"Know Thyself"--Teacher/ Coach Theory From Bob Knight

A. Evaluate Yourself
     1. Know your strengths and weaknesses
          a. What you can’t do is more important than what you can do in deciding things
     2. Know what you want and don’t want to do
     3. How well do you discipline yourself?
          a. can’t be late
          b. show up everyday
          c. be responsible
    4. How good are you with people?
          a. 2 things you must be able to do to succeed.
               Talk
               Write
    5. How well do you work for people?
          a. take directions
          b. can you do what is demanded of you?
     6. How demanding can you be?
          a. there is a strong correlation between learning and what is demanded
          b. must get people to do what they don’t want to; make them go beyond their comfort zone
          c. how tough can you be?
          d.can you control a classroom?
          e. demand that players graduate, go to class, or don’t play
          f. you should feel that you know more about what is good for them, than they do
     7. How well do you accept criticism?
          a. “Any fool can criticize, and they all do.”
          b. be prepared for it, everyone feels they could do it better
          c. involves critiques, public criticisms
     8. How well do you prepare/plan?
          a. “The will to prepare to win is ultimately greater than the will to win.”
          b. most teams are even, the team best prepared to win, will
          c. preparation is vital

Who, What & Where Questions for Student Athletes In Recruiting Process

When we talk to student-athletes about recruiting we encourage them to take ownership and responsibility of the process. We encourage them to ask questions. The following questions are an outline of that process. We call it the, "Who, What & Where" questions for student-athletes.


WHO
Coaching staff's philosophy of education
Coaching staff's philosophy of basketball
Coaching staff's experience
Student population: Too Big/ Too Small
Character and spirit of the campus in general
Can I respect the Head Coach and staff?
Future teammates
Type of players being recruited
School's athletic policy…Guarantee if injured
Position coach
Recruiting coach
What do former players say of their experiences?

WHERE
Miles from home
Availability of air, train, bus travel
Living conditions
Dining facilities
Weather conditions
Size of city or town
Attitude of community to the University

WHAT
Academic reptutation in my desired major
Alternative academic offerings
Academic facilities in my major
Can I compete in the classroom?
Do the athletes succeed in the classroom?
Is there tutoring help available?
Is there study hall?
Can we win?
Practice and workout facilities
Equipment
Schedule
Opportunity to go on and play professionally
Style of play
Can I continue to grow in the church of my faith?
How soon will I play?
Off season programs
Discipline

GENERAL QUESTIONS
Availability of summer employment
Quality of recruiting--How much do they want me?
Wishes of Mom/Dad
High school / AAU Coach's feelings
What does my principal, counselor or favorite teacher think?
Insurance Policy

Questoins Doc Rivers Suggests For Recurits

I had the opportunity to sit on a panel this weekend at the path2D1 seminar and Doc offered the following suggestions for parents and student-athletes to consider when considering what college to attend. He was not only speaking as a coach, former player but as a parent who has been through the process three times.

Playing..Remember that is why you play the game is to play in the games.
Does the school's system fit your style of play, your skill set, etc.
It's more than just signing with a "Big Name"
He made his college decision because he trusted Al McGuire
Ask questions.
If a coach tells/ promises you that you will start, don't go there because they are making that promise every year and not everyone can start....Trust.
Talk to the 12th & 13th player on the team. They'll be honest about what's going on.
Talk to the All-State or All-American player that isn't getting a lot of playing time.
Talk to ex-players..
Find out if ex-players come around the office, into town, etc.

Doc Rivers Advice--"Finish The Race"

"Finish the race". Was the advice Doc's dad gave him. He said it took him several years before he actually understood completely what his dad meant.
Doc said he came to understand that most people fail, because they don't keep going..
They will be doing well, take a look back and get passed, then they give up.
They will trip and fall over a hurdle and don't get up to finish the race...
FINISH THE RACE....

Teaching The Part Method From Pete Newell

Part-method teaching tells a kid why he's doing something. In five-on-five drills you're not teaching, you're coaching. Break it down one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, go through every option of the offense and defense, and the players will understand why you're doing it. And if they make mistakes, you can point it out. The parts make the whole. It's like your car engine; you work on the sparkplugs or the carburetor or whatever's causing the problem. You don't have to get rid of the whole motor.

Stringing Skills Together--Lesson of a rope

A message to the team during this first week of Individual Skill Development was to "string skills together." One of the biggest difficulties in teaching is getting the players (students) to understand how the immediate work relates to the performance in the future. Just as students ask in a geometry class, "Why do I need to do this?" I believe they think the same things during our Individuals at times, they don't understand why there is such a huge emphasis on so many separate "little things".

