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Sunday, February 8, 2026

Basketball - Optionality

Don't "paint yourself into a corner." Dogmatic approaches create inflexibility that can force us to contradict ourselves. Stronger teams have multiple ways to win against teams playing different styles and tempos. 

Handling pressure, zones, physical teams, transition teams require flexibility and versatility. This requires more than skill, the capacity to adapt decision-making under a variety of conditions. Good teams dictate how they want to play. If an opponent wants to play racehorse basketball, our team needs to rebound better, limit outlet and look-ahead passes. 

What is optionality?

Optionality allows for leaders to create a broader range of choices and responses to changing conditions. Consider Greenberg's Law, "If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail." 

The ability to change defenses and pace often provides solutions. 

What are its goals?

  • Flexibility 
  • Improved process
  • Improved results
How do we intend to score? Do we have a balance among transition, sets, basket attack, and perimeter offense? If we don't have enough shooting, then coaches must design actions going to the basket (back cuts, PnR, drives, etc.)

Where does optionality occur?

  • Limited by imagination
  • Player acquisition, retention, development
Optionality allows us to go to plan B when play A breaks down. It permits change by choice (e.g. man to zone or vice versa). When an offense has weaker ballhandlers, then defense has to redirect pressure. 

Scouting allows adjustments through game planning and adjusting practice to prepare strategies for opposing tactics and personnel. 

What are the benefits? 

  • People 
  • Strategy 
  • Operations 
Different players may have different strengths and limitations. That allows for more diversity of playing time if the personnel is available. It also allows teams with lesser talent to compete by playing a slower tempo. If our talent is high, then playing faster becomes an advantage. 

What are its limitations? 

  • Paralysis by analysis
  • "Style drift" 
The problems with too many options include inability to decide and "absence of identity." We cannot "do what we do" when we lack clarity of what we do well and a lot. Optionality without clarity becomes noise.

Optionality does not preclude 'absolutes'.

  • Best interest of the program
  • What our team needs now. 
  • Rules (time and behavior-based) still apply. 
This is an excellent chance for team leaders to exert toughness, togetherness, and superior effort. 

Ability, versatility, and flexibility may lead to a lot of close games, which makes execution close and late a priority. The use of special situations offense, ATOs, and offensive and defensive delay games critical. 

Lagniappe. Coach Battenberg shares crucial information to "watch the game not the ball." Coaches pay attention to the big picture - flow, tempo, spacing, ball movement, defensive structure - and the fine details. Adjustments occur both real-time in games and away from the stage during practice.

Lagniappe 2. Emotional regulation is key. Adversity is everyone's companion. Players and teams need to be able to avoid negative momentum. 


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Saturday, February 7, 2026

Basketball - Contemplating "HOW" 

SIX HONEST SERVING MEN - Rudyard Kipling
I keep six honest serving-men
   (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When 
   And How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,
   I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
   I give them all a rest. 

I let them rest from nine till five,
    For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
   For they are hungry men.

But different folk have different views; 
  I know a person small—
She keeps ten million serving-men,
  Who get no rest at all! 

She sends 'em abroad on her own affairs,
   From the second she opens her eyes—
One million Hows, two million Wheres, 

  And seven million Whys!  

An argument exists that "HOW" is the captain of Kipling's "Six Honest Serving Men. 

"How" distinguishes added value and differentiates a person and organizations. Developing your "HOW" could separate an extraordinary future from an ordinary one. We can debate whether Dov Seidman's "HOW" or Simon Sinek's "WHY" assumes priority. 

HOW

Synonyms for "HOW" include process or approach. Process varies as much as mountains from prairies. Process balances key elements such as Saban's "immediacy, intelligence, and intensity." 

My son reports how our nine year-old granddaughter is progressing at basketball in the ATL. My advice was this, tell her "we loved watching you play." Make it about joy not production or pressure. 

Basketball

  • Relationships a top priority
  • Teamwork essential, get "all oars in the water"
  • Simplicity with everyone "on the same page"

HOW we lead, think, and behave

Emphasizing HOW separates process from results. And more. 

There's a story about the discovery of a remarkable frog with mesmerizing iridescent violet eyes. A geneticist says, we can collect some DNA from the frog's mouth or skin, sequence the genome, and discover the protein coding for the eye color. A biochemist says, "we can pop out the eyes and put 'em in the Waring blender and isolate the protein fast." The answer makes all the difference for the frog. 

Basketball keys

  • Make quality decisions
  • "Get more and better possessions than the opponent"
  • Play harder for longer
HOW trust is built

Trust comes from sharing - shared vision, shared mission, shared sacrifice. Trust makes everyone better via shared work. Trust encompasses coachability, preparation, and attention to high standards during the season and offseason, practice and games. 

