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Thursday, June 22, 2023

Basketball: The Value of Thinking About Why

Our "why" defines us. Draw on great ideas from any discipline, such as productivity. Let's apply lessons from David Allen's Getting Things Done, The Art of Stress Free Productivity.

"Here are just some benefits of asking "why?" :

  • It defines success
  • It creates decision-making criteria
  • It aligns resources
  • It motivates
  • It clarifies focus
  • It expands options
Examine these in the context of the next local basketball coach.


Success. What defines success for the next coach? Changing priorities for players makes a 'return to glory' unlikely, a history of nine consecutive league championships and a 'destination' for players. Would getting to the postseason be enough (top 32 division ranking)? 

There's a hierarchy of progress - beating weak teams at home, weak teams on the road, stronger teams at home, and strong teams on the road. Beating solid teams with winning records would be a start. 

Decision-making criteria. Establish priorities. Make 'win now' the priority, develop a strong team culture, and grow so the team becomes a tough out later in the season. 

Align resources. Time is the ultimate resource for teams. "Every day is player development day" casts a wide net on individual fundamentals, team offense and defense, game planning, video analysis. How do you use video, how many clips, etc.? When and how do you teach players to watch video? 

Motivation. Coaches are competitive. Strong coaches want personal growth and extending influence over their teams. Teams reflect their basketball beliefs, values, and experience. 

Focus. Having a mission statement clarifies the job.

  • This is who we are. 
  • This is how we play. 

"Be the toughest, nastiest, best-conditioned, most professional, least-liked team" 

The community should see the fruit of a coach's philosophy and training. Intent should be obvious. Execution isn't easy, but defining the plan should be.

Options. Some coaches arrive and it's their show. They don't want or welcome help. They don't 'look for the helpers'. I prefer the John Donne approach that "no man is an island." The best coaches believe in a culture of collaboration and are unafraid of help.  

Coaching creates challenges. It's good to remember that "victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan."

Lagniappe. Matt Hackenberg is an excellent Twitter sharer. As Don Meyer says, you can't use everything. 

Lagniappe 2. Attack off the bounce 

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