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Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Basketball - Self-Care

Self-care creates sustainable competitive advantage. Failure results in disadvantage.

What is Self-Care?

Self-care involves putting our bodies and mind in the best possible situation to succeed. Some coaches emphasize it and others less so. For this piece, I'll include the following. 

  • Sleep
  • Hydration
  • Nutrition
  • Recovery 
  • Mindfulness 
  • Chemical Health
Sleep

Athletes should target a minimum of eight hours of sleep nightly. 

"Students with less sleep and higher reported levels of sleepiness generally have lower grades and alertness."

A Stanford study in basketball players who extended sleep showed sprint times reduced by an average 4.5%. Both free-throw and 3-point shot accuracy significantly improved by 9% and 9.2%, respectively. Sleep better, play faster and better. 

LeBron James gets over ten hours of daily sleep. That worked out well. 

Hydration

We grew up in the "water makes you weak era." That cost us energy, muscle efficiency, and fatigue. The first sign of 'dehydration' is not thirst, it's fatigue. Denying athletes hydration ranges from ignorant to criminal. 

Dehydration can impair sweating and lead to heat injury. It can cause severe muscle injury and kidney failure. In extreme cases it can cause death. 

Nutrition (AI advice - edited)

For high school basketball players, I'd focus less on supplements and more on consistently executing a few fundamentals. The best nutrition plan is the one a teenager will actually follow.

1. Eat Real Food Most of the Time

A simple rule:

Protein + Fruit/Vegetable + Carbohydrate at most meals.

Examples:

  • Eggs, toast, fruit
  • Turkey sandwich, apple, milk
  • Chicken, rice, vegetables
  • Greek yogurt, berries, granola

The goal isn't perfection. It's avoiding the cycle of skipping meals and then eating junk food late at night.

2. Carbohydrates Are Fuel

Many athletes mistakenly fear carbs.

Basketball is a sprint-and-recover sport. Players need carbohydrates to:

  • Maintain energy
  • Recover from practice
  • Support concentration
  • Replenish glycogen stores

Good choices:

  • Oatmeal
  • Rice
  • Potatoes
  • Pasta
  • Whole grain bread
  • Fruit

The player who practices hard but under-fuels is often the player who "hits the wall" late in games.

3. Prioritize Protein

A good target for most high school athletes is roughly:

  • 20-30 grams of protein at each meal
  • Protein spread throughout the day

Sources:

  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Lean beef
  • Fish
  • Eggs
  • Greek yogurt
  • Cottage cheese
  • Milk
  • Beans

Protein supports recovery and muscle development from training.

4. Hydration Is a Competitive Advantage

Many athletes begin practice already dehydrated.

Simple markers:

  • Pale yellow urine is generally good.
  • Dark yellow urine often means they need more fluids.

A basketball player should:

  • Drink throughout the day
  • Drink before practice
  • Drink during practice
  • Replace fluids afterward

Water is usually sufficient for practices under an hour. For longer, intense sessions, sports drinks can have a role.

5. Never Skip Breakfast

Many high school athletes:

  • Skip breakfast
  • Eat little at lunch
  • Arrive at practice under-fueled

This creates:

  • Low energy
  • Poor focus
  • Reduced effort
  • Increased injury risk

Even a quick breakfast helps:

  • Greek yogurt and fruit
  • Oatmeal
  • Peanut butter toast
  • Egg sandwich

6. The Two-Hour Rule Before Games

About 2-3 hours before competition:

Eat a meal that is:

  • High in carbohydrates
  • Moderate in protein
  • Low in fat
  • Low in heavy fried foods

Examples:

  • Turkey sandwich and fruit
  • Pasta with grilled chicken
  • Rice bowl with lean protein

Avoid experimenting on game day.

7. Recovery Starts Immediately

Within 30-60 minutes after practice:

Examples:

  • Chocolate milk
  • Greek yogurt and fruit
  • Turkey sandwich
  • Protein shake and banana

The goal is carbohydrates plus protein.

8. Sleep Is the Ultimate Supplement

No supplement beats:

  • 8-10 hours of sleep
  • Consistent bedtime

Recovery, growth, reaction time, learning, and injury prevention all improve with sleep.

9. Be Careful With Supplements

Most high school players don't need:

  • Pre-workouts
  • Fat burners
  • Exotic supplements

They often need:

  • Better breakfast
  • More water
  • More fruits and vegetables
  • More sleep

Food first.

