Basketball - “Unplayable”

What makes someone “unplayable?” None of us are perfect and all of us are not actualized, 'misaeng', the stone which has not yet come into play. 

Coaches encounter players whom we cannot play or cannot use in certain situations. That includes both "tangibles and intangibles." Here are just a few that show up. 

Intangible 

"Fold under pressure." Some players struggle to play under duress.

"Blindspots." Tunnel vision is a real phenomenon where pressure causes perception failure. Open players and opportunities literally become invisible. 

"The Killer S's." Players are "equal but not the same." Selfishness results in bad shots, stat seeking, and players who won't share the ball. Softness equals lack of toughness, an inability to engage physically or mentally, the player who won't battle through screens, cut hard, hit the floor, or take the open and meaningful shot. Sloth is laziness, the player who won't pressure the ball, compete in conversion and transition, or practice hard. 

"Mentally challenged." As Brad Stevens told my wife, an aerospace engineer, "Basketball is not rocket science." Some players can't find their cover, can't make quick decisions, and don't know where to be, when to act, or just "don't get it." 

Tangibles

Four Factors. Dean Oliver's landmark early analysis of statistical difference makers - shooting, turnovers, rebounding, free throws. Statistics don't show everything but they often link concepts to performance. Geno Auriemma says that you don't have to fill up the stat sheet but you have to contribute something. 

Plus minus. Coaches ask ourselves, "are we better off with her on the floor?" Players 'reveal' impact for what they bring or what they don't. Coaching developmental players, I constructed lineups to include at least two potential scorers, rebounders, and ball handlers. Often one player impacted all three. Also, you find that you cannot play two "soft players" together. When lineups don't fulfill these needs, it shows. 

Fouls. Poor technique or undisciplined play result in "bull in a China shop" fouling. It can look like this. 

Turnovers. Poor decision-making, execution, or both produce turnovers. I had a player commit 14 turnovers in a game once (developmental). Teams cannot compete while self-destructing. Turnovers kill dreams and keep players on the bench. 

If you want to get more minutes, role, and recognition, understand that it's both what you contribute and negative impact.

Lagniappe. Who doesn't like a good BOB? Here's a box set into an elevator screen. 

🏀 🪄

*BLOOB*

BOX: ELEVATOR SCREEN THE SCREENER pic.twitter.com/ILl9PLsCZv

— The 🏀 Playbook Wizard (@PlaybookWizard1) August 1, 2026

Lagniappe 2. And another from the same source. Floor balance could be an issue. 

🏀 🪄

*ZONE BLOOB*

PIN AND LOB pic.twitter.com/toZvxJAIyF

— The 🏀 Playbook Wizard (@PlaybookWizard1) August 3, 2026

 

Basketball- Post 4800 - Enduring Lessons

Life and basketball reward character and competence. Coaches who learn to communicate, to add value and get buy-in change lives. 

1. Coaching is about relationships. As Alfred Adler teaches in The Courage to Be Disliked, all problems are relationship problems.

Stories have emerged that last season's Celtics team leader Jaylen Brown was upset when Jayson Tatum returned and received the coveted last player announced. Nothing matters until it does. 

2. Establish clear priorities. Coach Ellis Lane (New England Basketball Hall of Fame) taught family, school, basketball.

Coaches get what we accept. Some college coaches say they will not sign players who disrespect their parents. 

3. "Every day is player development day." Study it. Learn it or outsource it. Never ignore it.

A minority of coaches are "talent aggregators." Most have to "grow their own." Have a plan shared with all players, even if you are not allowed to coach them out of season (e.g. Massachusetts). 

4. Stories are powerful. People remember a story better than a string of facts. Become a storyteller and assemble a portfolio of stories.

Spencer Haywood tried out at Detroit. The college coach told him to make 15 consecutive free throws and he'd get a scholarship. The rest is history. 

5. “Get more and better shots than opponents.” - Pete Newell  The quickest path to improving is better shot selection. Use shot charts, analytics, and video to teach. A player must backstop her “shooter” claim with numbers.