Basketball trust:
  • Commitment to making others better
  • Sacrificing with one more pass, giving up shots, taking hits
  • Impacting winning
A teammate explained why he voted for me to be captain. It was a scrimmage and you hit the floor, saved the ball, and took out another player. It was a football play. 

"How you do anything is how you do everything."

Lagniappe. I'm reading "How." An AI take about Dov Seidman's "How" 

Dov Seidman’s book How is about the way things are done—values, behaviors, and culture—not shortcuts. That maps cleanly onto basketball success, especially at the team and program level.

Here are five basketball-specific translations of Seidman’s core ideas:

1. “How you play” becomes your competitive advantage

Seidman argues that how an organization behaves is its moat. In basketball, this shows up as:

  • Defensive habits (early help, sprint recovery)

  • Shot selection discipline

  • Ball movement under pressure

Basketball lens:
Two teams can run the same sets. The one that screens with force, spaces honestly, and makes the extra pass wins. The “how” is the separator.

2. Culture beats talent when pressure rises

Seidman emphasizes that values-driven cultures scale and endure—especially under stress.

Basketball translation:

  • Late-game execution

  • Road games

  • Tournament settings

Teams that share values (accountability, toughness, unselfishness) default to the right play when the game speeds up. Talent alone doesn’t hold under pressure—habits do.

3. Shortcuts poison trust

A central theme in How is that cutting corners corrodes credibility—even if it works temporarily.

On the court:

  • Taking bad shots “because I can”

  • Jogging back after a miss

  • Skipping film or recovery work

Result:
Trust erodes. Teammates stop covering for each other. Defensive cohesion cracks. Winning becomes fragile.

Great teams are anti-shortcut organizations.

4. Leadership is behavior, not title

Seidman is explicit: leadership is modeled, not declared.

Basketball version:

  • Who talks in huddles?

  • Who sprints to the next drill?

  • Who owns mistakes publicly?

Captains don’t lead by speeches. They lead by how they practice, how they respond to fouls, how they treat officials and teammates.

5. Reputation is built when no one’s watching

Seidman stresses that integrity is revealed in unseen moments.

Basketball parallels:

  • Extra shooting after practice

  • Film study without being assigned

  • Conditioning on off-days

  • Effort in blowouts (up or down)

Those behaviors don’t show in box scores—but they compound into postseason performance.

One line that fits a locker room wall

Everybody knows what to do. Winners know how to do it—every possession.

Lagniappe 2. Defensive core concepts from Kevin Eastman. How it's done well. 

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Friday, February 6, 2026

Basketball - Acquiring Leadership Skills - Books Worth Study

"In all of the professional walks of life - medicine, the law, politics, the arts, and so on - the ability to rationally describe and ultimately perform the function of leadership is essential. The heart of truly professional activity is a sense of community, an accepted set of normals, traditional processes of advancement, and an orderly application of effort in pursuit of important goals." - R. Manning Ancell in The Leader's Bookshelf about "The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil Military Relationships"

Books inform important inputs sculpting our leadership. The half dozen books below resonated for me. 

Teaching how to become a leader is an important coaching function. Becoming a leader as a student-athlete is both a choice and an obligation. Lead by modeling excellence and building your leadership portfolio. In addition, professionals maintain a professional reading practice. 

Your experiences with family and peers, teachers/coaches, and books shape your leadership arc - knowledge, philosophy, and style. Add value by sharing your basketball wisdom. Get buy-in through relationships that capture hearts and minds. 

They Call Me Coach (John Wooden) 1972

Wooden shares an abundance of beliefs inhabiting his coaching. Two worth noting:

Excellence is built in daily habits and revealed in moments of pressure. We make our habits and our habits make us. 

In his "Letter to Players" he marks his territory, telling players that he makes decisions, whether they like them or not, with the intent of doing what is in the best interest of the team. 

Legacy (James Kerr) 2013 

Kerr gets under the hood of the legendary New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team. Two key messages:

"Leave the jersey in a better place." The All-Blacks have an enduring tradition of excellence. Players understand that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Few organizations inhabit that domain. 

"Sweep the sheds." Leaving the locker room or the bench area in better condition than you found it is consistent with metaphorical "commitment to excellence."

The Score Takes Care of Itself (Bill Walsh) 2009

Walsh was the architect of the 49ers dynasty and later was a professor at Stanford. Two lessons:

Walsh's "Standard of Performance" embraced a philosophy of discipline, detail, and commitment to improvement. "Standards" are a common theme in sport and business and Walsh was an 'early adopter' if not founder. 

Attention to detail was a core concept for everyone in the organization - how staff answered the phone, striped the field, or taught blocking. 