10. A Coach's Nutrition Philosophy

"You don't have to eat like a professional athlete. You just have to stop eating like someone preparing to fail. Basketball rewards preparation. The ball doesn't know whether you studied film, got eight hours of sleep, or drank enough water—but your body does. Good nutrition isn't about looking better. It's about having enough energy, focus, and toughness to play your best when the game gets hard."

Recovery

Proper recovery has multiple facets. Few athletes are going to have options like massages. 
  • Post-exercise light walking has value
  • Post-workout hydration 
  • Foam rolling can help reduce muscle soreness and increase perceived recovery
  • Some athletes tolerate "thermal contrast" therapy

Shower-Based Contrast

For athletes without access to tubs:

  • 30–60 seconds cold
  • 2–3 minutes warm
  • Repeat 4–6 times

Total session: 10–15 minutes

Mindfulness

Mindfulness isn't magic but is proven to:
  • Improve focus
  • Improve sleep
  • Improve grades and standardized test scores
  • Lower circulating stress hormones
  • Reduce anxiety and depression
7-10 minute sessions can help, available free online

Chemical Health

Most schools have chemical health (alcohol and drug) policies. Alcohol has physical, psychological, and emotional impairments for athletes. Just don't cheat yourself, your teammates, and your team. 

Lagniappe. Basketball is about creating (or limiting advantage) on as many possessions as possible. Some teams do that exceptionally well (the NYK currently) and others not so much. 

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Monday, June 8, 2026

Summer Reading

Read. Notorious basketball readers include the late Coach George Raveling, Gregg Popovich, Mike Neighbors, Steve Kerr, and Brad Stevens. 

I asked ChatGPT for the favorite book (if known) about these five or about books 'associated' with them. For what it's worth, I've read all except "The True Believer" which I am reading now. 

Coach George Raveling - "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer

Gregg Popovich - "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin (note this is a tome that will consume a whole summer). Perhaps her "Leadership in Turbulent Times" which includes her thoughts on Lincoln would be better.

Steve Kerr - "Wooden on Leadership" by Wooden and Steve Jamison

Brad Stevens - "Good to Great" by Jim Collins

Mike Neighbors - "Legacy" by James Kerr 

As summer and summer break arrive for many, what's on your bookshelf for summer reading? Here are my top three recommendations:

1. Legacy by James Kerr

Legacy informs the culture and leadership principles of the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby organization. It's an international bestseller, highly readable and actionable.

  • "Sweep the sheds." Leave the facility in better shape than we found it. 
  • "Old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit." This Greek maxim explains what coaches do. 
  • "Leave the jersey in a better place than you found it." This summarizes team culture and the individual's responsibility to it. 
2. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

BITB weaves a tapestry from three stories, culminating in the 1936 Olympics. The first inhabits the struggle, survival, and rise of Joe Rantz, a "big kid" whose family literally exiles him from the home during the Great Depression. As a 15 year-old he has to find work and make his way in the world. Along the way, he finds rowing or rowing finds him at the University of Washington. 

The second narrative arc is life in the Great Depression. Unemployment reached 25 percent and the author describes the despair and suffering of the era.

The third part discusses the politics and conditions in the early to mid 1930s in Germany, the national pride and prejudice, and the media construction leading up to the 1936 Olympics. 

Is it the greatest sports story ever written? I'll leave that to you, although it is brilliantly written. “What mattered more than how hard a man rowed was how well everything he did in the boat harmonized with what the other fellows were doing. And a man couldn’t harmonize with his crewmates unless he opened his heart to them. He had to care about his crew.”

3. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Man is the Storytelling Animal. People remember more from a great story than from a lecture. Facts usually matter less than the personal impact the story has on us. I heard an interview with Doug Collins. He said that the last song he heard, leaving the US dressing room before the Olympic final in 1972 was "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?" He hates that song. 

The Heath Brothers present the acronym SUCCESS -
  • Simple
  • Unexpected
  • Concrete (specific)
  • Credible
  • Emotional
  • Stories
Red Sox clubhouse manager Vin Orlando told me a story about meeting Ted Williams as he got off the bus in Scottsdale, AZ in 1939. Williams asked whether anyone had ever hit a ball over a house beyond the fence in right field. Orlando said, "No, that's too far." Williams replied, "I'll do it." And of course, the rest is history. 

