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Saturday, May 30, 2026

Developing "Black Box Thinking" in a Sports Program

Lessons from Matthew Syed's "Black Box Thinking" can help us discover, correct, and prevent errors. Errors lead to inefficiency in all aspects of preparation and playing games. 

Syed contrasts aviation which has rigorous error detection and global sharing with medicine where errors are less identified and corrected. 

His observations mesh well with Coach Knight's "The Power of Negative Thinking." Games are like tests in school, providing feedback on strengths and weakness. 

1. Failure Is Information 

  • Mistakes occur during both wins and losses.
  • Understanding failure (shot selection, turnovers, missed assignments allows targeting of problems)

2. The Goal Is Error Detection

  • Favor accountability not blame. 
  • Chase excellence not perfection.

3. Error Detection Is Integral to Better Process

  • Correcting mistakes applies solutions for everyone.
  • Quality control can only follow quality measurement.

4. Small Errors Multiply

  • Poor passing leads to poor quality shots.
  • Poor transition defense means more easy baskets for oppoents.
  • Inconsistency creates frustration leading to negative plays.

5. Detection Allows Adaptation

  • Adaptability is competitive advantage.
  • This isn't news; it's Darwinism. 

6. Ego Impairs Learning

  • Players saying, "I know, I know" is a barrier to learning.
  • Coachability means openness to correction. 

7. Players Need "Psychological Safety"

  • Trust must precede hard coaching. 
  • Tuning out criticism is a basic human defense mechanism. 

8. Outcome and Process Differ

  • Process control is possible; outcome control is less so.
  • Don't mistake success with efficiency.

9. Success Can Mask Problems

  • "Bad wins" with poor play vs bad teams can allow bad habits to fester (e.g. fouling, lowered intensity, complacency)
  • "Be demanding without demeaning" means attention to standards

10. Build Your Own Team "Black Box"
  • Black box thinking is a process
  • Get buy-in to improvement with self-assessment (e.g. discussion, game video). Assistant coach and team participation is vital. 
Championship teams do not start by making fewer mistakes than everyone else; they discover, discuss, and learn from mistakes better than everyone else.

Lagniappe. What do you bring to the impact teammates, impact the game, and impact winning? 


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Friday, May 29, 2026

Basketball - Building a Program on More Than Talent

What would we emphasize in an introductory 'presser'? 

We should remember that our tone, voice, and nonverbal communication count. Be able to ask for help. "I know that success only happens with support and confidence from all stakeholders." 

Philosophy

Coaches want teams to reflect our personality and approach to the game.

  • Bring the best version of ourselves every day with the Stoic approach of "control what we can control." 
  • "Every day is showtime." 
  • Priorities are teamwork, improvement, and accountability. We are responsible for our 'brother'/'sister'

Specificity

It's not enough to say we'll play hard, play smart, and play together. Explain what that means.

  • Focus and effort to limit easy baskets (e.g. transition, second chance points, missed assignments)
  • Communicate on the floor at all times. 
  • Play to succeed each possession as the game is the sum of individual possessions. 
  • Offensive possessions need spacing, player and ball movement, and finishing quality shots (tracked by shot charts)

Culture

Put value on a learning culture. "Everyone benefits from coaching" and coaching is correction. "Form begets function." Doing it the right way, at the right time, every time has to become 'automatic' as basketball IQ becomes "I do."

Standards

Track performance of what matters. "Winners are trackers." Successful teams commit to higher standards, recognizing that better process (preparation) leads to superior results. 

  • Analytics prove that we're doing the right things. Higher EFG% and fewer turnovers inform better outcomes. 
  • "Fouls negate hustle." We can't bail out teams in late shot clock situations, foul perimeter or bad shots. 
  • High performance applies at home, school, and sport. If players can inhabit basketball mastery, they can excel at English, history, and mathematics. 
Mindset

"Do more to become more and become more to do more." Competition is a habit. Toughness is a habit. Hard work is a habit. 
  • Put the team first. Seize learning and leadership opportunities.
  • Develop great habits of preparation and self-care. Just as you service your car at your convenience, you fix it at your inconvenience. There are no "little things." Sleep, recovery, hydration, and nutrition are force multipliers.
  • The "keystone habits" developed today carry over throughout your life. Everything builds upon today's gains. 
The only constant is change. Be curious, open, and alert to new and better ideas. 