The Leader's Bookshelf (James Stavridis) 2017

Admiral Stavridis and others summarize fifty books recommended by high ranking military officers, not necessarily books about the military. For example, Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" are included. Two principles:

The best leaders lead from the front not from "ivory towers." King Leonidas (Sparta) made the ultimate sacrifice at the Battle of Thermopylae against Xerxes' Persian "Million Man Army." Fight for your beliefs or your civilization. 

Brilliant minds do not always translate to good decisions. During the Kennedy Administration, "The Best and the Brightest" led the country into a disastrous quagmire of Vietnam.  

Lincoln on Leadership (Donald Phillips) 1992

Many historians consider Lincoln America's greatest president, preserving the Union and ultimately killed in office. The best authors share unique insights into the character and mindset of their subjects. For example:

Lincoln was a technology geek. He constantly reviewed patents that might help the Union, for example, the telegraph. Lincoln is also the only President with a patent, on a device to lift boats run aground.

Lincoln's "Hot Letters" were written often in response to actions that upset him. They helped him 'get it out of his system'. He wrote, "Never signed, never sent" and filed them 

Leadership in Turbulent Times (Doris Kearns Goodwin) 2018

Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of America's most well-known and prolific historians. "Leadership in Turbulent Times," formidable in itself, is a 478 page "Cliff Notes" to her tomes on the Roosevelts, Lincoln, and Lyndon Johnson. A couple of key points amidst thousands:

Teddy Roosevelt was a sickly child and challenged himself physically so that ultimately he could "do hard things." 

The author was not a fan of LBJ (Johnson), so much that he hired her for his administration to try to convince her of his leadership skills. Sometimes it is better to bring critics into your circle than to exile them. 

The most recent data I read reported that 48 percent of Americans had not read a book in the past year. "Education changes behavior." Coaches are educators and have a responsibility to our players to read to become more effective at teaching both our sport and life lessons. 

Lagniappe. Find the NBA, "Next best action." 

Lagniappe 2. Did you play to the best of your ability? 




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Thursday, February 5, 2026

Basketball "Imatsiya" - Practice, Motivation, Coaching

An "elevator pitch" is a summary, distillation of an idea or process into a one-minute elevator trip. Here's the pitch. 

Where does greatness arise? In tennis, it began in a rundown, ancient facility with coaching from a 77 year-old woman with a bad hip. Some from "The Little Group" of 7U with backpacks, stuffies, and racquets became champions. 


If Preobrazhenskaya's approach reduced to one word (it frequently was), that word was tekhnika - technique.

Some want to be great - exceptional students, exceptional players, exceptional leaders. Coaches don't produce that fire. We add oxygen.

Special isn't born, it's boring. Perfect your attack footwork, your pickup and shooting motion, and deliver passes on time and on target. 

Here's the Chat GPT Plus "top three summary" from "The Talent Code"

1. Deep Practice Builds Skill Faster Than Anything Else

Deep Practice means:

  • Breaking skills into small chunks

  • Operating at the edge of your ability—where mistakes occur

  • Slowing down, correcting, refining

  • Repetitive, mindful reps that strengthen myelin (the literal insulation around neural circuits)

Why it matters: Errors are not setbacks; they are the raw material of growth. The athlete who practices with attention, precision, and purpose accelerates faster than the one who simply “puts in time.”

For coaching: This is the foundation of game-speed drills, blocked-to-random progression, and high-quality feedback loops. It’s where volleyball, basketball, or any pursuit becomes craftsmanship.

2. Ignition: Motivation Is Sparked by Identity and Emotion

People do not work hard because they “should.” They work hard because something inside them is lit. Coyle calls this Ignition—an emotional spark, often triggered by:

  • A role model (“someone like me did this… so maybe I can too”)

  • A defining moment (“I want to be part of that”)

  • A vision of future identity (“this is who I am becoming”)

Why it matters: Without ignition, practice stalls. With ignition, players self-drive improvement with remarkable intensity.

For coaching: This is the heart of culture building—role models, storytelling, reinforcing identity (“We are MVB; we train like champions”), and creating an environment where effort means something.

3. Master Coaching: Great Coaches Are Talent Whisperers

  • They give clear, concise, actionable feedback

  • They create a culture of safety and high expectations

  • They model calm, patient, craftsperson energy

  • They teach athletes how to practice, not just what to do

Why it matters: Coaching quality is multiplicative. Great coaches create great learners; great learners create great outcomes.

For coaching: This is Brad Stevens’ “be a truth-teller,” Wooden’s “be quick but don’t hurry,” and your own emphasis on clarity, decisiveness, and identity-building. The coach’s job is not just instruction. They shape the environment where deep practice and ignition thrive.