I hear stories about how so and so is a great player or a great shooter. Then reality hits. As Dizzy Dean said, "If you can do it, you ain't boasting." 

6. Analytics- “begin with the end in mind.” Design practices to transfer actions that impact games. Teacher’s pets use SPCA - shooting, protecting (the ball), crashing (win Coach Rav’s “War on the Boards”) and attacking the basket (get fouled). 

Dean Smith sometimes scrimmaged UNC using "shot selection" scoring. 

7. Tell the truth. Elite players want to be coached. 

“Turnovers kill dreams.”                                                                  "Fouls negate hustle."                                                              “Video is the Truth Machine.”

8. Teach leadership. Everyone can lead. Model excellence. Use storytelling examples. 

Arlene Blum led an all-woman team to ascend Annapurna, one of 14 Nepalese peaks above 8,000 meters. Two women summited and two died trying. "Women can be every bit as bold and fearless as men, and face the same consequences of their actions."  

9. Win this possession. Each possession distills the game to its essence. A turnover is a zero percent possession. 

A “$h*t shot” is a turnover                                                                                          Live ball turnovers are the worst, becoming high points per possession chances.

10.Use Coach Knight’s “Power of Negative Thinking.” 

Ridding those 10-15 bad possessions a game changes everything. Show players examples on video. They need to see the infamous Michigan timeout or the Princeton upset of UCLA using a back door cut. Good teams do not give games away. Lesser teams find ways to lose. 

Lagniappe. Force turnovers. When we forced a "dead dribble," the team called "pinch" and other defenders went into full denial. It caused more than its share of turnovers. 

When a player picks up their dribble, we don't just pressure them. We try to kill their pivot foot pic.twitter.com/VxIGa6S0gt

— Mike Jagacki (@Mike_Jagacki) July 30, 2026

"What Is this Behavior Accomplishing?"

The book The Courage to Be Disliked shares unconventional wisdom. For example, instead of asking "why did she do that?," the authors suggest asking, "What is this behavior accomplishing?"

I don't remember ever asking that question.

Let's assemble a few possible situations:

1. Backup point guard "dominating the ball..."

The established starter was the star, an unquestioned elite player. The "why" could be seen as selfish or at least self-serving in the "dog marking territory" sense. Perhaps the motivation was just, "I want to be in the conversation, too."

2. Young player "jacking up shots" like there's no tomorrow...

The behaviors made no sense in the context of either the offense or the hierarchy. Perhaps the statement was (before correction by the coach), "I've always played this way and I'm not stopping now." The response was, "This is not your team."  

3. Another ball-dominant player embarked on 'extreme usage.' 

The coach preached "teamwork" from day one. The coach couldn't understand the behavior. She removed the player from the game and made her point, "That is not how we play." She got the coach's attention and received immediate feedback. 

4. A young player seemed skittish on the court. 

All the players were young (maybe 12) and one wonderful kid seemed timid and deferential beyond what I had seen. I approached the mom and said, "Your daughter looks afraid, physically afraid of the size of the opposition." The mom answered, "She is." Sometimes, behaviors aren't anti-team, they're self preservation. 

5.  An elite player with 30 points as the third quarter ended, was signaled out by the coach as he prepared for his second free throw. He calmly took the ball at the stripe, slammed it off the backboard and walked off. 

The player, a future D1 talent, was obviously perturbed by being removed. 

I don't know if any college coaches were in the building. If so, he signaled to them, "I am a great player...and a headache." Was the message to his coach, "I am big time, I don't need you?" 

Few young players are physically or emotionally mature. Working to understand "deeper messaging" behind their actions might help us. Emphasis on contribution to the team, the 'community', can help some people think less about themselves first and work to add value to the group.

Lagniappe. Track "kills." I've worked off the 3-7-2 rule. Three consecutive stops, seven times a half, two halves will equal a win. 

View on Threads

 

 

Basketball - Shining a Light

"It's dark at the base of a lighthouse." - Japanese Proverb

Self-analysis presents challenges. We overlook our flaws or deficiencies and miss opportunities for high performance. 