Lagniappe. Study exceptional players. 
View on Threads

Lagniappe 2. The ability to see the action, anticipate, decide, and execute separation excellent from good. 

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Thursday, May 28, 2026

Nothing Cheaper than Free Basketball Advice

The offseason affords coaches and players opportunities for reflection and growth.

1. What won and lost games for us (including our coaching)?

  • I was committed to development over winning. Winning matters and the ability to close out games impacts that. Situational basketball was a strength. 
  • Mediocre defensive ball pressure was an issue. 

2. Look for "The Invisible."

  • What is our team basketball IQ? 
  • Hard-to-defend actions - are we winning in the halfcourt? If not, are we executing hard cutting, on-time-on-target passing, and hard to defend actions like PnR and complex screens such as Iverson action, Spain PnR, and screen-the-screener? 

3. What's our Resilience Number?

  • Mental toughness is a skill. Are we nails (10) or soft (1)?

4. Trend

  • Over the course of a season, were we getting better or worse? One year we had total collapse with a parental death. Basketball wasn't a matter of life or death...

5. Positivity is a "force multiplier"

  • Negativity and/or doubt never made anyone better. 
  • The "COTE of armor" is confidence, optimism, tenacity, enthusiasm

6. What's the "One More Thing" we can do?

  • I didn't teach on-ball defense well enough, based on results.
  • That led into too many help, rotation, and recover situations.

7. Who is our mentor, the trusted confidant whom we hear? 

  • "Everyone benefits from coaching." - Sean McVay

8. Assemble a portfolio of stories.

  • Don Meyer kept three journals - basketball, general knowledge, and appreciation for his wife. 
  • There are always stories worth remembering and sharing. 

9. Keep learning

  • Have a learning plan - reading, videos, film study.
  • Organize it somehow - drillbook, playbook, philosophy, whatever 

10. What's Our "Why?" 

  • MUDITA - "Your joy is my joy." In the past month, former students earned degrees - a doctorate in veterinary medicine, and masters in cybersecurity and in accounting. In late March, Saint Joseph's women's basketball player Cecilia Kay was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.

Lagniappe. Grant Hill commencement thoughts. 

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Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Basketball - What Topics Could You Own?

Medicine has a convention called "Grand Rounds." A visiting professor is conscripted with an honorarium for a 50 minute address about some exotic topic and take a handful of questions afterwards. The professor addresses the medical staff, trainees, and medical students.

Think of it as a Coaches Clinic for a bunch of stuffy nerds.

Imagine you're asked to deliver a fifteen minute session.

The Most Important Question

  • 1981. A patient had died on an Oncology ward. The Attending Physician discussed family notification, who was forwarding their data to the Clinical Trial, and other 'housekeeping issues'. A Clinical Fellow asked (facetiously), "Who gets his tray?" Gallows humor sometimes breaks the tension...but not often.
  • So, what snacks are you requesting for your clinic? 

Who Would You Want to Hear? (Living or Dead)

Having followed basketball since the 1960s, that covers a lot of territory...from legends of the past, to underrated internationals, women, and contemporary coaches. Narrow it down to Pete Newell, Dean Smith, or Dave Smart. 

What's Your Topic?

I gave a few Grand Rounds in my medical career - A Clinicopathologic Conference at Walter Reed on a patient with lung disease and a review of Sarcoidosis at Bethesda Naval. 

With physical limitations lately, I'd favor discussing one of the following:

  • Practical uses of analytics
  • Player development 
  • Leadership as a force multiplier
  • Hard to defend actions in your offense
  • The invisible elements holding our teams back

What's the Format?

There was a saying, "An expert is someone more than fifty miles away from home with a carousel of slides." 

I'd want a multimedia presentation with a mixture of humor, emotion, Google Slides, and short video clips. 

What Are Your Three Key Truths? 

  • Get our team to play "harder for longer."
  • Embrace Newell's "more and better shots than opponents"
  • We'll be best measured by the type of people who leave our program 

What Are Your Controversies? 

  • Do you coach players to a system or mold systems to players?
  • Are your team better off with Batman and Robin or Batman and Batman? 
  • Is the escalation of costs of youth sports sustainable? 
Lagniappe. Hoiberg's Way. 

