Luke 8:10 & Bob Knight

Last night while Cole (our 9 year old) was getting ready for bed we read from a kid's devotional Bible. It was the parable of the sower and it was interesting that we talked about Luke 8:10

     "They will look,

       but they will not see,

       and they will listen,

       but they will not understand."

After reading and talking about the parable, I laughed because I immediately thought of Coach Knight and his emphasis of "See vs Look" and "Listen vs Hear".

We are sharing the following from Coach Knight's book, "Basketball According To Knight & Newell":

The following words are what Knight describes as teaching devices.

"This is a big thing for us.  Everybody "looks", but there are few who "see".  A basketball player who can see is much better than a player who shoots 60% from 3pt line and cannot work to get open without the ball.  Our players hear us say a thousand times to quit "looking" and start "seeing".  You have to see what is going on.  When you face the basket with the ball, you have to "see".  Anyone can "look".  But it takes a player to "see" what is going on.

Everybod "hears", but few things are "listened" to carefully. 

3 Elements of Trusting The Process

As we work with our team to be Process vs Result oriented, the two coaches we study the most are Nick Saban and Bill Belichick.  We then work translate their football process to our basketball process.  The following three items are critical elements of trusting the process:

Fundamentals: It’s about doing fundamental things well, not about gimmicks. Innovation is great, but if you didn’t execute with the last idea, what makes you think it will be different this time? In so many cases, execution trumps ingenuity, and ingenuity can even distract from what really matters. People are always looking for tips and tricks of the trade, when they should be focusing on really learning the trade.

People: It’s about getting the right people; the physical skills and talent need to be there, but just as important are character, attitude and intelligence. Find the right people, and then train them relentlessly, focusing on the smallest detail, to make sure they fit and contribute to the Process.

Clear expectations: DO YOUR JOB. This was the wording on a sign hung up by coaching great Bill Belichick when Saban worked for him. The Process requires that responsibilities and expectations are clearly defined for everyone who works in it, and then holding them—and getting them to hold themselves—strictly accountable.