The Talent Code in One Sentence

Skill is built through deep, intentional practice, fueled by emotional ignition, and guided by master coaching. 

Suggest sources for 'Coaching Lessons'. 

1. Steal something great. Learn from the best. 


2. Study coaches from a variety of sports...including Dawn Staley and Doc Rivers.

 

Lagniappe. Find an action or two that resonate for you. 
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Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Basketball and Baseball

Principles and analogies cross sports domains. A podcast by Alex Speier about the Red Sox minor league development system raised points worth considering for basketball programs. 

Strengths and Deficiencies

Baseball systems may lean into strengths or deficiencies such as hitting (scoring) or pitching (run prevention). Similarly, in basketball, teams may overemphasize offense or defense and become "unbalanced." Unless a player has extreme offensive talent, (s)he cannot compensate for a lack of skill, knowledge, or effort defensively. 

Recently, Danny Hurley and Geno Auriemma acknowledged that they recruit offensive players, expecting that they can train them to play adequate or better defense. 

Player Development

In an era where talent acquisition (free agency, trades) or retention (signing) has become expensive, there's value to be had by player development. In baseball, the Red Sox have found prototypes (e.g. size, extension) and added velocity, bad speed, and/or launch angle to raise player performance. In basketball, players have a myriad of skills to develop, ranging from shooting accuracy and range, pick-and-roll play, attacking the basket, and playing within a system. For example, on the Celtics, Neemy Queta's development has transcended most expert's expectations. 

Another analogy fits primary and secondary skills. A pitcher might have an electric fastball but lack pitch shape or command needed. Similarly, in basketball, the "Four ways to score" principle expands on the "GO TO" and "COUNTER" scoring approach. All scorers are not "shooters" and all shooters are not great scorers.

Tools versus Performance

Size and athleticism may not immediately (or ever) transfer to effectiveness, depending on a player's commitment, aptitude, and improvement arc. A player like Derrick White was lightly recruited, and started on a room-and-board stipend at D2 Colorado-Colorado Springs. He matured into a D1 player at Colorado, was a late first round choice by the Spurs, and emerged as an NBA and Olympic Champion. He leads NBA players in plus-minus since December. 

White was not the "toolsiest" player in the Association, but has become a leading contributor if not recognized as an All-Star. 

Measurables

Some classify potential by having a minimum two out of three of size, athleticism, and skill. In "The Undoing Project" by Michael Lewis, he shares that the predictables for NBA draft success are 1) performance in college, 2) elite program, and 3) age at time of the draft (younger is better). Cooper Flagg, recently turned 19 emerging Mavericks superstar, represents an obvious example. 

Floors and Ceilings

Player potential can fall under a variety of "rubrics" including "floors and ceilings." Ideally a player has both a high floor and high ceiling. Assessing youth players, I used an analogy of lottery pick, first rounder, second rounder, and 'street free agent'. 

It's irrational to expect to win big without occasional lottery picks and lots of first rounders. Many parents think their child is in the former categories. I contend that players can rise one category but seldom two. 

Player development plus exceptional player commitment are essential for the players who achieve "escape velocity" to rise even one category. 

These are 'crude' and 'qualitative' categories but may help coaches fashion clarity in player evaluation. 

Lagniappe. Another great video from Isaiah Tavares. 

Lagniappe 2. Good offenses have more 'hard-to-defend actions' including off-ball screening such as Zoom, Flex, backscreens, and complex screens like Spain, screen-the-screener, and Iverson.

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Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Your Personal Marshall Plan*

*Adapted from “Soldier, Statesman, Peacemaker: Leadership Lessons from George C. Marshall" by Jack Uldrich from "The Leader's Bookshelf," curated by ADM James Stavridis. 

Personal development never stops. Grab key lessons that help us as people, educators, and mentors. 

General George C. Marshall had a distinguished military career, followed by a career as a statesman, and international leader. 

Functionally, he served as what would equate to chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during WW II. He was a master of logistics and Roosevelt wanted him in Washington, which allowed Eisenhower to be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

Following WWII, he served as Secretary of State and later Secretary of Defense. Following that he was President of the International Red Cross.

Marshall was the only Military officer ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Marshall's Nine Leadership Principles offer core value for consideration for inclusion in your portfolio. 

1. Do the right thing – the principle of integrity.

Basketball - You are the figurehead of the program. You own modeling excellence and sportsmanship.

2. Master the situation – the principle of action.

Basketball - Serve the best interest of the program.

3. Serve the greater good – the principle of selflessness.

Basketball - Do what is best for the success of the team. That will necessarily conflict with what is best for others at times. 