Lagniappe 2. Wisdom from Majerus  



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Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Basketball - The Art of Problem Solving...New Applications from Old Concepts

Sporting excellence depends on problem solving. George Polya wrote an important book, "How to Solve It" in 1945. Apply lessons to our sports.

Baseball

"Hitting is timing; pitching is disrupting timing." Ted Williams hitting zones notwithstanding, hitters must adjust to change of speed and change of location. When a hitter can't hit fastballs up, he'll get a steady diet of them. 

Volleyball

Pin (outside) hitters have to solve the double block. That might involve pushes off the outside hand, tips, cut shots, or even recycling off the block. Few can smash through the block.

Basketball

Team can't score. Is the problem skill, shot selection, passing, turnovers, shot distribution? 

Polya's Premises

  • Understand the Problem
  • Draw a Picture
  • Solve a Simpler One
  • Pattern Recognition
  • Work Backwards
  • Reflect on the Situation

The Problem

Not scoring is a common issue in high school basketball. Three issues stand out - 1) Too many three-pointers, 2) too low a percentage, and 3) turnovers. "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics." I don't show a lot of high school game clips because then I'm a hater. A parent told me he tracked a high school game where 50 percent of the shots missed iron or were air balls. Their team lost by about 50. 

Our high school coach, Ellis Lane, was adamant about two things, "Take good shots" and "the ball is gold" (limit turnovers). Pre-shot clock and three point shooting, this resulted in 65 points/game, a 21-4 record, and a trip to the top division final four.  We lost those four games by a total of seven points. Good shots and few turnovers isn't flashy. It helps. 

Draw a Picture

Shot charts are "old school" for high school. You can talk until blue in the face about how good a shooter your kid is. Show us the shot charts. 

Solve a Simpler Problem

The game is a math problem. EFG percent matters and it matters a whole lot more when you add in turnovers as "missed field goals." Turnovers are "zero percent possessions." If you could reduce turnovers from over twenty to maybe a dozen, you give yourself a fighting chance in close games. 

Pattern Recognition 

Patterns include spacing, ball movement, shots against zone defense, turnovers against pressure, late shot clock shots, etc. It also includes seeing the invisible, the lack of "hard to defend actions" - pick-and-roll, back cuts, complex screens. See what is there and what isn't. 

Work Backwards

Maybe we're allowing too many points - too many layups, or open threes, or too many foul shots. Too many layups usually means poor ball containment or transition defense. Open threes might mean "help" issues, and foul shots often means poor technique. Go back to practice to work on the precipitants. 

Reflection

I asked a coach I worked with for his thoughts on our middle school team. He said that the best players weren't playing enough. He was absolutely right, but in the "pay to participate" developmental world, with time already at a premium (maybe 60-40), I wasn't willing to trade minutes for wins. 

Key points from "How to Solve It"

  • Good thinking leaves clues.
  • Success is more about process than genius.

How to Solve It emphasizes:

  • decision-making theory
  • pattern recognition
  • reflective practice
  • and cognitive skill development decades before fashionable

 Lagniappe. "Every day is showtime." 

Lagniappe 2. Leadership, relationships, disciplined behavior.  

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Monday, May 25, 2026

Basketball - Become a Better Student-Athlete

Want to be a better student-athlete? This column can help you.

Here are proven approaches, not opinions.

Learn How to Learn 

Think and learn better. There's no 'shortcut' to learning and thinking better. Do the work:

  • Read critically. What is the author's message? Restate it in your words. 
  • Spaced repetition. Spread out your learning; don't cram. You can't take 300 shots the day before a game after doing nothing for a week and expect results. 
  • Self-test after studying.
  • Turn off distractions. Silence the phone, the texts, the television. 
  • Pomodoro technique. 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off. 
  • Build consistent habits. "Don't miss twice."
Ref. Coursera Course, Learning How to Learn
      Atomic Habits, James Clear
      Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman

Ask Better Questions
  • School and sports, ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME
  • What went well? 
  • What isn't going well enough?
  • How can I do better? Assess process and habits.
  • What enduring lessons am I getting from wins and losses? 
Ref: The Leadership Moment, Michael Useem

