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Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Basketball - "The Art of Winning" and Cognitive Dissonance

"The Art of Winning" is destined to become a coaching classic. 

Bill Belichick is a polarizing person. Many people admire his success and reject his personality and methods. From a coaching perspective, "ignore the noise." 

Cognitive dissonance means being conflicted about two ideas at the same time. Win at all costs means "winning even if by cheating." Most of us would find bribing officials or intentionally injuring other competitors unacceptable.

Bill Belichick's "Art of Winning" prescribes a lot of ideas that lead to winning. I haven't read enough to know whether and to what degree he discusses "over the line" behavior. 

Here are a few quotes from his well-written book, lightly annotated. 

Believe in the saying, "make the big time wherever you are." That's part of being a professional whether coaching Biddy Ball or the big time. 

Have a vision for our teams and share that with them and the surrounding community (starting with family). 

Belichick leans into hedge fund legend Ray Dalio, borrowing from his "Principles." 
Create a learning culture from the top down. Coaches are teachers - teaching our sport, sportsmanship, and values for life.

Celebrity may be a product of success. Celebrity in itself doesn't equate to success. 

We become the product of our habits. The sum of our habits becomes our process. Good process won't guarantee championships. Poor habits guarantee a lack of success. 

Belichick knew that Super Bowls aren't the same as other games because of the magnitude of the stakes and the distractions. He describes operating the "Belichick Travel Agency" for 48 hours after earning a Super Bowl berth. He knew that winning meant "business trips" not vacations. 

Winning isn't a sin. Sacrificing young kids on the altar of victory can be. 

Lagniappe. Leadership requires more than surrounding ourselves with "Yes" guys. 

Lagniappe. 

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Lagniappe 2. Maturity matters. 
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Monday, May 5, 2025

Quotes from "Mamba Mentality"

NBA great Kobe Bryant wrote The Mamba Mentality: How I Play. 

Find value or inspiration from his quotes. Distill quotes into a word or phrase as a mantra. 

On Mindset

“The mindset isn’t about seeking a result—it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach.”  Trust the process. 

“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success.” No excuses

On Work Ethic

“I saw every day as a chance to get better. That’s why I started my workouts at four a.m.” Do the unrequired work.

“I wasn’t the most talented. I wasn’t the tallest. But I was relentless.” Relentless

On Preparation

“Everything was done to become a better basketball player. Everything. Everything.” Deliberate practice

“I practiced as if I was in a game. So when the moment came in the game, it was automatic.” Chase perfection

On Pain and Adversity

“If I could play through the injury, I played. I don’t think about it. I just move through it.” Keep going

“I never felt pressure. I trained for it. That’s why I was prepared when everyone else was panicking.” Train for pressure

On Love for the Game

“Basketball is everything. This is not a job. It’s what I do, it’s who I am.” Passion to play

“I played through sweat and pain, not because challenge called me, but because you called me.” Calling 

Lagniappe. Cartoon book review - discipline, preparation, persistence. 


Lagniappe 2. Chris Oliver discusses random free throw practice. 
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Sunday, May 4, 2025

Basketball - "Three Man Game"

Regardless of offensive strategy, success follows understanding and execution. Execution takes priority over complexity.  

Another advantage of 'three-man' actions is that more people are involved
so fewer feel "left out." 

Borrow Feynman Technique to simplify and teach...from naming to researching and simplifying. 

Zoom (rename as Downscreen DHO) it runs across professional and college basketball (extensive, well-described video)

Pistol (possible rename as clear side downscreen) - great video from Coach Daniel


Spain PnR (rename as backscreen-the-roller) 


Lagniappe. Historically, splitting the post offered a multitude of options. Note how aggressive cutting and setting up cuts adds value. 


Lagniappe 2. Ask what's your "ONE thing?" Only you can know. 


Lagniappe 3. Deflection drill. When we ran it, we insisted offensive players have one foot on the lane line. 

