on yourself.
• Selfish players are like a cancer that eats away at your teams.
• Don't do the right thing just to be notices.
• Some players are only good if they start.
• You want to be missed when you're gone.
• Do things for others and you'll be happy.
• This is usually the last thing we develop in life.

Mental To Physical--The Mind Like Water Simile

A great book to keep near your desk is David Allen's, "Getting Things Done". One of the great books on organization and preparation. It does a great job in walking you through setting up a system of organization--not just planning, but handling all the many things that come across our desk.

While reading last night, I came across something that I had missed. Allen was discussing how being organized and prepared, "clears your mind". However, while reading that section it made me think about the mental preparation for our team. Jerry Tarkanian said, "the more they think, the slower their feet get." The mental part of the game is a skill just like ballhandling and shooting. We are looking for ways to develop. The following from Allen's book is a mindset that we need our players to play with.

Allen calls this state--"Mind like water"

• In karate there is an image that's used to define the position of perfect readiness: "mind like water." Imagine throwing a pebble into a still pond. How does the water respond? The answer is, totally appropriately to the force and mass of the input; then it returns to calm. It doesn't overreact or under react.
• The power in the karate punch comes from speed, not muscle; it comes from a focused "pop" at the end of the whip.
• That is why petite people can learn to break boards and bricks with their hands: it doesn't take calluses or brute strength, just the ability to generate a focused thrust with speed.
• But a tense muscle is a slow one. So the high levels of training in the martial arts teach and demand balance and relaxation as much as anything else. Clearing the mind and being flexible are key.

Team Attitude--Tenacity

Continuing to look at various elements of TEAM ATTITUDE--Tenacity is next. The ability to stick with something. We believe that Tenacity is a skill--just like ballhandling, shooting, etc. It is something that must be taught, repped, developed, etc.

I have just finished Bill Walsh's new book and in it he has this to say about Tenacity:

"It is my opinion that the lack of the "stick-with-it"

attitude is accompanied by a certain lack of intelligence.

The thick witted person can't deal with the hard knocks

after a while, and that's when the complaining begins."

Various thoughts from Coach Meyer on TENACITY:

• Pit Bull vs Poodle mentality
• We want people who stick with things, no matter how hard it may get.
• Be what you ought to be.
• Work every day.
• Great things can be accompanied by those with tenacity.
• Keep things simple.
• Work at it all the time.

Team Attitude--Teachable

Teachable--Coach Wooden says, it's after we know it all that we learn the most. I realize this daily. Every day I realize how much I don't know. We work daily to make sure we are teaching. Coach Meyer stresses that the teacher appears when the pupil is ready. Here are few more thoughts on being teachable. They apply to coaches, staff and players:

• You must want to learn.
• Talent levels out fast, but the intelligent people move on.
• Players without brains don't become great players.
• Develop your mind or someone will own you.
• Treasure this day. You will be taught it's up to you to learn.
• Be a sponge--soak up all you can. Good players can take criticism. Great players can take criticism and learn.
• Do you soak up ideas like a sponge? Or do you think you know everything.
• Knowledge is power.

Skill Development--Three Areas To Develop As A Player

Three areas to develop as a player:

1. Skills
2. Understanding how to play the game
3. Strength and Conditioning
   

Team Attitude--Awareness & Communication

We begin our season discussing Team Attitude. One of the ways we address with our team is to use the acronym from Coach Don Meyer. He uses the letters from ATTITUDE to better define it.
A-wareness & Communication
T-eachable
T-enacity
I-ntensity
T-echnique
U-nselfish
D-iscipline
E-Effort + Execution= Excellence.

Here are a few thoughts on AWARENESS & COMMUNICATION. This was the Emphasis of the Day for us at our morning IDW.

• Help others who have trouble.
• Communicate to coaches if you see someone who needs help.
• Communicate positive things to teammates.
• Talk to people and listen to them.
• Good and great teams communicate on and off the floor.
• Be aware of problems, etc.
• Be aware of body language, tone, etc. Various ways to communicate.