During Community Health classes in medical school (fall 1977), I constructed an acronym about what keeps us from doing the right things -

BESS 

BESS works well for coaching. 

1. Barriers (e.g. cost, time, availability)

What limits player development? Players have summer jobs, go on lengthy vacations, don't play summer ball, or have other distractions (texting, electronics, relationships). Basketball is a cruel mistress. 

2. Efficacy (what works)

"It doesn't matter. I'm a starter and better than who's coming along?" That may or may not be true. Do you believe yourself invulnerable to internal competition? If so, do you believe that your opponents are 'holding back', deferring to your magnificence? 

3. Severity (meaningful consequences)

What's the worst thing that could happen? You don't improve, you lose your edge, you get 'beat out', you lose strength and conditioning, and your next season you become, "El Busto." 

If you're lucky, then you get one shot at relevance, being part of something special. Look at it another way. You're developing character and competence. Who wants to hear, "If only..." 

4. Susceptibility   

We had an expression in the Navy - DATU (doesn't apply to us). We skipped past mercury spill training and fire safety training, but random drug testing applied to everyone. I asked (rhetorically), "maybe if you're negative 15 times, it means that you don't use drugs?"

Coaching and correction applies to everyone. If there are curfews or strength and conditioning requirements, you get no exemption. 

Overcome barriers. Be aware of effectiveness, the consequences of failure to advance, and rules that apply for everyone. 

Lagniappe. Additional defensive strategies. 

14 Defensive Wrinkles to Consider

1 - Come out of timeouts, quarter changes, and even free throws with a different defense. Opposing coaches will often call timeouts or start quarters with their teams talking about how to attack your defense - switch it up on them.

2 - When… pic.twitter.com/bocHkb6xz4

— Hoops Companion 🏀 Resources for Coaches (@Hoops_Companion) July 30, 2026

 

 

Basketball - A Physician's Take on "Chemical Health" - User Beware

Image adapted by ChatGPT Plus from an older blog post

What keeps coaches awake at night? Coaches don't control what happens when players leave the gym. Chemical health is an oxymoron like "jumbo shrimp." 

My mother "offered" me alcohol when I was thirteen. I didn't know much then, but I could already see how it was affecting her. I declined. 

First, there is no "stay in your lane." As a physician who practiced for 44 years, I've seen the acute, chronic, and mixed effects of alcohol. I've seen dual diagnosis patients (mental health plus alcoholism) and patients commit suicide related to alcohol. I've seen alcohol-related cancers. I trained with a Navy doctor who had to have his ship's Captain "relieved for cause" because the CO came back to the ship intoxicated on multiple occasions. 

Every story was tragic and preventable. 

• Patients who showed up in acute liver failure and died in days
• Alcohol withdrawal - "DTs" - "shakes, horrors, and fits"
• Patients who had organ-specific toxicity (heart failure, pancreatitis, cirrhosis, dementia - "wet brain"). None of them started to drink thinking they'd end up with the "glass holding them" instead of the other way around.
• Secondary effects like "aspiration pneumonia"
• Patients with DUIs or vehicular homicides

I've heard again and again, "there's nothing else to do here."

I've seen a teammate show up intoxicated for a game - and play poorly. The coach said, "What's the matter with you today?" 

The simple answer is "alcohol impairs every thing about you." It degrades memory, concentration, strength, endurance, recovery, and sleep. 

Here's a list of prominent NBA players (AI can make mistakes) whose alcohol issues impacted their careers. 

If being your best is your brand, alcohol is one way to subvert that intention. 

Lagniappe. You don't need a "deep bag" to enjoy success early. But you need to have these. 

A lot of the basketball training you see for kids heading into their freshman year of college simply doesn’t translate to the college game. Freshmen need to be elite at the basics: catch-and-shoot, scoring in two dribbles or less, defending at a high level, and being physically…

— Andrew K (@CoachKurzawski) July 28, 2026

Basketball - There Is a Time for Everything

Role conversations shouldn’t happen:

After a bad practice.
On the bus.
Immediately after a substitution.
In the heat of emotion.