Become a storyteller and change player's lives. 

Lagniappe. Make friends with the dead. hat tip: Rae Radford




 

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Sunday, June 7, 2026

Find Ten Quotes to Change Basketball Fortunes

Quotes alone don't win games. Embrace principles embedded within quotes. Here are some of my favorites:

1. "Invert, always invert." - Carl Jacobi 

What's the opposite and what are the likely consequences of the opposite? How would you want people to describe our team? Smart (vs low BBIQ), tough (vs soft), together (vs selfish). 

2. "Basketball is sharing." - Phil Jackson

Teamwork is a force multiplier. Exceptional teams usually exceed the sum of the individual parts. Sharers make those around them better. 

3. "The game honors toughness." - Paul Patterson (popularized by Brad Stevens)

Jay Bilas's book Toughness is a must read for every serious coach and player. It's excellent for "team reading." 

4. "Prove them wrong." - Kobe Bryant

Naysayers always have reasons "not to believe." Too small. Too slow. Too inexperienced. 

5. "Excellent teams play harder for longer." - Dave Smart

Smart is aptly named, an under-the-radar coach who is among the best in the sport. Playing harder for longer manifests resilience. 

6. "Shot selection is the quickest path to improvement." 

Believe in Newell's legendary mandate, "Get more and better shots than our opponent." It's the meaning behind Doc Rivers' "shot turnovers" and the first priority of analytics effective field goal percentage. "Me, too" or "My turn" shots are unacceptable. 

7. "Fouls negate hustle." - Anonymous

Hustle can make something out of a negative. Fouls create the highest points per possession chances - free throws. Bad teams play bad individual and team defense, often leading to fouls.

8. Just because I want you on the floor doesn't mean I want you to shoot." - Bob Knight

Contribution doesn't equate to "box score hero." The best teams get the ball to the best shooters for the most shots from their spots. Players can contribute with defense, communication, screening, blocking out, taking charges, winning 50-50 balls, and more.

9. "Drag a teammate into the top ten percent." - Urban Meyer

Working out with a teammate improves two players, enhances communication, teamwork, and creates competition. Meyer require top ten percenters to bring someone from the "middle class" (the 80 percent) to work out. 

10. "I believe in you." - Anonymous 

When your coach tells you, "I believe in you," they're making a powerful statement. A woman was walking into a CIA meeting to give a presentation and her boss asked her, "Do you know more about this than anyone else here?" She said, "Yes." He instructed her, "Act like it." Belief is ultimately our responsibility. 

Lagniappe. Learn every day. 

Mike Neighbors Shooting Drill by Coach Tony Miller

Playing Fast, Conceptual Offense

Read on Substack

or just watch the video 

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Saturday, June 6, 2026

Basketball - Einstein and Not Einstein

Albert Einstein is often celebrated for his genius and creativity in an Age of Creativity. His knowledge can inform basketball. 

Learning the truth about Einstein ("Make friends with the dead") may help us to understand our thought process and limitations better...or not. It was said by an attendee in amphitheater, "I sat in the balcony but he was speaking way over my head." 

A study of Albert Einstein reveals contradictions. He was dismissed multiple times during his career in unimaginable ways.


Born in 1879, he entered an “Age of Enlightenment” in the early 20th century that spawned Picasso, Matisse, Stravinsky, James Joyce and other creatives. Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891.


He often thought in pictures, which helped him construct his Theory of Relativity through thought experiments. Thinking in pictures adds value for both players and coaches.


He finally received the Nobel Prize in 1922, actually receiving the 1921 Prize that had not been awarded. The prize was for Photoelectric discovery, not relativity. Consider Dean Smith who is sometimes remembered as "the only man who held Michael Jordan under 20 points a game (17.7 ppg for three years)."


Ironically, he won the 1921 Nobel Prize in 1922 and gave his acceptance speech half a year later in 1923. He literally used the funds from the Nobel, ten times that of his Professorial salary, to buy divorce from his first wife. 


Experiments in 1919, examining the position of stars during an eclipse, confirmed the Theory of Relativity, as images confirmed that gravity bent light, showing that a star’s position was ‘relative’. Great players have "gravity" as defenses 'account' for them, opening opportunities elsewhere. For all the controversy surrounding Caitlin Clark, few would dispute her gravitational impact.