Improve Self-Care 
  • Get eight hours of sleep.
  • Train both mind and body. 
  • Reassess diet and hydration. 
  • Mindfulness increases focus, stress, sleep, and brain structure and function
  • Be optimistic. "Optimism is a force multiplier." - Colin Powell
Ref. Search Inside Yourself, Chade-Meng Tan

Find the Helpers
  • "Everyone benefits from coaching." - Sean McVay
  • Listen and embrace coaching. 
  • Practice with a partner. Compete as "iron sharpens iron." 
  • "Make friends with the dead." Only about 7 percent of people ever born live today. Get the wisdom of Lincoln (Lincoln on Leadership), Dean Smith (many books) and writings that shaped leaders 
Ref. The Leaders Bookshelf, James Stavridis et al. 

Lagniappe. Be intentional in all areas. 
Lagniappe 2. Use AI as a tool to excavate key points from books. I asked ChatGPT Plus for ten key points from Dean Smith's "The Carolina Way" -

Dean Smith’s philosophy in The Carolina Way extends far beyond basketball strategy. The book presents a model of leadership, teaching, culture, and human development. Here are ten central ideas that defined Smith’s approach:

  1. The Team Above the Individual
    Smith believed no player was bigger than the program. Stars were expected to sacrifice for collective success. His famous “point to the passer” tradition reinforced that baskets were created by teamwork, not isolation.
  2. Teach Players How to Think
    Smith emphasized decision-making over memorization. Players learned why systems worked, not merely where to stand. Basketball IQ mattered deeply.
  3. Practice Was the Real Classroom
    Games were viewed as a public reflection of habits formed privately. Precision in drills, footwork, communication, and execution mattered because “small things become big things under pressure.”
  4. Players Were Students First
    Academic accountability was non-negotiable. Smith viewed basketball as part of education, not separate from it. Graduation and personal development mattered as much as wins.
  5. Conditioning Included Emotional Control
    Smith valued poise. He wanted players able to think clearly under stress, avoid emotional volatility, and remain connected to team principles during adversity.
  6. Adaptability Was a Competitive Advantage
    Although associated with the Four Corners offense, Smith constantly evolved. He adjusted systems to personnel rather than forcing players into rigid templates.
  7. Leadership Could Be Taught
    Smith intentionally developed leadership through responsibility, communication, and modeling. Veterans taught younger players the culture, creating continuity across generations.
  8. Details Reflect Respect
    Smith believed punctuality, preparation, dress, communication, and manners reflected respect for teammates and opponents. Culture lived in repeated behaviors.
  9. Diversity Strengthened Teams
    Smith was ahead of many peers on racial integration and social justice. He recruited and supported Black athletes during difficult eras in the South and viewed inclusion as both moral and practical leadership.
  10. Humility Sustains Excellence
    Smith avoided ego-driven leadership. He often credited assistants and players publicly. The philosophy was:

“Play hard. Play together. Play intelligently.”

A recurring theme throughout The Carolina Way is that basketball was never merely about basketball. Smith used the game as:

  • a leadership laboratory,
  • a classroom for decision-making,
  • and a vehicle for building character and lifelong habits.


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Sunday, May 24, 2026

Basketball - Offseason Analogies

Analogies connect us to unrelated subjects in meaningful ways. Analogies help athletes see familiar truths from unfamiliar angles. Good coaches teach skills; great coaches help players understand why those skills matter. Offseason development is often invisible in the moment, but its effects become obvious under pressure. 

Here are a few analogies that connect preparation, growth, and competition. Find a few that get your players off the cellphone and onto the court or the weight room. 

"Having no offseason plan is like building a house without a blueprint."

The tortoise, although slow, can still defeat the hare through persistence. 

"Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."

Complaining without doing the work is like taking poison and hoping for your enemy to die.

Although, "there will always be another train," failure to start training doesn't mean that the next one will arrive soon enough to get you to your destination on time. 

Not understanding our competition means ignoring that a six-foot person can drown in a pool with average depth is four feet.

Talent isn't enough. It doesn't matter if you have the best seats in the house if you show up at 7:00 P.M. for the 2:00 P.M. matinee. 

You don't 'need' a mentor to cook a gourmet meal. But having one increases your chances and exponentially decreases your learning curve. 