Have them in “air-conditioned rooms”—calm environments where both sides can listen, process, and speak honestly.

Grace and truth both matter.

— Hoops Companion 🏀 Resources for Coaches (@Hoops_Companion) July 28, 2026

Every coach, every boss has hard conversations. Sometimes the coach initiates them and sometimes the player or her allies. 

Develop guidelines. 

The Place 

Have some privacy (with a caveat). 

I have arranged the conversation at the player's home "kitchen table conversation" including parents. 

Documentation

Always have another adult present. No "he said, she said."

Be prepared to take notes, which are optional.

If you expect problems, notify your supervisor in advance. 

Get feedback. "Please share your thoughts." 

Exclusions 

Not a conversation about minutes or strategy

Never discuss other players on the team. 

Time 

Have a "cooling off period" - let everyone calm down. 

This also allows for a more thoughtful conversation.

Never during the heat of the action.

Remember Colin Powell's first rule - "It will look better in the morning." 

Don't expect these conversations to always birth "sunshine and rainbows." Leave room for followup conversations. Situations change, which is why the conversation was needed to begin with. 

Lagniappe. Strong defenders and strong defenses make life miserable. They pressure the ball handler, make penetration and passes difficult, are physical, contest shots, and make contact. Ask whether our defense consistently shows these traits. 

On defense we:

- make life absolutely miserable for you
- impact the ball at all times
- refuse to allow you to run what you want
- keep you off balance with new looks
- force tough 2s
- make you want to go home and get on the bus ASAP
- make you say “this sucks”

— Hoops Companion 🏀 Resources for Coaches (@Hoops_Companion) July 28, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

Basketball - "Extreme Ownership"

Part of one summer I worked as a counselor at Sam Jones' basketball camp at Stonehill College. I focused on helping the young kids improve as my "basketball playing career" was done. Without a doubt, amidst a bunch of D1 players, I was multiple cuts below their athleticism and skill. 

That didn't prevent me from adding value, owning my role. 

Image created using Chat GPT Plus

Former SEAL commander Jocko Willink shares leadership principles in his book Extreme Ownership. Here are a few to prioritize that work for sports and life:

1. "You own your paycheck." 

Our input translates to results. The results may not always be what we want, but we own our process. 

2. Don't traffic in excuses. 

Basketball courts have no place to hide. Bad shot selection, "Dead Man's Defense" (six feet under the ball), and unengaged transition defense stand out like a sore thumb. Coaches see it real time and "The Truth Machine" (video) exposes the guilty. 

3. Believe in something bigger than ourself. 

Put the team first. Model excellence in all things whether it's practice, pregame, live action, or cleaning up the bench area and locker room after the game. Nobody is too big to help with the small things. 

4. Focus. 

Few things in sport are more painful than mistakes made through lack of attention. Missed assignments, failed blockouts, unawareness of situation (time, score, plan), and frustration fouls arise from lack of focus and lack of mental toughness. Be in the game whether on the court or on the bench. 

5. Set the standard. 

"Ability and reliability." Be the "foxhole guy" that coaches and teammates can count on to outthink, out hustle, and outfight the other guy. Be different to make a difference. "We make our choices and our choices make us." 

Lagniappe. Be hard to guard. 

View on Threads

Lagniappe 2. Lloyd Pierce explains what it takes to play NBA defense. 

View on Threads

Basketball - Summer Gets Us in the Laboratory to Raise Production

A volleyball mother explained the season well. "In our family, there are two seasons - volleyball season and offseason volleyball."

Winning requires balance and there's no balance without both offense and defense.

Danny Hurley and Geno Auriemma shared an interview where they explained that they recruit players who can score and then demand that they play defense. 

Watch your local teams. 

- How do they plan to win on offense?

- How do they plan to win on defense? 

- Can they create separation? 

- Can they limit separation on defense? 

- Do they run plays or do they make plays? 