Einstein sought a unified theory of relativity, electromagnetism, and gravity. Basketball can't even get a unified set of rules between American and FIBA.


He was said to be a brilliant lecturer, but often lectured in a way that few understood him. "What has not been learned has not been taught."


He had a conflict with Thomas Edison, who believed that teaching facts should take priority. Einstein argued that learning how to think was more important than facts, which could always be looked up. In basketball, "automating" actions can create separation and opportunity.


Thus, one quote attributed to him, “Imagination is more important than information” is contested. Here are legitimate ones and coaching applications:


1. "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."


Coaching application: Great learners often outperform "talented" learners because curiosity drives improvement.


"It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible..." (He championed simplicity.)


Coaching application: Simplify offense, simplify communication, simplify teaching - but not to the point that important details disappear.


"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."


Coaching application: If a team struggles with resilience, communication, or discipline, more of the same thinking may not solve the problem. (We can’t keep doing the same failing process.)


Three quotes that probably don’t originate with him:

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world."

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

Coaching quote? "It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer."


Persistence has power as long as we don’t persist at doing the wrong things. My version to athletes is “Hard work is a skill.”


Lagniappe. "We're going to push you."  
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Friday, June 5, 2026

Win with the "Invisible"

"Seeing is believing." What if unmeasurable gains, compounded growth, are the secret? Soft skills make tough people. 

Inspiration

  • Underdog stories
  • Success despite impairment
  • Great teaching 
  • The power of persistence
Thoroughness

Do the job well. In "Toughness" Jay Bilas shares a story about being asked to change out the contact paper in his sister's vanity. He did a poor job and his father had to redo it - after a long day at work. His father said nothing. Bilas felt shamed and learned attention to detail. 

Don't cut corners. Don't skip steps. "Pound the rock." Nothing will show up until the rock breaks. 

Sleep

Shakespeare described, "Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care." 

Sleep "cleans our brains," consolidates memory, and results in proven better athletic performance. Seek eight hours minimum. 

Habit Formation 

James Clear writes in Atomic Habits that our habits are "votes for the type of person we wish to become." This restates, "How you do anything is how you do everything." Winning habits could include reading (e.g. Kevin Eastman, NBA Champion assistant coach), mindfulness (Search Inside Yourself), gratitude (The Jar of Awesome), and many more. 

Positivity

Nobody ever crafted a positive life from a negative attitude. Be "The Positive Dog"
  • Enhanced Resilience and Better Pressure Management
  • Broadened Perspective for Problem-Solving
  • Elevated Performance and Productivity
  • A Contagious Culture that Elevates the Whole Team
  • Increased Longevity and Personal Well-Being

Patience

Coach Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" has values of faith and patience flanking the top of the pyramid. Don't be seduced by the myth of overnight success. "Be fiercely patient with how long it takes for those compounding daily actions to turn into substantial returns."

Reading

Nobody sees the effort of study invested away from the arena. When my daughters were in a high school, a future D1 coach told me, "they really know how to play." Have the will to embrace Pete Newell's mandate for coaches, "Help players see the game." 

When someone asks, "What are you reading today?," have an answer.
  • "True Blue" by David Baldacci
  • "Albert Einstein" by Walter Isaacson
Work Ethic

Anson Dorrance saw Mia Hamm training alone in a park on his drive to work. He shared that in his book, "The Vision of a Champion." 


I used to hand out a "mini poster" of this to players. 

Service

Serve your family. Serve your teammates. Serve the community. In an era of the "Me Generation," make others better. Serve by sharing, by leading, by encouraging, by 'rethinking', and by giving credit. 

Craft your plan and succeed. 

Lagniappe. If a player has a poor defensive stance, they cannot be a solid defender. Richard Pryor had it right. "Are you going to believe your lying eyes or your beloved husband?" 

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Thursday, June 4, 2026

Finding Our WHY?



Graphic created with ChatGPT Plus

Why explore, study, and share basketball and leadership? It helps give back to the game and people who changed me. 

Simon Sinek informed this in his talks and book, "Start with WHY."

It's a multistep process involving: 

  • Discover the WHY
  • Communicate the WHY
  • Get the right people to execute the WHY

This intersects Dan Pink's concepts of "Drive." Pink believes that drive evolves from autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Autonomy gives us a measure of control, mastery a target, and purpose the motivation to go on. 