Definite Dozen--Work Smart

I consider the opportunities to have worked with Coach Meyer and Coach Summitt as experience in laboratories of excellence. As each day passes, I realize the many lessons they passed on, that I didn't get at that time. I treasure those lessons more and more as I continue to grow on and off the floor.

Both Coach Meyer and Coach Summitt taught not just to work hard, but to work smart. Here are some more Definite Dozen thoughts:

• Don't mistake activity for achievement--Wooden
• Know what you can do to help the team
• "Great compliment for this team, you're not only athletic, talented but smart.
• Becoming smarted as a team begins individually.
• Be a student of the game. Challenge you to watch more tape, study the game more.
• Don't put things off. Catch things early.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't pretend you understand.
• Spend your time and energy on things you need to produce.

Just wanted to share a few of our points of emphasis that we will carry with us into next week's Individual Development Workouts. Everything we do is a progression and we want to build every day and every week. We will take the things from last week and emphasize throughout next week's workouts.

• Understand the purpose of the dribble.
• Get to the rim in one dribble.
• Show two hands on slips. Too often cutters only show one hand on a basket cut.
• Get the ball up higher on the glass on bank shots.
• In the post--use the power dribble to go somewhere and do not use a dribble to pivot.
• Work to become comfortable with the ball in your hands.

Definite Dozen--Loyalty

Loyalty is a word used throughout business and sports. Loyalty separates a lot of successful teams and businesses. Here are a few thoughts that we emphasize and discuss with our team and that were shared at Tennessee:

• Don't say things you wouldn't say to some one's face.
• Loyalty has disrupted a lot of teams.
• Must have respect to have loyalty.
• Negative thinkers suck the energy out of programs.
• It is a trust, a commitment to each other.
• Treat each other as family, not just saying it.
• It is essential when games start and people begin pulling at you asking, "Why are they doing this, You could do this...etc." Because people try to plant seeds of discontent.
• It is not something you can demand or enforce.
• It is not a bargain or an exchange. It's something that must be tended to daily.

Definite Dozen--Hard Work

In our recent staff meeting we were discussing work ethic and work habits. One of our keys to success is not just getting our players to work hard, but to enjoy working hard, and to understand that there is a price to pay for everything.

Here are a few notes from some team meetings discussing The Definite Dozen and Hard Work:

• Mutual respect makes you work harder.
• Commitment to your teammates makes you work harder.
• Hard work is part of our culture here, maybe not at other places.
• The Law of the Farm--"Cows don't take days off."

Coach Meyer would always remind us to, "look for work." I remember Pat telling me one time while I was still coaching high school, that a lot of people look for jobs, but not many look for work.

Definite Dozen--Responsibility

Responsibility is a key characteristic of all successful teams and leaders. It has to be emphasized and cultivated daily. We always try to emphasize the various ways responsibility manifests itself in our daily lives. Here are a few thoughts on Responsibility:

• Time management
• Accountable for your own mistakes
• Separating various aspects of our lives
• Work ethic is your own responsibility
• Be mature and communicate
• Responsible for your own improvement
• Take time to get organized.
• Prepare and plan
• Getting paperwork turned in on time. What might be small to you could have a huge effect on someone else.
• Accountable for my role on and off the court
• To be successful you must accept full responsibility
• The more successful you are, the more responsibility you must assume.
• Responsibility never ends.
• None of us start out responsible. It's something that must be taught and it can be self-taught.
• You can't pick and choose the days you want to be responsible.
• The best way to handle responsibility is to break it down into smaller parts.
• The only effective way to teach responsibility is by making them responsible for the small things, day in and day out.
• Ask yourself everyday what your responsibilities are, and be accountable for them. When you've fulfilled those, ask for more.

Posts IDW #1

Skill development is the heart of our program. We are wanting to develop new players by the time we get to post-season play in March. As the old saying goes, "Do you want two new plays in March or two new players?" Obviously, we want new players. Everything we do in our teaching is a progression.
Today, in our first workout with the posts, our emphasis was Technique and Being Comfortable With The Ball. Below is our workout for today. We end the workout with Tiger and Grooving our shot.
"Tiger" is named after Tiger Woods. Tiger ends his putting practice by making 100 nine foot putts. In our "Tiger" session, we will pick a skill for them to end the workout with and give the requirements. It's another effort to develop confidence and technique. We did our entire workout today with the reduced rim, they hate it at first, but we believe it is a great aid in our focus and concentration.