We discussed how a rope is made up of thousand of tiny strings. Each string represents a skill that we are working on. Jump stops, pivots, change of speed, ballhandling, high follow-through, etc. are all small strings that will lead to a strong rope.

Later in the week, we stressed that it's not enough just to be able to performa a skill, that skill needs to tie together with another skill (a pass leading to a shot, a catch leading to a shot.)

We want to strengthen the rope daily with our skill development.

Al Copeland & Popeyes Chicken Recipe For Success

Al Copeland is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken and Copeland's of New Orleans and various other chains of restaurants around the world. His companies now employ over 50,000 people.

Copeland is a native of New Orleans. Having been poor as a child, he grew up planning his "escape from the trap". That escape started from scratch in 1972 with one small restaurant and a very big dream.

Copeland's Success:

"I started out with limited formal education, which I certainly don't recommend, but I've never allowed that to hold me back. I learned to set goals for myself and my company and to believe in my ability to achieve them."

Norman Schwarzkopf's Thoughts on Success & Adversity

"I must tell you two of the most imporatnt lessons I learned from challenges I have faced:
1. Don't dwell on disappointment--determine to do your best anyway
2. We don't always know what's best"


The challenges we face in certain situations hold a purpose beyond our understanding at the time.

Success without adversity is not only empty--it is not possible.

Process Oriented Thinking & the GPS

To begin our individual workouts we discussed "process oriented thinking" vs "results oriented thinking".

This battle between "process" and "results" is a constant battle for coaches and players, because we live and work in a result oriented society and work in a result oriented industry.

To make our teaching point, we used the analogy of a GPS. We empasize the next best action. Just as a GPS gives "turn by turn" directions, one at a time, to lead you to a destination.

In our team meeting we set our Vision and Goals for the pre-season, non-conference and season. However, we must focus on the "turn by turn" process to reach our "destination".

Life, just as in driving, offers detours and many times we have to "recalculate", re-route and continue the process to our destination. Some times these detours are because of choices we make, clutter that we allow to interfere with our process and often the detours result from things outside our control.

First Individual Workout

Everyone is excited about the start of our individual workouts. Skill Development is the backbone to the success of a program. The "buy-in" and "comprehension" of the necessity of skill development is one of the largest areas of growth for a program.

The growth we have seen in this area comes from upperclassmen teaching and relaying the importance of learning and growing to the freshmen.

Workouts are not as much "what" is done, but rather "how" things are done. What is emphasized and taught.

It's during these workouts that the first seeds of the "process" oriented thinking begins.

After the workout, we will review the tape, the stats, review our teaching points and plan for tomorrow's workouts. Discussing where our emphasis need to be and specific teaching points to cover.

Listed below is the outline of our first workout:

Position Breakdown
Posts—
Ballhandling—Ballhandling, 2 Ball Passing
Finishing—Mikans, 2 Balls on Block vs Air Dummy
Make 5 w/o missing 2 w/ trans.
4 Basic Moves: Drop, TAJ, JH, U & U
Sealling—Doleac review, Cut to seal (V & Duck)

Screening—Buddy Screen, Combo

Perimeters—

BALL HANDLING
2 Ball Stationary Dribbling
2/0 2 Ball Passing

CUTTING
2/0 V-Cuts
Back Cuts

SCREENING
1/0 DS w/LBT to Drive/Shot

1/0 Shots off DS (Call Cuts)
2 Ball Drift Shooting

Together
2/1 Screening w/0 ball

Partner Shooting

Life Is About The Storm

Life is about the storm. We all deal with storms. We could be in the middle of a storm, coming out of one or about to go into one.

The more we invest in "Trust", the more prepared we are in the troubled times (storms). Trust is built one person, one relationship, one step at a time.

Taken from "Outrageous Trust" Roy Reid

Swen Nater On TeamWork

TEAM-SPIRIT
I have awed at a solo performance,
And spectacular flashy display,
But I crave for the best
And my eyes are more blessed,
When an unselfish team makes a play.
A play that’s so perfect and simple,
With the weaving of role with a role-
Every piece partly seen,
Like a fine-tuned machine,
And you notice not one, but the whole.
Like an orchestra tuned to perfection,
Where harmonious beauty is found,
Every note has a quest-
To be part of the rest,
So the whole is a masterpiece sound.
Every wild one, once blinded by glory,
Is now cured and is one of the tame.
He receives his esteem,
As a part of the team,
And is eager to sacrifice fame.
It’s amazing what teams have accomplished.
It’s astounding how much they have done,
When the ultimate call,
Is when one is for all,
And the credit is reached for by none.