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Saturday, May 3, 2025

Basketball - Milestone, Gregg Popovich Moves to Spurs Front Office

Steal the best approaches from every team, coach, player. Gregg Popovich, in the wake of health issues, moves from the bench to the Spurs' front office. 

What 'associations' come to mind for the Spurs' skipper? 

1) The Beautiful Game - ball movement, the extra pass and 0.5 second decision making.   


2) Personal - Graduate of the Air Force Academy, expert in Soviet Intelligence. Popovich had an invitation as a player to the Olympic Trials. 

3) Coached five NBA champions. 

4) Current Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer (inducted 2023)

5) "Pound the rock" or "you don't skip steps." 

6) Early adopter of foreign players with Tim Duncan (born St. Croix), Tony Parker (France), and Manu Ginobili (Argentina). 

7) Spurs "hammer" and "loop" 


IIRC, Chuck Daly originated the Loop but it's more associated with the Spurs. 


8) Coaching development/coaching tree. Assistants who succeeded included Steve Kerr, Doc Rivers, Ime Udoka, Quin Snyder, Mike Budenholzer, Becky Hammon, and others. Etorre Messina coached with him but had major EuroLeague success in his own right. 

9) Laconic interview style.
  

10) Drill we used (Spurs shooting). 
Lagniappe. UCONN shooting drill. 
 Lagniappe 2. Cutting is another underappreciated skill. 



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Friday, May 2, 2025

Basketball - Fast Five, Rules to Live By

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Develop your code, your philosophy and rules. Put principles in place as a 'runway' for life.

People become "lumpers" or "splitters" of lists. I favor shorter lists annotated with specifics.  

1) Come prepared, with focus and energy.

Example: Coaches have a practice schedule with specifics intended to work on player and team development. Dean Smith would also provide a "quote of the day." 

2) Ask how do I make my teammates better today?

Example: Roy Williams shared an example of scouting a player who fouled out. The player sprinted to the bench to get water for his teammates during the replacement timeout. Top coaches coming to scout know the talent and are looking for intangibles, too. The player got the scholarship. 

3) Impact the success of the team. 

Example: Dean Smith said that he expected great players to translate performance into winning. 

4) Adopt a curious, learning culture. 

Example: Kevin Eastman, author of Why the Best Are the Best, reads two hours a day. He says, "become a learn-it-all, not a know-it-all." Two hours a day becomes 180 hours a quarter, which puts you ahead of others in your field. 

5) "Always do our best." 

Example: Miguel Ruiz's "Fourth Agreement" is "Always do your best." Sometimes that means staying silent when we want to respond, encouragement versus criticism, and digging in when quitting would be easier. It favors "Speaking Greatness" instead of something less. 

Bonus: It is easier to add than subtract. If we write often, the keyboard letter most worn should be the 'delete' key. 

Lagniappe. Find finishing moves appropriate to your needs. 

The ability to change directions and to decelerate foster separation. Brunson's stop and change direction leads to a game winner. 


Lagniappe 2. Practice with purpose. 
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Thursday, May 1, 2025

Asking Better Questions - QOTD

Curiosity fuels growth. Don't allow people to extinguish our growth. Ask better questions.

Pre-school children ask hundreds of questions daily. Then the dynamic changes with the teacher asking the questions. That can stifle growth and learning.

What basketball 'moment' changed your path? Maybe you got picked or cut from a team, got hired or fired, or you changed something that impacted the future.  

Do you want feedback or advice? Ask for advice because that promotes change. 

Be willing to ask a player, "what help can I give you?" Even better, ask about specifics. "What excites you as a player?" 

Brad Stevens asks, "what does my team need now?" A strength and conditioning coach explained that they track hand grip strength. It falls when players are mentally fatigued. 

Sara Blakely's father asked the kids each Saturday, "what have you failed at this week?" That gave them permission to fail. 

I saw a four year-old reach out to another who was upset, asking "what do you need from me?" That showed deep empathy at that age. 

As a player, "how do you impact winning?"

