10 Keys For Winning A State Championship

10 Keys 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 everytime = 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 liked 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.

Mentality of Champions

What often separates champions is their mentality. It is a skill that coaches must develop just like any other skill set.

A few areas to focus on from Anson Dorrance:
1. The objective is simple--Excellence
2. Three key ingredients to every player's success
A. Self-Discipline
B. Competitiveness
C. Self-Belief
3. Work to identify the fragile areas for each player
4. A player's development is largely based on her ambition.
5. Evil is anything that lowers our standards just a hair.

Eliminating "Victim" Questions

We are constantly working on ourselves and our team, to make sure we don't play the "victim" in life's situations. We must control our attitude and effort. Get rid of the things we can't control. But most importantly accept responsibility.

I just finished re-reading QBQ--The Question Behind the Question. Great book with some simple insights to share with your team.

Simple Guidelines For Asking Questions To Eliminate Victim Thinking
Thoughts from the QBQ (Question Behind The Question). Often our first reactions are negative, which bring into mind the Incorrect Questions.
The answers are in the questions. Which means that the better we ask a question, the better answers we will get.
Examples:
1. Begin with “What” or “How” (not “Why”, “When” or “Who”)
2. Contain and “I” (not “They”, “Them”, “We” or “You”
3. Focus on action.

The Practice of Personal Responsibility

The Practice of Personal Accountability:

1. We discipline our thoughts

2. We ask better questions

3. We take action

Rick Pitino On Creating Success In This Culture

• How do we create success living in this culture?
Must be extremely thick skinned. Criticism cannot affect you to the point that you deviate from your plan.

• Trying to simultaneously develop, manage and balance two plans. One is the long-range plan—creating goals and a strategy that go beyond what the microwave culture presents as a timetable.

• The other is a short-range plan—how do we win today, without rushing the process.

• Jack Welch:
“You can’t grow long-term if you can’t eat short-term. Anybody can manage short. Anybody can manage long. Balancing those two things is what management is.”

5 Areas of Self Evaluation

5 Areas of Self Evaluation
1. Reputation
2. Effort
3. Leadership
4. Attitude
5. Consistency

Championship caliber teams put their reputation on the line every day. Every practice, Every game.
Have to ask ourselves, “What are we willing to put on the line?”

Life Lessons From Our Athletic Director

We were very fortunate to have our Athletic Director, Keith Tribble come and speak to our team today. He spoke about carrying the principles from the court to their lives after basketball. Characteristics of Excellence.

Here a few thoughts that he shared with our team today:
1. I’m not into excuses, I’m into results. There are signs throughout our buildings “JGID”..No excuses, “Just Get It Done”
2. Everything in life begins with the Head & Heart
3. Each day, “Have I done all I can do to be the best I can be today?”
4. Never accept good. If you do, you can never reach greatness.
5. Smart players are in the right places at the right times, and winning is about being smart.
6. Leaders demand and do what’s right. They are always thinking excellence.
7. What am I willing to invest? Time, Discomfort, Effort, etc. What will you invest to be great?