What It Takes To Be The Best Teammate Any Has Ever Had

Pat Williams was the keynote speaker at the UCF "Countdown To Kickoff" luncheon yesterday in the UCF Arena. I always enjoy hearing him speak. Had the opportunity to speak with him for just a few minutes before the event.

When he speaks he reminds me of Coach Wooden. You can feel the sincerity of his message. I remember when we had dinner with Coach Wooden in 2002. When he spoke, it was just like reading his books. His message, his interaction with us was so consistent with what he taught in his books and lectures. In his message yesterday you could hear his study of Coach Wooden coming through as he described what it takes to be the greatest teammate.

Jameer Nelson said his only goal was to be the best teammate anyone has ever had.
What does it take to be the best teammate any has ever had?

EMPOWER--uplift, Encourage..Spoken and Unspoken words. Rich DeVoss said his role at Amway is to be the head cheerleader

OUTWORK--maximum effort every day. Higher up the chain of significance, the harder you must work. Jordan, Walter Payton and Jerry Rice were never outworked.

CONSISTENT WITH ATTITUDE --Especially in practice. Team should never have to worry about are you in a good mood, etc. Don't be a "chirper" or a "duck quacking".

BE A CHARACTER PERSON--demonstrate class. On display 24/7. Coaches shouldn't have to worry about character of the team. Be a character person daily.

RESPONSIBLE--No Whining, No Complaining, No Excuses.

BE A LEADER ON/OFF COURT, IN THE LOCKER ROOM & IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE--Don't wait to be appointed. You don't have to be invited to be a leader. Be prepared for the opportunity to lead when it comes.

BE TEACHABLE--Be a sponge. Soak up all the experiences. Then, become a teacher to other players. Have a teachable spirit.

HIT THE BOOKS--Sports end quickly. Your sport is a tool, it's a platform. Others can't learn for you.

BE FULLY PREPARED--Rest, Nutrition, Game Plan

TOTAL COMMITMENT TO EACH OTHER--Pride in excellence.

DON'T QUIT--Persevere through the tough times. Determination and Dedication.

ENTHUSIASM & PASSION--Flows to everyone

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAM--Privilege of being on a team

Teaching Point Progression of our Transition Post Play

As we prepare and plan for our individual workouts, we go through the progression of teaching points we want to make and emphasize for the season. The following points are used to build the skill development sessions for the season.

Transition Teaching Progression:
1. Rebounding
2. Outlet pass
3. Dribble bust
4. Sprinting
5. Pitch ahead pass
6. Rim Run
7. Trail Post Shot
8. Trail Post Reversal Pass
9. Trail Post Reversal Pass & Ballscreen
10. Trail Post Backcut
11. Trail Post Catch & Drive
12. Wing Feed 1st side
13. Skip & Feed
14. Skip & Drive
15. Drive & Space

Why Don't We Do What We Know We Need To Do?

Tony Robbins' Thoughts On Why We Don't Do What We Know We Need To:

It's not about knowledge, it's about taking action. If it was only knowledge, all knowledgeable people would be successful.

Getting past the obstacles is what makes the best, the best.

Recognize opportunities--be willing to change your path.

The only way to mature is to be tested.

Turn fears into action.

Learn from people who have "made it."

Make a decision to change your life.

Any moment in life that you want to change is alive right now.

Don't deny your own abilities, your own passion or your own power.

Change happens in a moment.

Two Words That Determine Our Success

George Raveling's 2 Words For Success:

* VOICES & CHOICES

* If we listen to the right voices, we will be lead to make the right choices.

Del Harris Thoughts On Work Ethic

Work Ethic

1. Depends on your definition of work ethic.
2. If it's about the time you spend in the office, then I disagree.
3. Efficient work is what I strive for.
4. You need to have time to grow as a person.

Summary of Defensive Rebounding Keys

Summary of Defensive Rebounding Keys

Height and jumping ability are great assets in rebounding, yet the factors of discipline and determination seem to be more important.

The value of rebounding to a sound defense. Offensively, it is the backbone of the fast break as well as a “second life” for the offense. Individually, rebounding skill is highly prized by players.

ASSUME is the cue word for the most important rebounding rule—believe that every shot will be missed.

Rebound distribution areas in order of decreasing importance are—1.) Helpside, 2.)Middle, 3.)Ballside areas.