- Do they use "hard-to-defend' actions? 

Have a conversation with your team. Ask them tough questions. 

• Where do we expect our points to arise? 
• Do we get "more and better shots" than our opponents?
• Do we compete at home, on the road, against teams with winning records? 
• How many 'hard-to-defend' actions are in our offensive array?
• Do we talk on defense? 

Good teams have answers. Mediocre teams have fewer. Poor teams often have blank expressions. 

Lagniappe. Make commitment and consistency our brand. 

“Without commitment, you will never start. Without consistency, you will never finish.”

— Denzel Washington pic.twitter.com/uQf5cMUTj4

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) July 26, 2026

 

Basketball - The Failed Fifteen

"He believed that every case had a black box. A piece of evidence, a person, a positioning of facts that brought a certain understanding and helped explain what had happened." - "The Black Box" by Michael Connelly

"Love our losses" becomes "losses are lessons." Some are painfully obvious - not good enough, not tough enough, inexperience, lack of resilience. 

Postmortem Examinations

Once in medicine, many deaths produced postmortem examinations, autopsy of the final, fatal pathology. Over time, this changed to multidisciplinary conferences of difficult 'teaching cases', often under the title, M&M (morbidity and mortality).  

Sports do the same. On 'NFL Mondays', coaches dissect 150 plays looking for correctable insights...missed assignments, technical errors, mismatches created via strategy, unexpected variations of known opponent attacks. 

In most basketball games, ten to fifteen plays that were made or failed get extra attention. 

Don't treat a loss as a mysterious failure. Reduce it to a collection of correctable possessions. Here's Joe Mazzulla’s postgame press conference after Boston’s 102–92 loss to Minnesota on March 22, 2026.

Mazzulla said:

“You pick the 10 or 15 possessions that you have to get better at...you get better at practice and you do the next one...whether it’s a win or a loss, can you just learn from it and move on?”

Failed Fifteen (examples)

• Transition defense issues
• Shot selection ("hero ball")
• Turnovers (decisions, execution, or both)
• Unnecessary fouls
• Rebounding problems - no blockout, poor blockout, corner crashes... 

Corrections 

• Professional players usually know the principles that got violated. Coaches might emphasize, "Guys, we can't tag and expose the open corner three" or "we chose 'drop coverage' on the pick-and-roll and guys made perimeter shots."
• Coach always told us, "Every correction applies to every player. I'm not picking on Steve. We all have made that mistake." 
• Young players need to 1) see what went wrong, 2) see it again, and 3) practice the specific techniques needed. 
• Show them and explain, "we don't foul threes" or "we can't chop down to block shots. If it looks like a foul, the refs will call it a foul."
• Make corrections about the action, not the person. "That's a bad play made by a solid defender." 

Followup

• "Winners are trackers." - Darren Hardy in The Compound Effect
• Track the areas that are the "low hanging fruit" for our team. How many points did we allow in transition? How many layups? Here's the team shot chart - are these good shots for us? 
• Monitor correctable issues like field goal percent, turnovers, free throw shooting, and fouls allowed. If the mistakes that are costing you games don't improve, remember Kevin Eastman's solutions -

"Do it harder."
"Do it better." 

"Change personnel."
"$#*@ it ain't working. We're changing this." 

Lagniappe. Use the same formation for different actions or different formations for the same action (e.g. PnR, backdoor cut, etc.) 

Most coaches install one play.⁣
⁣
Elite coaches install a family of actions that all look exactly the same.⁣
⁣
That's why UConn's Horns Twist Series is so difficult to guard.⁣
⁣
🏀 Horns Twist Exit⁣
🏀 Horns Twist Ghost Flare⁣
🏀 Horns Twist Rip⁣
🏀 Horns Twist Wedge… pic.twitter.com/V0EXuuZNKn

— Scott Peterman (@coachpeterman) July 27, 2026

Basketball - "What Makes a Team Perfect?"

Here's a rhetorical question, "What makes a team perfect?" I've never played on one and never came close to coaching one. The closest a team I coached came to perfect was a close loss against a far superior team.