“The offseason is where future playing time quietly gets decided.”

“Expecting to improve without offseason work is like planting seeds and refusing to water them.”

“Confidence without preparation is like bringing a map to a game of poker. It may feel comforting, but it won’t help when the cards are dealt.”

“An offseason is compound interest for athletes. Small daily deposits become large advantages over time.”

“Waiting until tryouts to get in shape is like cramming for a final exam the morning of the test.”

“Players often overestimate what they can accomplish in a week and underestimate what they can accomplish in four months.”

Lagniappe. Roles matter.  

Lagniappe 2. SGA is a phenomenal player. Officiating is difficult. Rewarding flopping is a bad look.  

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Saturday, May 23, 2026

Basketball Lessons from Rommel

The long offseason provides many opportunities to explore the intersection of sport and history.

One of the great 'commanders' of over a century ago was Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, a master of tank warfare. His book, "Infantry Attacks" remains relevant to both military and sports today. 

Rommel’s Infantry Attacks is not a book about weapons. It’s a book about decision-making under stress, small-unit leadership, and how advantage is created when conditions are chaotic.

That makes it relevant to basketball.

Rommel commanded at the point of contact. He was a legendary observer and note-taker. He valued initiative and speed over perfection. His lessons translate well to a game decided by elite decisions and execution. 

1. Initiative Beats Instructions

“Opportunities are fleeting. Whoever acts first often wins.”

Rommel emphasized junior officers acting without waiting for orders. Delay, he believed, was often fatal.

Basketball rewards the same mindset.

  • Top defenses attack.
  • Top playmakers seize initiative.
  • Excellent teams find in-game solutions.

Over-coached teams hesitate. Decisiveness shows up as initiative. Practice should create players who act decisively, not players waiting to be told.

Lesson: Consider Drake Maye's game-clinching bootleg to send the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Trained spontaneity...

2. Speed Creates Advantage

Movement confuses opponents more than strength.

Rommel prized rapid movement to dislocate defenders mentally before overwhelming them physically.

In basketball:

  • Transition beats disorganized defense
  • Transition creates easy shots
  • Tempo forces defensive mistakes

Speed creates advantage. It’s pressure applied before the opponent is ready. Teams that play faster than opponents think gain free points without superior talent.

Quote: "Speed kills."

3. Surprise Is a Force Multiplier

Predictability invites resistance.

Rommel repeatedly attacked where he wasn’t expected - not where doctrine suggested.

Basketball equivalents:

  • Use hard to defend actions (simple and complex screens, urgent cutting)
  • Find opponent weaknesses
  • Unexpected drives

Surprise isn’t trickery. It creates the unexpected. Once a team relaxes into pattern recognition, it’s already late.

Lesson: "Utilize strengths, attack weaknesses." - Sun Tzu

4. Reconnaissance Is Continuous

Observation never stops.

Rommel constantly gathered information - terrain, morale, reactions -during action, not before it.

Great basketball teams scout while playing:

  • Which players succumb to pressure?
  • Which players turn the ball over?
  • Which players take undisciplined shots?

Great teams find edges by attacking weaker opponents. 

Quote: "Find the fish." 

5. Exploit Weakness, Don’t Argue with Strength

Attack where resistance is lightest.

Rommel avoided frontal assaults whenever possible. He looked for gaps.

In basketball:

  • Attack poor defenders
  • Take advantage of poor rebounders
  • Create edges in high stakes situations

This isn’t unfair. It’s efficiency.

Winning teams are superior as they apply pressure where it works.

6. Decentralized Leadership Wins

The front line knows more than headquarters. Rommel trusted subordinates to adapt in an early version of Commander's Intent.

Basketball principles worth understanding:

  • Point guards (or point forwards) initiate the attack
  • Shutdown defenders create advantage
  • Captains set the emotional tone

A coach cannot dictate each possession. Teams succeed when leadership is distributed, not concentrated.

7. Morale Is Tactical

Psychology shapes outcomes.

Rommel understood that confidence, fear, and momentum mattered as much as positioning.

In basketball:

  • More possessions create an edge for talented teams.
  • Physical play intimidates many teams.
  • Body language demonstrates a team's attitude.

Morale and "soft skills" build edges and illustrate a competitive variable.