(6) Wooden Work
· V-Cut & RPA
· Partner Passing (stationary & 1/2 court)
· Dribble & Juggle
· 2 Ball dribbling

(6) Finishing (Reduced Rim)
· Mikans
· 2 ball pick-up vs Air Dummy
· Screen & Roll
· Screen & Slip

(5) Closeouts (Together)
· Technique
· Roll ball and close out on wing
· Teaching Points

(8) Scoring (Reduced rim—2 makes vs contact)
· Catch—RPA—1 Dribble finish (2 dribble)
· Catch—RPA—1 Dribble pull-up
· Sikma—Jumper
· Sikma—Power move

(3) Tiger

(2) Groove Shot

Definite Dozen--Respect Self & Others

Every successful program has a core set of values, principles that guide them in all that they do. At UCF, everything we do on and off the floor centers around our core values. Though we have a different title for our "Definite Dozen" they embody what we want in our program.

At the beginning of each season, we would sit in a circle in the team room and go through the Definite Dozen one by one. Pat would ask for input from players, coaches and staff. Here are some of the thoughts discussed:

RESPECT YOURSELF & OTHERS

• Look at the relationship that recruits have with their family.
• Body language.
• Are you happy with yourself?
• Being on time. Lots of responsibilities, our time isn't more important than others.
• Actions show more respect than words.
• Don't get hung up on titles, treat everyone how you would like to be treated.
• Can't demand respect.
• Make eye contact.
• Be your own person, decide who you are going to be.
• Ambition can transform you. The starting point of ambition is self-respect.

UCF General Defensive Philosophy

A lot of championships have been won by teams that have not been the most talented. So, how are you going to win your district, conference, etc. if you are not the most talented team? By influencing your opponent defensively. We know we are not going to “pitch” a shutout. But we can determine who scores, where they score and how they score, we are going to make it hard on them.

One of the keys to our program is to have a plan for everything. Bear Bryant (legendary Alabama football coach) said: “Have a plan for everything, an objective, you just don’t go out day to day and coach. You have a plan you believe in, and you have to be strong enough not to compromise.” We make a master practice plan prior to the start of the season to plan when we will teach each element of our system. We have a checklist for each area of our defense and each skill needed to execute that area of our program.

We want our system to be simple and efficient. Ernest Hemingway was once asked, “How did you learn to write?” Hemingway replied, “By writing every day.” That is the mentality we take to our program on a daily basis. In doing so, we plan to outwork, outprepare and outfundamental our opponents.

In the teaching of our defense, we really concentrate on developing sound defensive techniques. Regardless of your team defensive system, it is essential that players master the proper defensive techniques. It is only when your players can get into, stay in and move in the various defensive stances will your defensive system be executed to its fullest.

There are basic four ways as to why games are lost:
Turnovers
Bad shots
Failure to blockout
Lack of pressure
Our defensive system is predicated on these four variables. We know that most games are lost, not won. We simply want to get the offense to do something they don’t want to do.

Pat Summitt's Definite Dozen

I've been very fortunate in my coaching career to work with some of the greatest coaches in the game. One of the things I treasure the most are my notebooks from those coaches. This morning I began reviewing Coach Summitt's Definite Dozen. I look forward to sharing some of my notes over then next few days.

Introduction to the Definite Dozen:

• Pat always stressed the importance of having a philosophy, a system of life. How will you run your company? Your team? Your family?
• A philosophy helps you maintain and keep focus and discipline.
• Pat would start the first meeting by asking how many games do you want to miss because you violated Team Policy/ Definite Dozen. These standards apply to everyone in the program.
• The Definite Dozen is a tool to help you raise your standards.
• The Definite Dozen came from Pat's parents.
• She has a goal to teach something everyday to make the players a better person.
• Be defined as an overachiever.