Time

TIME
Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day.

Rich people can't buy more time. Scientists can't invent new minutes. And you can't save time to spend on another day.

Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.

Success depends upon using it wisely...by planning and setting priorities.

Time is worth more than money, and by killing time, we are killing our own chances of success.

Anatomy of a Comeback/ Bouncing Back From Setbacks

Anatomy of a Comeback

1. Stay in touch with your fundamentals
2. One thing you must do in the face of adversity is to be honest with the people you are trying to lead. Don’t point fingers, don’t recriminate and don’t make excuses.
3. Common denominator in all comebacks:
They began with positive energy on the floor, on the bench and in the huddles. They began with a belief that things would get better if we persevered through adversity, trusted each other and worked together.
4. Consistent effort inevitably would turn the tide.
5. Reliance on fundamentals. Don’t desert them in a crisis.

EFFORT

EFFORT

Effort is the one strictly
underived and original
contribution we make to this
world. Everything else is
given to us. Health, strength,
talent, abilities of all
sorts, whether spiritual or
mental or physical. Effort
is the only element we can
add.

10 Tips For Winning State Championship

It's nearing post-season play for a lot of high schools. Here are a few ideas as you make your plans for post-season tournament play.

10 Pointers for Winning the State Championship

1. Get there
Gear for it. Everything is pointing to getting there!
"Practice to beat the best" - Dick Bennett
Must have a system to accomplish that, Chuck Daly had that system with the Pistons and stick to it. Princeton plays to beat the best

2. When your team gets there - it´s not a big deal.
Don´t make it a big deal. A big deal is winning the championship. Our Attitude: We are going there to win!!

3. Do what you did to get there.
Freak out with changes vs. Faith in the system.
Ordinary players making ordinary plays every time = extraordinary players
On good team, two players will do the dirty jobs (take charges, get on the floor, etc). On GREAT teams, all the players and coaches do the dirty jobs.

4. Be Aggressive.
Look for ways to win.
Play to win, don´t play not to lose.
Pete Newell like to press on the first possession and he wasn´t a press coach. He just wanted to come out and be aggressive early in the game.
Avoid Super Bowl Stupor.

5. Rest.
Mentally and physically; short, intense practices.
Duke goes dummy in tournament practice. No real contact.
more gold medals are lost by overtraining than undertraining.

6. Give no easy baskets.
No lay ups - no uncontested shots - block out - no putbacks.

7. Get easy baskets.
a. Run - Must run but don´t have to shoot.
b. Offensive rebounding - only possible flaw in Princeton system.
c. Get fouled - neutralize athleticism (make more free throws than opponents attempt).
d. Take the ball at their best player or any player prone to foul.

8. Make free throws.
Big part of our skill development workouts.
Free throw swish...swish = +1, rim make = 0, miss = -1...play to +2 or -2

9. Make lay ups.
Emphasis: perfect lay-ups in practice - no rim touches, net only.
Pressure lay-ups in practice with a defender.
You can also use reduced rims.
In all drills, if not using reduced rims stress the clean lay-up.

10. Give your team a reason to win.
"Deserving victory" - Pitino.
Those who work hardest are the last to surrender.
Fight the feeling of championship games against team that are inferior to a team you have already defeated.
In a championship tournament you will likely have a bad night. You must play hard enough to win when the ball doesn´t bounce right.

Leadership Lessons From Robert E. Lee

Here are a few thoughts from the book, “Killer Angels”. The book tells the narrative through some of the generals at the Battle of Gettysburg. Listed below are a few applications we can make to our lives as leaders:

The first secret of Lee is that his men love him and follow him with great faith in him.
The next secret is that General Lee makes a decision and he moves with guts. Many generals have the guts but his men don’t love him; other generals have men that love them but have no guts.
He moves with speed and faith.
Our strength is in our pride.
Cleverness did not win victories. You win because the men thought they would win, attacked with courage and faith.
A man who cannot control himself, cannot control an army.

Why Not Your Best

WHY NOT YOUR BEST?

Why Not The Best?

This was the title of a book by Jimmy Carter, the title was inspired by a job interview Carter had with Admiral Rickover.

Carter had applied for the nuclear submarine program, and Admiral Rickover was interviewing for the job...The interview consisted of Carter discussing any topic he chose. Carter said he chose topics he was most comfortable with—current events, tactics, etc. The interview continued for two hours while Rickover would ask him questions, increasing in difficulty. Carter soon figured out he did not know as much as he thought he did and the Admiral knew much more than Carter had imagined…

From President Carter—”Finally he asked me a question and I thought I could redeem myself. He said, ‘How did you stand in your class at the Naval Academy?’...I swelled my chest with pride and answered, “Sir, I stood 59th in a class of 820!” I sat back to wait for the congratulations—which never came.

Instead the question: “Did you do your best?”

I started to say, “Yes, sir,” but I remembered who this was and the classes, tactics, seamanship, etc and I could have done better...I finally gulped and said, No sir, I didn’t always do my best.” He looked at me for a long time, and then turned his chair around to end the interview. He asked me one final question, which I have never be able to forget—or to answer. He said, “Why not?”