Teams that protect each other emotionally last longer under stress.

8. Simple Plans, Executed Aggressively

Complexity collapses under pressure.

Rommel favored clear objectives and direct execution.

Basketball agrees:

  • Some teams collapse under pressure.
  • Varying defenses can create momentary confusion.
  • Better options, not more options, often carries the day. 

Clarity frees players to play hard. Under pressure, athletes revert to habits and sink to the level of their training. 

Summary:

Infantry Attacks is not about war. It’s about human performance when uncertainty is high and time is short.

Teams need:

  • Initiative
  • Speed
  • Observation 
  • Simplicity
  • Emotional stability

Rommel reminds us that advantage often comes not from power, but from clarity applied early.

Lagniappe. The NBA is losing credibility. 

Lagniappe 2. As a player, what do you want?  

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Friday, May 22, 2026

Coaching - Claims, Examples, Explanations, and Outcomes

Sometimes coaching is checkers and sometimes it's more of a chess match. Making arguments often involves making a claim, giving examples, and providing explanations. Sometimes it works out; sometimes it doesn't. 

CLAIM: Presume that our opposing coach has both competence and character and plan accordingly.

EXAMPLE: During "high stress" game situations, ask "what would I do in that situation?" 

EXPLANATION: Leading by one with possession out of bounds with five seconds. 

  • Expect full pressure.
  • Anticipate switch everything and early foul (sc 
  • Inbound away from our basket to a player who has decent hands and is a decent shooter. 
  • Instruct players DO NOT FOUL. 
  • If the ball is stolen, it will require the opposition to score almost the full length of the court with only a few seconds. 
OUTCOME: ball was stolen in the deep corner and time expired before opponent got a final shot. 

CLAIM: Anticipate opponent likely course of action to win a possession. 

EXAMPLE: How will opponent try to score close and late? 

EXPLANATION: Final possession of half, opponent ball, sidelines out of bounds. Good ballhandling team, best player the point guard, not especially good shooters. 
  • Anticipate action going to the basket.
  • Counseled players not to foul. 
  • Advised expectation of high ball screen. 
  • Suggest take away the drive.  
  • PnR defense - blitz the driver. 
  • Advise closest lower defenders (filled corners) to help on the roller.
OUTCOME: Ball handler picks up the dribble. No shot available. 

CLAIM: Get the ball out of the opponent's best player's hands. 

EXAMPLE: How to limit superstar player? 

EXPLANATION: Opposing (middle school) team was averaging over 60 points per game with a guard scoring in the thirties. They also had enough height to cause problems for us...keeping us from scoring inside. Played a modified triangle and two, trying to deny the guard the ball and rolling the other guard to double her any time she got within shooting range. 

OUTCOME: Held the opponent to low 40s but we couldn't get much inside offense (probably 15 missed or blocked layups) and lost by about 17. 

CLAIM: Break the pattern and play our best player more (playoff game)

EXAMPLE: The "border war" rival had beaten us in mostly close games seven times in three years (0-7).

EXPLANATION: Partly we struggled against a certain SLOB they used, but they often went on runs with Cecilia out...as she was our primary rim protection. 

OUTCOME: With Cecilia playing 80 percent of the game instead of 60 percent, our defense held up better and we won by three. 

Winning is desired but not the sole reason to play in development. Teaching and playing by principles provides some balance but won't make everyone happy. 

Lagniappe. Captaincy accountability...  

Lagniappe 2. No comment about his personnel changes... 

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Thursday, May 21, 2026

Basketball - Comeback Lines and More



Toughness is a skill that transfers to school, business, and sports. Develop stories for complex situations. When possible, steal lines where appropriate.

A group's woman leader was in trouble. Her mostly male assistants discussed the situation.

Person A: "I suppose the right thing to do in this situation is stay out of it."

Person B: "So, what's your idea?" 

Sometimes a team struggles. Brad Stevens asks, "What does my team need now?" In Upton Sinclair's classic, The Jungle, the hero's answer for everything was "I will work harder." That's wearing 'blinders'. A good answer comes from the East:

"Chop wood, carry water." Stick to the fundamentals. Excellence follows doing the ordinary with extraordinary consistency. 