Perfection

It wasn't about the scoreboard.

It wasn't about the minutes.

It wasn't about the coaching.

It was about the quality of the effort, the sacrifice, the grit and the teamwork that the girls showed. 

Telling a Story

Each day gives everyone a chance to tell their story. 

We don't control all the plot, or the characters, or the dialogue. 

But we control a lot - how we prepare, how we bring energy, and how we share the stage.

Make no mistake; winning is wonderful. But for 12-14 year-olds, it can't be everything. 

The Basketball Experience

Why is coming together as a team so tough?

It's hard to bring a group together with individual agendas. 

It's hard for the girls to see the "experience of team." 

And it's up to us as coaches to be faithful to that story. 

Lagniappe. Coach Casey studied champions. 

I studied all 31 Division 1 Conference Champions from the 25-26 season. Here's what separated them 📝

1) Situational basketball was ELITE (ATOs, key moments, late-game execution). Coaches were ready and players were locked in when it mattered most

2) Their spacing and cutting… https://t.co/Z99XEA9CXm

— Coach Pat Casey (@Coach_PatCasey) July 20, 2026

Basketball- Everything I Needed to Know…

Robert Fulghum wrote, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." 

Chart from Google Gemini AI 

"Simple is hard." 

Let's apply key rules from Robert Fulghum's classic.

1. Share everything. Phil Jackson knew this and emphasized in his quote, "Basketball is sharing." Share the ball, the vision, communication, sacrifice.

2. Put things back where you found them. For the All-Blacks New Zealand rugby team, that means "Sweep the sheds" and leave the facility better than you found it. 

3. Be aware of wonder. Find value in everyone's contribution. 

4. Wash your hands. Recover. There's an expanding emphasis on post-practice and post-game recovery - sleep, massage, walking, contrast hot and cold therapy, nutrition. 

5. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. When people hurt us, it's hard not to respond. Be kind and find situations to lead. 

6. "Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you." Metaphorically, remember gratitude, praise, and empathy. It is not all about us. 

7. Live a balanced life. "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy." All play and "living The Life" will get you out of The League fast. Take care of your finances. About 60 percent of players are bankrupt within a decade. Take care of your body and remember that about three-quarters of human error is made with the open mouth - alcohol, drugs, excess food, and what we say. 

8. "Take a nap every afternoon." Shakespeare wrote, "Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care..." Sleep refreshes both the mind and the body. Sleep 'consolidates' the memories of the previous day - training, game plans, and more. 

9. "Hold hands and stick together." A few teams have won big with extraordinary dysfuntion, notably the Yankees "Bronx Zoo." They're notable because they're so rare. Winning is a lot more fun within a great culture. 

10. "Attention. The biggest word of all: LOOK." We have "show and tell" to educate, engage, and excite others. The most painful sporting loss I ever experienced was because of a failure of engagement. It only takes one player not on the same page to destroy a season. 

Lagniappe. Are you leading? 

12 Things Leaders DON’T DO
• Complain
• Disrespect
• Neglect
• Intimidate
• Be selfish
• Be inflexible
• Lack empathy
• Refuse to adapt
• Put their ego first
• Drift from the vision
• Fail to communicate
• Fail to be accountable

Leadership is influence. What else? pic.twitter.com/94tSxotn3Y

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) July 20, 2026

Basketball - Pecking Order

"There is always a pecking order." - Erik Spoelstra

"If you have two quarterbacks, you have none" is a famous football adage often attributed to legendary coach and broadcaster John Madden.

Ego is the enemy. Sometimes players cannot accept being Robin to another player's Batman or 1b to their 1a.

You've probably seen examples where teams had dysfunction because the supporting cast couldn't work with the "Best Actor." Spoelstra recognized this with his quote. 

The pecking order in basketball refers to the informal hierarchy of influence, authority, and responsibility within a team. It is one of the most powerful - and least discussed - forces affecting team performance.