4. Speak your mind – the principle of candor.

Basketball - Navigating hard conversations is an expectation. Always have hard player conversation with at least two adults present. 

5. Lay the groundwork – the principle of preparation.

Basketball - Preparation leads performance. 

6. Share knowledge – the principle of learning and teaching.

Basketball - Work to become a better teacher. Our job in Pete Newell's words were help players to "see the game." Teaching reflects both substance and style. 

7. Choosing to reward the right people – the principle of fairness.

Basketball - Everyone wants to be recognized. Reserves get value when recognized as "frontline" players get plenty of publicity. 

8. Focus on the big picture – the principle of vision.

Basketball - Decide and focus on your "Main Thing." You are the steward of the program. 

9. Support the troops – Caring always matters. In Anton Myrer's classic novel, "Once an Eagle," what distinguished Sam Damon was his total commitment to men and mission. Courtney Massengale committed to career advancement over soldiers. 

Basketball - It's a cliche and true that "they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." 

Lagniappe. Is each practice activity simulating the game? 


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Monday, February 2, 2026

Basketball - Be Memorable

"That's going to leave a mark." Many experiences in sport leave marks, some cherished and others condemned to our "resume of scars."

Science tells us that we remember best "peak" and "end" experience. 

End experiences could include:

  • Havlicek stole the ball (1965)
  • Nelson's clinching miracle bounce jumper (1969)
  • Princeton upsets UCLA (1991)
  • Webber's ill-fated timeout (1993)
  • LeBron's iconic "chase down" Finals block (2016)
Peak experience could include:
  • Hank Gathers' sudden death (1990); Erik Spoelstra was on the court.
  • Bob Knight's chair toss (1985) amidst a brilliant career
  • Jordan's "flu game" performance (1997)
Both peak and end experience imprint memories with high emotional input.

Few articles will be memorable. Remember the Heath Brothers "Made to Stick" acronym for sticky stories - SUCCESS. 

S - Simple (needing no explanation)
U - Unexpected
C - Concrete (specific)
C - Credible 
E - Emotional 
S - Stories 

I had a colleague whose wife scored the winning basket in the Michigan State Championship Basketball Tournament finals.

One high school teammate (Roger Lapham) had a son Rich who won two State High School basketball titles in Maine and was the starting left tackle for Boston College and an NFL draft choice. Roger had been drafted by the NFL and the NBA out of Maine. I had called Roger about something and Rich answered. I asked how old he was and he said, "15." I said, "So you're probably 6'3" or 6'4". He answered, "No, I'm 6' 8." DNA. 

Roger's older brother (Dave) played for the Cincinnati Bengals. His opening appearance was against Steeler legend Mean Joe Greene. Before the snap, Greene said, "Hi, Dave. Welcome to the League." As the ball was snapped, Green delivered a forearm shiver under the chin. Welcome to the League. He said that never happened again. 

Doug Collins was on the US Olympic Team that lost to the Russians in 1972. Collins made a pair of free throws to give the US the lead late before the fiasco. Collins said that the last song he heard coming out of the locker room was Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?" The US never accepted the Silver Medals and some players had it in their wills that no family member should ever accept them. Collins went into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024 as a Contributor as a player, coach, and broadcaster. I met him circa 1974 driving him from Logan Airport to Sam Jones's basketball camp in Easton, MA where I was briefly a counselor. 

One day I had gone to the local YMCA to shoot some and the only people in the Gym were a guy and his daughter who looked about 12. I said to myself, "That looks like JoJo White." He picked up a ball and shot it. "That is JoJo White." I left. He deserved to have peace to shoot with his kid and he knew who he was. 

Years later my twins would play his daughter and Masconomet High in the Tsongas arena for the Sectional Title, a pair of 22-0 clubs. Melrose took the win, 68-54. A memorable day for the family...

Lagniappe. Sweet 16 conditioner. 
Lagniappe 2. For once, guys tell it like it is. 

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Sunday, February 1, 2026

Character, Coaching, and Ulysses Grant

"There are impressively good leaders who have intrinsic persuasive and inspirational charisma, who don’t read much, but they limit their potential substantially, and as a result, they never become truly great leaders. Others which with average charisma, but who read and think while they read, learn how to inspire individuals and smaller large groups through their reading, as well as as to comprehend what to do better than anyone, and they become great leaders." - about Ulysses  Grant in  "The Leader’s Bookshelf"

Commit to learning, study, and use of analogy. Often great achievements in history can fly under the radar.

Hiram Ulysses Grant was plucked from selling firewood on a St. Louis street corner into the Civil War. An average student at West Point, he was out of the Army in 1854 with a drinking problem. He entered the Civil War as a colonel.