Most players and some coaches might struggle with "what are you doing after practice and games to promote recovery? 

In the introduction to The Leadership Moment, required reading for UNC Women's soccer, author Michael Useem suggests four questions:

  • What went well?
  • What went poorly?
  • What can we do better next time? 
  • What was the enduring lesson (of the experience)?
A player might ask "what one thing to I have to do differently to succeed?" or "what one thing do I have to stop doing that prevents me from success?" 

Nick Saban says, "can you make your self do it?" and "can you keep yourself from it?" 

Take a moment to think QOTD. What's the question of the day? Maybe it's a basketball question - skill development, strategy, physicality, psychology. 

Lagniappe. Stretch. 
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Lagniappe 2. Cut better, score easier. 

Lagniappe 3. If we are lucky, we get to fight the next day. 

 

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Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Basketball- Fast Five, Mamba Mentality

Everyone knows Kobe Bryant for championships, skill, and work ethic. What lies at the core of “Mamba Mentality?”

Start with major accomplishments:

  • Five NBA Championships, two time Finals MVP
  • Fourth All-Time NBA scoring leader 33,643
  • 18 Time All-Star, four time All-Star game MVP
  • 11 Time First team All-NBA
  • 12 Time NBA All-Defensive team, nine times First Team
  • Two Olympic gold medals
Worth remembering...Bryant saw the movie Rudy and wondered what he could accomplish blending his natural gifts and the determination of the Notre Dame walk-on. 

ChatGPT Summarizes Five key points from Mamba Mentality

Obsessive Preparation
Kobe emphasized detailed preparation—studying opponents, watching game film, and mastering fundamentals. He believed success came from outworking everyone, not just during games but every day in practice and recovery.

Relentless Work Ethic
His legendary early morning workouts and willingness to push through pain and fatigue exemplified his belief that hard work could surpass talent. He sought marginal gains in every area of his game.

Attention to Detail
Kobe approached basketball with precision, studying footwork, angles, and mechanics. Whether mimicking Michael Jordan or learning from soccer and dance, he constantly refined the smallest elements of his play.

Mental Resilience
The "Mamba Mentality" meant cultivating toughness—thriving under pressure, bouncing back from setbacks, and staying focused on long-term goals. Kobe treated adversity as an opportunity to grow stronger.

Love for the Craft
Above all, Kobe had deep respect and passion for the game. He saw basketball as art, constantly evolving and demanding full commitment. That love drove his dedication, creativity, and competitive fire.

What do you remember most about Bryant's approach? 
  • Rising up for a jumper out of the jab step.
  • Indefatigable offseason workouts - 1,000 shots a day
  • Film breakdown sessions
  • Competitive character 
  • Featured in the book, Relentless
Lagniappe. Kobe did video breakdowns. Remember, these preceded the proliferation of three point shooting. 


Lagniappe 2. The Kobe jab step with his tutorial. Study greatness in whatever domain you wish to excel. 

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Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Basketball - Using AI to Improve Our Outputs

Don't fear being replaced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Fear being outcoached by others using it well.

AI generates "hallucinations" in response to prompts. It wants to make us happy and wants not to make mistakes. Varying the prompts generates different answers and different AI systems (ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Claude.ai) generate different responses. 

AI won't get its feelings hurt by our questions or our declining to follow its advice. 

Let's try the same prompt for a couple of AIs. 

"What are the top three biggest causes for basketball defensive failure?"

ChatGPT: The three biggest causes of defensive failure in basketball are:

  1. Poor Ball Containment
    If defenders can’t stay in front of the ball, it collapses the defense. Help defenders must rotate, creating open shots, mismatches, and rebounding vulnerabilities. Strong ball containment reduces the need for help, preserves defensive structure, and forces lower-percentage shots.

  2. Slow or Incorrect Help Defense
    Even good on-ball defense breaks down sometimes. If help is late, absent, or undisciplined (e.g., unnecessary reach-ins, bad closeouts), it allows easy baskets or kick-out threes. Great defenses rotate sharply, communicate clearly, and recover fast to re-establish balance.