The necessary skills for defensive rebounding include:
1. See the ball
2. Assume a miss
3. Pressure each shot
4. See the player
5. Go to the player
6. Blockout (remove space)
7. Go to the ball
8. Capture the ball
9. Keep the ball (chin it)
10. Outlet the ball

Rebounding Distribution Areas

The Value of Rebounding

" The team that controls the backboard usually controls the game." --Wooden

Rebounding is a fundamental skill that depends more on discipline, aggressiveness and determination than on the overemphasized factors of jumping ability and height.

The importance of rebounding lies in its value:
1. It has been estimated that 80% of possessions come from defensive rebounding and made baskets (about equally divided) with the remaining possessions coming from opponents errors, steals and offensive rebounds (repossessions). Thus, rebounding is the most important method of gaining ball possession.

2. Research findings indicate that teams who are national leaders in rebounding win a higher percentage of their games than national free throw or field goal percentage leaders. One study over a ten year period found that in games won, the opponents were outrebounded eighty percent of the time (and vice versa).

3. Defensive rebounding (i.e. the ability to allow the opponent only once contested shot) is one of the most important aspects of defense.

4. One of the essential elements of a fast break is the beginning which is commonly started by a defensive rebound.

5. An offensive rebound is a "second life" for the offense, since it is a repossession of something already lost.

6. Individually, an effective rebounder is often highly respected by teammates because rebounding is an unpublicized team play that is seldom valued by anyone other than coaches and players.

--From Jerry Krause's, "Before the X's & O's"

Ralph Miller's Purpose of Coaching Basketball

"The purpose of coaching (learning) basketball is to teach (learn) the FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS of basketball and related knowledge for competitive purposes."
--Ralph Miller, Former Head Coach Oregon State

John Havlicek--beating people mentally, not physically

John Havlicek of the Boston Celtics, was a true genius when it came to using conditioning as a weapon. His goal was to get his opponent to give up, to stop overcoming fatigue, to stop pushing himself. Havlicek saw it as a matter of who gives up first. "You'll pass out before you're overworked, but most people don't know that," he once told Orlando Magic senior executive vice president Pat Williams. "They think they're overworked, so they stop. They could have kept going, but they didn't. They weren't beat physically; they were beat mentally."

--Taken from Values of the Game by Bill Bradley

How You Speak With Someone Who Totally Disagrees With You

Players and coaches engage in crucial conversations. In crucial conversations, there may be a difference of opinion in any number of circumstances. But what we need to ask is, "What Do I Really Want Here?"

Asking this question will have powerful impact on our thinking.

Stop and ask yourself the following questions as reminders when you prepare for a crucial conversation:

1. What do I really want for myself?

2. What do I really want for others?

3. What do I really want for the relationship?

Once you have asked yourself what you want, add one more equally telling question:

"How would I behave if I really wanted these results?"

The 5 Elements of Post Play

Coaches hear all the time that there are no post players anymore. Everyone wants to be a perimeter. But I disagree. The key is in defining "post play". Many associate the term with "Bigs", "Back to the basket". We define post play through these 5 elements:
1.) Transition--more heart than speed. It's simply consistent effort.
2.) Post Feeds--ability to get & stay open, creating an angle to score.
3.) Drives--Ability to drive & finish, creating space & scoring off the drive
4.) Cuts--Straight line cuts, weakside flashes, pass & cut, etc.
5.) Rebounds--Getting offensive rebounds, & Finishing putbacks

We refer to our "post play" through these elements--not by specific players or specific positions. We set game goals for points in the "post". Obviously, we are referring to the paint/ posting area. But we want as many players and opportunities to score in the "post".

We identify getting the ball inside by labeling our scores/ and paint touches--T,P,D,C,R

Pre-Season Planning--What's Your Pivot Foot Philosophy?

As we plan our pre season workouts, we review all of our teaching points and philosophy. We want to simplify our teaching. We want to look at what we need to emphasize-daily, weekly, etc. Reviewing tape from last season will give us great ideas where to begin. One of the things we will look at is our footwork. Every coach must decide on a pivot foot philosophy.

1.) Permanent Pivot Foot (PPF)-- the nondominant leg is used as the pivot foot at all times, i.e., a right handed player used the left foot pivoting while the left handed player uses the right foot. The advantage of this philosophy is that it is simpler and it places the player in a shooting position with the dominant foot in a staggered stance.

2.) Either Pivot Foot (EPF)--the left or right foot may be used as the pivot foot by both right and left handed players. The advantage of the EPF technique is the flexibility to meet all situations and it's coordination with the quick stop (where either foot may be used as a pivot foot).