Grant rose to Lieutenant General and Commander of Union forces. He received Lee's surrender at Appomattox. With his Civil War prominence, he became President in 1868. How?

In addition to his effective command leading to decisive and important victory at Vicksburg, he had three vital leadership qualities.

1) Grant possessed remarkable determination and believed strongly in the cause of the Union.

Coaching - Within basketball, it's unfair to single out one coach for being unusually resolute. Indiana football Coach Curt Cignetti would fit that label. 

2) He was a skilled communicator and excelled at delegating. He issued notoriously clear orders. Delegation and clarity earned him trust and loyalty from subordinates.

Coaching - There's no "best communicator" in coaching. I admire Dean Smith for his unselfishness in encouraging Michael Jordan to leave, for his work in the community, and his bequest to former players upon his death. 

3) Grant was humble. He shared both responsibility and credit. His humility earned him many followers unlike some other Union generals such as "Fighting Joe Hooker." 

Coaching:

Dean Smith said, "A lion never roars after a kill." Jay Wright shared, "If you're not humble, it's hard to be coached." Coach Gregg Popovich and his staff were described as "really humble" by fellow coach Dave Joerger. 

  • Praise is specific; criticism is private.
  • Credit flows outward; accountability flows inward.
  • Standards are non-negotiable; ego is optional.

The key messages are: communicate, stay hungry and humble.

Lagniappe. It's hard to coach without 'enjoying' good actions. 

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Saturday, January 31, 2026

Basketball - The Seven Habits Applied

Many here have read Steven Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Let's start with a simple list, apply a basketball principle to each, and focus on one today. The list comes from Brave AI. Of the seven habits, “Sharpen the Saw” may matter most in a long season - and a long career.

Be Proactive
Focus on what you can control, take responsibility for your actions, and choose your responses rather than reacting to circumstances. 

Basketball - This is core Stoicism. "Control what we can control." Become both more efficient with time management and more effective. Coach Saban says, "Are you investing time or spending it?"

Begin with the End in Mind
Define your vision, values, and long-term goals to guide your decisions and actions. 

Basketball - In 1970 my coach, Ellis Lane, in his first varsity job, had a broken program without much talent. He first organized updating an outdoor court, including a sign "Tech Tourney 1973." He knew that you can't turn an ocean liner around rapidly. Three years later our team won a sectional championship amidst a series of upsets. 

Put First Things First

Prioritize tasks based on importance, not urgency, and organize your time around your highest priorities. 

Basketball - Brad Stevens asks, "What does our team need NOW?" Successful individuals, families, businesses, and communications have an operational "North Star." Identity is key - "This is who we are. That is what we do. We know our WHY." 

Think Win-Win

Seek mutually beneficial solutions in relationships, emphasizing fairness, respect, and collaboration.

Basketball - Coaches depend on getting "buy-in." Communication, adding value, and positivity matter. You've heard coaches tell teams that they're worthless, lazy, or selfish. But you've heard few good coaches berate their players. 

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Practice empathetic listening to fully grasp others’ perspectives before expressing your own. 

Basketball - There is always an "inside view" that operates "within the building" and an "outside view" of community, fans, and critics. Belief always starts within while skepticism arises outside.

Synergize

Leverage diverse strengths and perspectives to create innovative, collaborative solutions greater than the sum of individual efforts. 

"I can go faster alone, but we can go farther together." - African Proverb  Find ways to become a "force multiplier." Teaching, conditioning, and teamwork are all force multipliers. 

Sharpen the Saw

Continuously renew yourself in four key areas - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual for sustainable competitive advantage.  

"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln

The remainder of the piece focuses on 'sharpening the saw'. 

The human body and mind have a remarkable capacity to upgrade both the hardware (strength, conditioning, neuroplasticity) and the software (learning capacity and resilience).

There are only a relatively few core notes that produce the greatest musical compositions. Three primary colors produce all magnificent paintings. Five primary senses allow us to experience the world. 

As Kevin Eastman says, "you own your paycheck." Our will and access to training and experience allow us to expand our portfolio of skills. 

1. Work-life balance. 

Few areas challenge coaches and players more than work-life balance. More work encroaches on family and relationships. The biggest tips are first, awareness, and second, where my wife excels, "How can I help?"

2. Reading. 

You're here with a "growth mindset" seeking to acquire and modify information. If your house were on fire and you could save one basketball book, what would it be? I'd grab Dean Smith's "Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense." 

3. Personal care. 

Machines need fuel and maintenance. Players need quality fuel, hydration, conditioning, sleep, recovery. Coaches need self-care, too. Habits, such as morning routine, study, and mindfulness fall within. 

4. Learning. 

The breadth of available resources for players and coaches is breathtaking. 