  3. Lack of Communication and Awareness
    Defensive breakdowns often come from missed switches, backdoor cuts, or failed rotations—all rooted in silence or confusion. Players must talk constantly, see the whole floor, and anticipate rather than react. Smart defenses prevent problems before they start.

Deep Seek: 

In basketball, defensive failures often stem from a combination of poor execution, awareness, and effort. The **top three biggest causes** for defensive breakdowns are:

1. **Lack of Communication** 
   - Defensive success relies heavily on **switching, help defense, and calling out screens**. When players fail to communicate: 
     - Opponents get open shots due to missed assignments. 
     - Defenders get caught in screens, leading to mismatches. 
     - Weak-side help is late or nonexistent. 

2. **Poor Positioning & Awareness** 
   - Defensive failures often occur when players: 
     - **Ball-watch** (lose sight of their man or help responsibilities). 
     - Fail to **anticipate drives or passes**, allowing easy cuts or backdoor plays. 
     - Are out of **stance** (upright posture slows reaction time). 
     - Don’t **close out properly** on shooters, giving up open threes. 

3. **Lack of Effort & Hustle** 
   - Defense requires constant energy and urgency. Common effort-related failures: 
     - **Not sprinting back in transition**, leading to fast-break points. 
     - **Giving up on plays** (e.g., not contesting shots or chasing loose balls). 
     - **Lazy closeouts** or failing to **box out**, allowing second-chance points. 

**Honorable Mentions:** 
   - **Over-fouling** (bailouts for offensive players). 
   - **Mismatches exploited** (e.g., slow defenders on quick guards). 

Coaching is about relationships. How can we discuss 'demotion' of a player from the starting lineup? 

ChatGPT: A coach can approach the conversation with honesty, clarity, and care by saying something like: “I want to talk with you about today’s lineup decision. You’re not starting this game, and I know that’s tough to hear. This isn’t about your worth to the team—it’s about matchups, momentum, and giving us the best chance today. You’ve contributed a lot, and I still trust you. What matters most now is how you respond. Stay ready, stay connected, and support your teammates. I believe in you, and I’m looking forward to when your moment comes—because it will.” This approach centers trust, explains the rationale, and keeps the player engaged in the team’s mission.

Deep Seek: I wanted to talk to you about where things stand right now. I know how hard you’ve been working, and I respect your effort. Right now, we’re making some adjustments to help the team in certain situations, and that means your role might shift for a bit. This isn’t about giving up on you—it’s about finding the best way for us to succeed and for you to grow. Let’s keep working together in practice to sharpen the areas that’ll get you back on the floor. I believe in you, and I’m here to help you through this."* 

**Key elements:** 
1. **Acknowledge effort** (prevents discouragement). 
2. **Frame it as a team decision** (not personal). 
3. **Emphasize growth** (future opportunity). 
4. **Offer support** (keeps morale high). 

Realize that the response generated depends on the prompt. The more inclusive and expansive the prompt, the more detailed the answer. 

Prompt: I have a basketball coaching advice question. Our offense is in the bottom quarter of the league. We have speed and athleticism but not a lot of height. Our players have a good basketball IQ and are coachable. Please suggest a direction or options for us.

Given your team’s speed, athleticism, coachability, and basketball IQ—but a lack of height—you're in a strong position to pivot toward an offense built on pace, spacing, and movement rather than size or isolation.

Here are several directions worth considering:

1. 5-Out Motion Offense

  • Why it fits: Maximizes space and neutralizes shot blockers since nobody’s anchored inside.

  • What it requires: Players who can handle, cut hard, and read defenders.

  • Benefits: Encourages backdoor cuts, drive-and-kick action, and makes help defense difficult for opponents.

  • Tip: Teach “pass and cut,” “dribble hand-offs,” and “screen away” actions.

2. Dribble Drive Motion Offense (DDM)

  • Why it fits: Emphasizes aggressive attacking off the dribble with kick-out threes and dump-offs.