A healthy pecking order answers several questions before they arise:

• Who takes the biggest shot?
• Whose voice carries the most weight?
• Who sacrifices shots?
• Who gets the benefit of the doubt after a mistake?
• Who sets the emotional tone?

The best teams establish these answers early and seldom have to debate them.

Talent is only part of the hierarchy

Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.”

A team might have:

1. The best player – primary scorer, team cornerstone
2. The leader – the emotional North Star, perhaps not the leading scorer
3. The organizer – usually the point guard
4. The defensive captain – responsible for defensive accountability
5. Role players – the cast who understand where they fit

These roles frequently overlap.

Why it matters

Basketball demands split-second decisions.

When the hierarchy is understood:

• Players know when to attack and when to defer.
• Late-game possessions are decisive rather than hesitant.
• Egos are managed before they become conflicts.
• Players accept coaching more readily because expectations are clear.

When it isn't:

• Two players compete to be "the guy."
• Possessions become stagnant.
• Players "audition” instead of competing.
• Resentment develops over minutes, role, and recognition. 

The pecking order is earned daily

Young stars sometimes leapfrog veterans because extraordinary performance changes the equation. With Jayson Tatum out, Jaylen Brown became the numero uno. The transition succeeds only if everyone understands why it happened.

Excellent players understand their place

Significant players have willingly adjusted their role. Udonis Haslem comes to mind immediately, becoming another coach on the bench, mentoring, and leading the group.  

Players who stop fighting for status often become even more valuable.

Coaches shape the hierarchy

The coach does more than put the pieces on the board:

• Who starts.
• Who finishes games.
• Who handles the ball in crucial moments.
• Who receives public praise.
• Who is held accountable.

Players pay far more attention to action than to speeches.

The hidden pecking order

Every locker room has two hierarchies:

Official

• Captains
• Starters
• Leading scorer
• Veteran leaders

Unofficial

• The player everyone listens to.
• The hardest worker.
• The funniest personality.
• The emotional stabilizer.
• The player who never quits.

The unofficial hierarchy often has as much influence than the official one.

Lessons for young players

Many young athletes think climbing the pecking order means putting up numbers. In reality, coaches notice players who:

• Defend consistently.
• Make smart decisions.
• Encourage teammates.
• Accept coaching.
• Are dependable every day...ability, reliability, durability, dependability. 

Summary

A team's pecking order isn't about ego expression. It creates clarity. Every successful team has a hierarchy, whether acknowledged or not. Mentally healthy teams erect that hierarchy on a scaffolding of competence, trust, and sacrifice.

As former NBA coach Pat Riley observed, teams function best when everyone understands both their own role and everyone else's role. Plays have to choose whether to compete with one another or for one another.

Lagniappe. 

Basketball - Living in the Past, Glory Daze

"How much of your life should you devote to the past? The bare minimum. using the past as a resource, however, learning lessons from it and letting go of unrealistic expectations, will help you make it through the present in one piece." - Rolf Dobelli in "The Not To Do List"

Everyone knows people like the one from Springsteen's "Glory Days." And their status ultimately depended on their ability to 'move on'. I knew a guy who always had to let you know where he went to college...at though it matters ten years later. 

Stoicism reminds us to "Control what you can control." The past is not subject to our control. 

"Learn from the past but don't live there." 

Living in the past can never craft our future.

"History doesn't repeat but it rhymes."  

Darwin didn't coin the term, "survival of the fittest" and preferred "natural selection. And it was Leon Megginson who said, "it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself."

Many complain about changing circumstances, "recruitment by prep schools, NIL and transfers, and the second apron in the NBA." Complaining doesn't improve our circumstances. 

Lagniappe. A memorable list from Kobe. My favorite three:

1) Improve daily

2) Practice mindfulness

3) Become a storyteller

The Mamba Mentality wasn’t an accident.

Kobe Bryant lived by 10 rules: https://t.co/pQuZN4yPbV pic.twitter.com/8S8KZPCMz7

— Greg Berge (@GregBerge) July 19, 2026

Show Up Every Day, Not Only When We Feel Like It

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