  • Books 
  • Online video on every imaginable subject
  • Artificial intelligence  
  • Study of individual (e.g. cellphone) video and team video
  • Online clinics
  • Mentoring - "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." 
  • Blogs 
"There are none so blind as those who will not see." Having the will to be open to coaching is vital. "Everyone benefits from coaching," says Sean McVay, including himself. 

5. Analogy. 

Few areas offer more area for growth than learning across domains. Everything is up for exploration. 
  • Leadership - business and military study are personal favorites. "The Leader's Bookshelf" is a magnificent, inspiring work. 
  • Science and Technology - innovation in one field might trigger possibilities in another. 
  • Failure - studying failure, often through case studies, reinforces that understanding failure can help prevent or limit it. 
Expose ourselves to the firehose of information and work to learn how to regulate it. 

Lagniappe. Sets are "lines on the page" that can trigger a myriad of actions. 

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Friday, January 30, 2026

Basketball : My Way


In Michael Lewis's The Undoing Project Amos Tversky listens to Nobel Laureate Murray Gell-Mann (quarks). At a dinner party, Gell-Mann was pontificating about everything under the sun. Tversky told him, "Murray, there is nobody in the world as smart as you think you are."

As an Assistant Professor of Medicine, I told younger doctors and students that the two best answers in Medicine are, "I don't know" and "That's a good idea, we should think about that."

Coaches, even the stubbornest, evolve with time and experience. That's inevitable as we possess creative imagination and critical imagination. Just as great authors explain that "writing is rewriting," coaching is rethinking.

It's not unique to sport. Polaroid developed a digital product but shelved it and faded away. Blackberry locked in to its product and got washed away by superior smart devices. Inexpensive digital watches (Casio) took down the expensive timepiece industry. 

Games, Plans, and Coaches That Changed Their Domains

Bill Belichick - Take away their strength

In Ron Jaworski's brilliant "The Games That Changed the Game," he includes Bill Belichick's game plan to defeat the Rams' "The Greatest Show on Turf." Belichick believed in adjusting plans each week, not "We do what we do."

Lesson - Refusal to change can mean being left behind.   

Steve Kerr: Finals adjustment - go small, start Iguodala

In the 2015 Finals, Kerr changed the Warriors lineup with recommendations from Nick U'Ren (video tech). Iguodala started over Andrew Bogut, leaning into small-ball, flipping matchups and momentum.

Lesson: “My way” dies in June. Change when needed.

Nick Saban: “Defense and pro-style” evolved

Saban openly acknowledged Alabama needed to “change directions.” He hired Lane Kiffin (2014) pivoting toward a more explosive, tempo and space approach.

Lesson: Great leaders don’t abandon identity - they update.

Think like a scientist (not a preacher/prosecutor/politician)

In "Think Again," Professor Adam Grant informs: leaders get stuck when defending identity instead of testing ideas. He contrasts preacher, prosecutor, or politician modes with the scientist - humble, curious, eager to be corrected.

Lesson: Don’t defend history - validate it. What’s the evidence? Coach K was a naysayer and vocal critic of Coach Calipari's "one-and-done." Then he adopted it. Dabo Swinney didn't think players should get paid. He'd be gone if he didn't change with NIL. 

Build a “challenge network”

Professor Grant argues you need people you trust to call you out, not yes-men, not enemies: those who speak truth to power. 

Lesson: confidants and peers share: “Your pet concept is hurting you.” Coach Cal has his PBOD - personal board of directors with whom he meets periodically. 

Change when needed isn't weakness. It's adaptation and flexibility leading to Darwinian survival. “Stubbornness is just pride wearing a whistle.”

Lagniappe. Give your time and focus. 




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Thursday, January 29, 2026

What Drives Losing Basketball?

Books and conferences inform “What Drives Winning?” If we invert, then we excavate “What drives losing?”

Bad Basketball

What is bad basketball? "You know it when you see it." Pete Newell's mantra was to "get more and better shots than your opponents." Bad basketball results in getting fewer (turnovers, poor rebounding) and worse (poor passing, poor penetration, contested) shots and allowing easy chances for opponents. 

Key solution: recognition and change

Flawed Decision Making

Poor decisions contribute to both inefficient offense and ineffective defense. Pressure often magnifies the impact and results in the inability to beat better teams, to win on the road, and to close out winnable games. 

Key solution: play more offseason, study video

Poor Shot Selection

"Shot selection is the quickest path to offensive improvement." As Pete Carril noted, "the quality of the pass leads to the quality of the shot." Better shots are "ROB shots" - in range, open, on balance. High percentage shots ("get 7s") give offenses better chances. 