  • What it requires: Spacing, strong driving lanes, and guards who can read second-level defenders.

  • Benefits: Forces defensive rotations and favors quick decision-makers over size.

3. Early Offense / Transition Focus

  • Why it fits: Uses your team’s speed to create offense before the defense sets.

  • What it requires: Conditioning, rebound-and-go freedom, and quick outlet decisions.

  • Benefits: Creates scoring chances against unset defenses; reduces the half-court grind.

4. Cut and Replace Principles

  • Blend motion and spacing by teaching players to constantly move—cut after passing, fill empty spots, and relocate.

  • Emphasize reads over set plays: "When you see this defender sag, cut; when they trail, flare.”

Add-On Considerations:

  • Screening Action: Use ball screens not to “free the roller” but to bend the defense and force closeouts, then attack off those rotations.

  • Zone Offense: If you see a lot of zone (due to your height disadvantage), emphasize attacking gaps with quick passing, high-post touches, and skip passes to force movement.

This kind of offense requires buy-in, but your players' IQ and coachability make it feasible. Want help sketching out practice progressions to implement any of these systems?

1) Use technology to our advantage.

2) Apply it to player development, teaching, strategy, and conditioning

3) Experiment. 

4) Don't be intimidated. It's incredibly user friendly. 

Lagniappe. Adjust one action with options (multiple actions). 

Lagniappe 2. Competitive shooting. 

 

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Monday, April 28, 2025

Basketball - To Think Differently, Learn to See Differently

"Conventional thinking yields conventional results."

The US has a fentanyl problem. The useful 'conventional' approach is drug interdiction. Stop the supply of dangerous drugs. Have you heard the "chocolate chip cookie theory" of drug abuse? Why do people bake chocolate chip cookies? People want them. Can we reduce the demand for drugs?

Watching basketball, we "see" what we look for. Here's a brief digression from Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova. 

1. Differentiate "observing" from "seeing." Pay attention to the details, not just the actions. 

2. Deduce what is happening. "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." Measure what impacts games. 

3. Maintain emotional detachment. "Emotions obscure judgement." Anger is not a solution. 

4. Be a continuous and lifelong learner. Learning is a habit. 

How can we think differently by seeing differently? To assess a team's effectiveness, examining the scoreboard isn't enough. 

Is a team "playing hard?" Review video for 'urgency'. 

  • Is the team getting beaten in transition? Do they beat opponents to half court, protect the basket, stop the ball? 
  • Does the offense sprint to screen, set up cuts, cut hard? 
  • Does the team win more than its share of loose balls? 
  • Does the defense consistently pressure the ball? 
Is the team playing smart? 
  • What's the spacing? "Spacing is offense and offense is spacing." - Chuck Daly
  • Study shot charts. What's the quality of the shots? Are the best shooters getting the most shots in their preferred spots? 
  • Is the team fouling in an undisciplined way? 
  • Is the team moving without the ball to improve passing? 
  • Does the defense load to the ball and cover 1.5 (your player and half of another?)
  • Are turnovers arising from decisions, execution, or both? 
Does the team demonstrate flexibility?
  • Does it adjust tempo to game situations (extend or shorten games)?
  • Does it use multiple defenses, multiple coverages (e.g. pick-and-roll)?
  • How does it score - 3s, layups, free throws, sets, transition? 
It's "too easy" to generalize about basketball without looking deeper. Our vision depends on our focus. 

Lagniappe. Manipulate spacing. 
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Lagniappe 2. Offense creates edges and defense limits them. 

Lagniappe 3. Think back to playing basketball in high school. As James Naismith said, "Basketball is an easy game to learn and a difficult one to master." 

"Most good things, it takes a long time to figure them out." Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant, Sheryl Sandberg

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Sunday, April 27, 2025

How Coaching Resembles Stock Trading

Life and literature suggest analogies for coaching. Listening to a Blinkist analysis of "The Little Book of Market Wizards," students find abundant comparisons. Judge for yourself. 