Charlie Jones covered the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta - rowing, canoeing, and kayaking. With the distant venue he felt left out. He learned how the Olympic crew team ignored factors like rain or water conditions. An oarsman's quote became the title of his book, "That's outside my boat." Take care of your business within the team. Some say, "Keep your cards close to the vest."

Coaches care about everyone on the team. That doesn't mean that they treat every player exactly the same. Red Auerbach made an agreement with legendary Bill Russell that Red could yell at him at practice. Russell also could take a practice off when he needed to. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it another way, "There is always a pecking order."

Bruce Jenner won the Olympic gold medal in decathlon in 1976, setting a World Record. During Pulmonary medical training, instructors taught us the elements of the "Bruce Jenner Protocol," what it takes to be your best. 

  • Exercise (training) 
  • Rest (sleep and recovery)
  • Nutrition (protein) 
  • Medication (or supplements)
  • Motivation (Gold Medal or other reason to achieve)
Former five time NBA Champion coach Gregg Popovich discussed the metaphor of breaking a giant rock. He said that it might take a hundred hits before the boulder split. He explained to players, "You can't skip steps" and "pound the rock."

Gino Auriemma's future "four-peat" National Champions (UCONN Women's basketball) started practice with two laps around the Gampel Pavilion. Every player navigated the full perimeter of the court without stepping within the boundaries. The unspoken message was clear, "Champions don't cut corners." 

Simplicity rules. Years ago we attended a Celtics' practice at the Waltham training center. Brad Stevens spoke with Ellen, who explained that she was a rocket scientist. Stevens explained, "Well, basketball isn't rocket science." Keep decisions simple whenever possible because although a thinking person's sport, keep it simple. 

Comebacks. Unfair criticism is...well, unfair. Remember this. "Dogs don't bark at parked cars."

Lagniappe. Learning is vital. 

“Don't be on your deathbed someday, having squandered your one chance at life, full of regret because you pursued little distractions instead of big dreams.” - Derek Sivers


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Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Basketball Coaches Wear Many Hats

There aren't many phrases more insulting than, "Any idiot with a whistle can coach."

Wear our hats well. The chef's 'toque' informs the white, pleated hats. The hundred pleats represent a hundred ways to cook eggs.

More commonly, we think about wearing different hats not pleats. Here are a few.  

  • Life skills teaching 
  • Leadership and mentoring
  • Roster construction
  • Player development
  • Team development
  • Offensive strategy
  • Defensive strategy
  • Situational play
  • Game management
  • Sport-specific IQ development, video study
  • Strength and conditioning
  • Motivation and resilience
  • Mental health
  • Coaching staff development
  • Public relations
  • Liaison with parents, boosters, fundraisers
In this podcast, Coach Earnshaw lumps these together as structure, skillset, and mindset...listen when you have an hour. 

He also looks at energy, resources, and accountability. As a player, it's a breakthrough when you understand how you complete the puzzle. The best players need small amounts of motivation because they have an abundance of intrinsic motivation. 

Invisibles include "connection, trust, confidence." The best coaches see the invisible...and recognize what's important for both the team and an individual player. 

Among leaders, what are your strengths and needs? Captains have to be willing to embrace coaching as the standard and to radiate that over the squad. 

"Gen Z" athletes, because they want to "understand the why," have to embrace the solutions. 

Leadership Types
Medic - cares for people
Warrior - leads by example
Magician - solves problems

Identity. Who are we? What's our story? 

Purpose. Why are we here? What are our values?

Execution. How will we play? How will we win? 

The model is always evolving. "The best coaches are experimenting all the time." The court is our laboratory. 

What does physicality mean to you? A player like Sabine is physical in a different way than Danni, but I consider both "physical players." 

Excellent players think and solve problems, but don't allow thinking to get in the way of executing. They don't get paralysis by analysis. 

Don't let tactics get in the way of intangibles. There are no "great coaches" who only wage sport via intangibles. Creating advantage includes tactical excellence, too. 


If you have ambition to coach someday, the podcast is worth hearing. Have a "growth process" for each of the elements of the stool (borrowed from my volleyball blog).


Players and teams need to know where they stand...and framing that narrative in the ecosystem of both ego and dependence is a tough job.

Lagniappe. Don't be the Complaint Department. 
Lagniappe 2. Do the work. 








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