Statistics define "excellent shooters" not parents' opinions. 

Key solution: "Winners are trackers." Darren Hardy in "The Compound Effect." Shot charts and video review

Turnovers

Turnovers, another part of the Four Factors, originate with combinations of poor decisions and flawed execution. 

  • Turnovers are zero percent possessions. 
  • Live-ball turnovers lead to high opponent points per possession. 
  • "Turnovers kill dreams" 

Key solution: tracking and adjusting minutes (the harsh reality of the bench) for worst offenders

Failed Ball Containment 

Defense starts with ball pressure and ball containment. Too many teams play "dead man's defense" (six feet under the ball handler) and cannot contain the ball leading to layups via drive or dish and penetrate and pitch to set up open threes. Bad containment also generates fouls and gets defenses into rotation/scramble situations...

Key solutions: one-on-one containment drills, communication, and "cover 1.5 help" from teammates...worst case scenarios are personnel or defense changes

Indiscriminate Fouling

Foul for profit. Fouls bail out bad shots, bad shooters, and late shot-clock possessions. Fouls negate hustle. Fouls, like turnovers, arise from poor decision-making or poor technique. 

Key solutions: tracking and video...where are the fouls (reaching in, hacking down, slow or lazy feet, "chesting" players instead of getting legal guarding position

Just as winning teams make winning plays, losing teams play too much bad basketball. 

Lagniappe. Excellent players want coaching. 

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Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Basketball: "Hope Is Not a Method"

Leadership drives performance. In The Leader's Bookshelf ADM James Stavridis curates essential books for aspiring leaders.

One is Hope Is Not a Method: What Business Leaders Can Learn from America's Army (1996) - GEN Gordon Sullivan

"A high-performing organization is one that does routine things in an outstanding manner." This reflects the teaching to "do well what you do a lot." 

"The challenge for the leader...is to become 'good enough': good enough to seize and exploit developing opportunities...good enough to get it 'about right' in execution." A critical part of success in basketball is to "stamp out bad basketball."

The book favors use of 'case studies' to teach. 

Leadership techniques transfer from the military to business (and sports) 

  • Highly competitive domains
  • Changing environment
  • Emerging technologies

The Army's six imperatives:

  • Quality People
  • Leader Development
  • Modern Equipment
  • Doctrine
  • Force Mix
  • Training
Teams don't rise to the level of the challenge, they sink to the level of their training. 

Whether an Army of 600,000 employees or a team with 15 coaches and players, it's a matter of scale. 

Success requires a strong information flow, leaders to analyze and plan courses of action, and a worthy organization to train and execute strategy.

Ask big questions.
  • What is happening?
  • What is not happening?
  • How can I influence the future?
As in medicine, solutions require information gathering, diagnosis, and treatment. 

Rules (Where rubber meets road)
  1. Change is hard.
  2. Leadership flows from values
  3. Intellectual leads physical. Think it before we do it.
  4. Real change means real change.
  5. Leadership is a team sport.
  6. Expect surprises.
  7. Balance the present and the future.
  8. Better is better (edges).
  9. Focus on the Future.
  10. Learn from Doing. 
  11. Grow People 
Case Study. 

- Change in leadership - Coach Ellis Lane assumes responsibilities at Wakefield High School in 1970...his first varsity job in a broken program. 
- He emphasizes sacrifice, teamwork, and 'technology' - grainy black and white film, shot charts, and detailed stats kept by managers. He still believes that rebounds and assists are vital. 
- The plan builds around aggressive defense, changing defenses, and pressure built around the 2-2-1 three-quarter court or full court "run-and-jump" (trap and switch). 
- At the time. the core young players have played together since 7th grade. 
- In 1971 the team wins three games and in 1972 they win eight, including the final three in a league whose top two players (Ron Lee and Bob Bigelow) are future NBA first round choices. Bench players are developing into future starters. 
- Player development structure is 'embryonic'. There's no off-season coaching permitted in MA. Players play in a couple of summer leagues and attend Sam Jones's camp together for two weeks. 
- The team starts the 1972-3 season erratically, standing at 8-3 before a thirteen game win streak including three postseason upsets propels them into the Division 1 State Semifinals, where they lose by 3. The 21-4 team has lost four games by a total of seven points. 
- Coach Lane wins a State Title in 1983 and ultimately earns enshrinement into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. 1975 grad Roger Lapham earns a D1 Scholarship to Maine. 1983 grad Mark Plansky plays for the National Champion Villanova Wildcats who beat Georgetown. 1977 grad Scott Brown becomes a United State Senator from Massachusetts. Two players from the 1973 team become physicians. 

Lagniappe. Practice situational basketball. 
Lagniappe 2. Two-person shooting game. 




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