Coach Meyer Defining Peace

“Peace is not the absence of troubles, trials and torment, but calm in the midst of them.”

Barry Switzer On Work Ethic

"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple."

Abraham Lincoln on Leadership

“The worst thing you can do to someone you love is to do something for them that they can and should do for themselves.”


“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”

THOUGHTS ON BEING A TEAMMATE

Everybody judges players differently. I judge a player by what he does for his team and not what he does for himself. The name of the game is self-sacrifice.”

—Billy Martin, New York Yankees























Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”

—Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers











I don’t get a big charge out of being the leading scorer. The object of competing is winning. I just try to do what has to be done for us to win. That might be anything at any time—defense, rebounding, passing. I get satisfaction out of being a team player.”

—Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers

Team Attitude

TEAM ATTITUDE

This makes for unity among the parts; that the parts have the same care for each other that they do for themselves. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are honored.

John Wooden On Choices You Make

"The choices you make in life make you."

Tony Dungy--Being Uncommon

Tony Dungy on "Being Uncommon"

"Some players are UNCOMMON because of their God-given natural abilities, like being blessed with the height of Yao Ming or the vertical jump of Michael Jordan. Others have to work to become UNCOMMON.

Steve Kerr of the Chicago Bulls shot five hundred free throws to make himself UNCOMMON. The truth is most people have a better chance to be UNCOMMON by effort than by natural gifts. Anyone could give that effort in his or her chosen endeavor, but the typical person doesn't, by choosing to do only enough to get by."

Championship Teams

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

If you are going to be a championship team, you have to be a championship team in every drill and every situation.

Great players crave instruction on their weaknesses.

Thoughts On The TEAM

Thoughts & Observations:
THE TEAM

1. Don’t take people who look for “what’s in it for me?”
2. Don’t let your teammates down.
3. Your actions affect others.
4. You’re having a bad game but the team is playing well. Going into the locker room after a win and seeing a long face. Be big enough and strong enough and committed to the team to get outside yourself. We win and lose as a team.
5. No person is more important than the team.
6. Positive body language and team first.
7. Must believe in each other.
8. Do you want equal minutes or do you want us to play who’s playing the best?
9. We have 5 people to get us off to a great start, but we have 12 people who can make us a championship program.
10. As a senior, it’s time to give.
11. You get your feelings hurt when you focus on yourself.
12. Trust the staff and respect the program.
13. Teamwork isn’t natural.
14. Compete for the team and the university.
15. Together we are a powerful group.
16. In a team game it only takes one person to mess up the flow.
17. Get outside yourself.
18. Teamwork has to be tended to daily.
19. Why would you choose to be part of a team and not give a great effort? If you are going to play a team sport you can never not give effort because you cheat yourself and your team.
20. If enough people on the team care, you’ll find a way to be successful. Not because of talent but attitude. People with the right attitude won’t be discouraged when adversity comes.
21. The team becomes better when someone steps forward instead of saying not me.
22. You want the team to be INCLUSIVE, not exclusive.
23. Both feet—head—heart committed to the team and program.
24. Loyalty to those who depend on you.
25. Players must understand roles and accept them to take on concept of team attitude.
26. Can’t take substitution pattern personally.
27. We need each other badly.
28. Your reach the highest levels with the closest teams.
29. Often need incentives to keep them together.
30. If it is you or the program, that decision was made a long time ago.
31. You can build strength—quality and unity through teamwork.
32. You represent more than yourself.
33. We want completely unselfish players: What would the team be like if everyone had my attitude?
34. We want to spend time with unselfish people.
35. If you are totally committed to a team’s interests you will be so good and it will be so much fun.
36. Be there for each other.

20 Thoughts & Observations From Non-Conference Play

Non-Conference Thoughts And Observations

I have put together some random thoughts and observations of our team and teams we have watched during the season in the non-conference. One of the things I enjoy about scouting and game preparation are the opportunities to learn. Not only do you learn about the opponent but all the teams that they play. We are constantly trying to improve our team by adapting things that we see. Listed below are 20 things I've thought about:

1. It's very hard to coach selfishness and immaturity.
2. Point guards that can control the tempo of a game are incredibly valuable.
3. The ability to penetrate and defend penetration.
4. Deep outlets put a lot of pressure on a defense.
5. Running along the side of the ball is not a stoping the ball in transition.
6. Players do not ealize the worth of starts, stops and turns.
7. Playing hard is a skill to develop.
8. Before teaching our players to lead others, we must first teach them to lead themselves.
9. Things that you can control, motivate you.
10. Develop the ability to maintain your stance for 30 seconds.
11. Finishing a 3/2, 2/1
12. Parents, Press, Peers
13. Communication--is part of skill development
14. Teach them how to watch tape
15. The art of simply hitting open shots
16. The ability to catch and shoot
17. Defining a shooter's range.
18. The value of ball reversal.
19. Teaching angles on offense and defense.
20. Cutting hard is a skill.