1) "Match the method to the man." Managing money is first about managing risk - the risk of permanent loss of capital. The "permanent loss of capital" in coaching is losing your job. "High risk" appears in the form of character deficiency in individuals or in team culture. 

Authenticity matters and every coach must navigate that path among relationships, player development, strategy, and game management.

2) Persist through failure. Immediate success doesn't occur in trading and didn't occur for Dean Smith or Mike Krzyzewski. The "Wizard of Westwood" John Wooden didn't win an NCAA title at UCLA until his 16th season. 

Coaches need a supportive environment to help them succeed. Be aware that not everyone wants a new coach to succeed or an older coach to stay. 

3) Manage risk first. "Risk control reflects humility, which is essential to success." Risk management includes establishing meaningful relationships, a clear philosophy, and successful culture. 

4) Cultivate patience. Player and team development take time. Winston Churchill said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering." Adding value takes time. Teaching players the game takes time. Teaching teams to win takes time. 

5) Remain flexible. Coaches have options including fitting systems to players or fitting players to systems. Small, fast, athletic players won't do as well in a slower half-court offense as in transition. When you cannot 'recruit' players for your system, you must solve the problem of using available talent. "Control emotions. Fear, ego, impulse, and adrenaline are invisible enemies."

6) Control emotions. Trading and coaching both rely on self-control. You can lose money and you can lose relationships through frustration, bias, and anger. Our words and our actions reflect our ability to maintain composure and control of our decisions. 

7) Cut losses. Let winners run. Kevin Eastman teaches, "do it better, do it harder, change personnel, or #$%& it ain't working (change strategy)." 

Return to Bill Belichick's four winning values:

  • Do your job. 
  • Work hard. 
  • Pay attention to details.
  • Put the team first. 
They cross every domain. 

Lagniappe. Follow this thread. 

Lagniappe 2. Add constraints (time, numbers) to boost performance. Adjust distance for age and skill. Practice with a partner. 

 


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Saturday, April 26, 2025

Basketball - Help Players Retain Information

Teach learning strategies. Metacognition means "learning how to learn." Make your learning process active.

What is our core philosophy? TIA - teamwork, improvement, accountability. 

Summarize how to become more effective in team play. "Get more and better shots than our opponents." 

Be specific. Explain what "playing hard" means. Hitting the deck, setting strong screens, cutting urgently, sprinting back on defense, blocking out. 

1) Focus. Computers don't "multitask," as they rapidly switch between individual processes. People don't have the same capability. Mindfulness improves attention span, grades, and standardized test scores. And yes, almost all pro teams have mindfulness trainers. 

2) Removing distractions (e.g. your phone) is part of the solution. 

3) Take breaks. The Pomodoro Technique is 25 minutes on and five off. Professional teams have learned that millennials and Gen Z are different. Some teams give players "phone breaks." Hard to believe? 

4) Space repetitions. Reviewing is better than single viewing. Players won't digest the playbook in one bite. Another way to help players is to run the same action from different sets and the same sets with different actions. 

5) Train analogical thinking. Learn how to relate ideas and solutions across disciplines. Need coaching analogies? CEO, chef, mad scientist, inventor, ship's captain and more. 

6) Self-test. Ask yourself "what do I know about serving? Go into as much detail as possible...types of screens, where to screen, and the details of screening and reading the defense. Review your screen with video. A coach was upset with his players' remember their offense. So he said, "You're getting a written test at the next practice; you don't pass, you don't start. Players learned the plays. 

7) Practice. If we want to improve at anything, use "deliberate practice." "Practice like hamburger, play like hamburger. Practice like steak..." Make everything at practice impact outcomes. Some coaches love "three man weave." I'm waiting to see it in a game.    

Lagniappe. Bad spacing = bad offense. Teach the three-point line as the spacing line. 

Lagniappe 2. Make a difference. Leave players with more than basketball. 


Lagniappe 3. New concepts often emerge overseas. 



 

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