Everyone's WHY differs. That's not 'right' or 'wrong'. It just is. Mine?

  • Sharing. Blogging is a vehicle since on-court coaching is done.
  • Experience. Help expand the basketball experience. 
  • Competition. Publish the best insights of others and sometimes mine.
Shape the HOW. How extends philosophy.
  • Teamwork makes all of us better, literally the nature of our species.
  • Improvement allows us to become our better version.
  • Accountability helps us to inhabit the truth. 
Deliver the WHAT. 
  • Cultivate relationships. "No man is an island." 
  • Teach the game, which is unlimited and evolving. 
  • Access and present the many available tools for learning.
Readers vote with their eyeballs. When it works, readers become better players or coaches, better critics, better creatives. Disagreement and dissent are good, too. Finding the better way builds a better experience for you and your players. That's a win every day.

Lagniappe. Not another guy named "Smith." 



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Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Basketball - Thoughts on Spacing

Every good offense has effective spacing. How do you teach spacing? 

1. "Offense is spacing and spacing is offense." - Chuck Daly   Watch 'biddy basketball' and you see terrible spacing. The ball has gravity and it attracts both defense and teammates in "kiddie ball." 

2. Offensive sequencing: 

  • Spacing
  • Player and ball movement
  • The scoring moment
3. Terminology. We name the "three-point line" as "the spacing line." 

4. Why spacing? Spacing allows the ball handler more freedom of movement. It makes double-teaming harder for opponents. It opens passing and cutting lanes and forces longer closeouts. 

5. What "violates spacing?" 

  • Don't cut to an occupied post. 
  • Don't bring more defenders to the ball (unless you're setting a ball screen or faking/slipping a screen. 
6. Open more space (e.g. create gaps) by cutting. 

Duke "Elbow series" 

Another horns action with options for handoff or dribble drive for the big. Of course, you could also interchange the 4 and the 1 and get a mismatch if the defense elects to switch. 

 7. Open space by "draw two" and pass. Spacing can happen by staying outside the spacing line. 


8. Defense manages spacing by dropping to the level of the ball and loading to the ball. 

9. Keep the help side (weak side) occupied to prevent help defenders from tagging. 

10.Penetration also distracts help defenders who lose control of their primary assignment. 



When reviewing video of younger teams, screen captures often prove helpful by demonstrating bad spacing. 

Lagniappe. Everyone emphasizes "attention to detail" and "doing the little things." Tell them and tell them again. 
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Tuesday, June 2, 2026

What Basketball Can Learn from "Star Wars"

Star Wars partly reflects from the "Hero's Journey" of story and mythology over millennia.

It is not the sole domain of men, for example, inhabited by Ellen Ripley (Alien), Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games trilogy), and Diana Prince (Wonder Woman).

In the Star Wars series, the hero (Luke) and heroine (Leia) navigate the journey with companions and character. What values and responses translate to our athletic journey? 

Image from USC School of Engineering

Sport has its own "call to adventure" with "companions, mentors, obstacles and villains" although we assign different names to them. 

The Hero's Journey isn't really about basketball. It's about transformation. The athlete begins as an outsider, encounters adversity, gains mentors, endures trials, returns changed, and ultimately gives something back.

1. Bill Russell - The Revolutionary Champion

Ordinary World: Cut from his junior high basketball team. Awkward, raw, and overlooked. Saddled with limited offensive skills. 

Trials: Faced racism throughout his life, from Louisiana to college and suburban Boston. Even now, some demean his competition although he faced the greatest physical big man in history. 

Transformation: Revolutionized defense, rebounding, and winning. 14 championships (including 11 NBA) in 15 years (NCAA x 2, Olympics).

Return: Eleven championships and a redefinition of what greatness means. The greatest winner in team sports history. 

Lesson: The hero is often underestimated before he is celebrated.

2. Stephen Curry - The Rejected Prospect

Ordinary World: Son of an NBA player but overlooked by major programs.

Trials: Too small. Too weak. Too slow. He rejected being repeatedly told what he couldn't do.

Transformation: Develops unprecedented shooting skill.

Return: Changes how basketball is played worldwide. Sometimes that can seem like too much of a good thing. 

Lesson: Skill can rewrite the limits imposed by others.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo - From Street Vendor to MVP

Ordinary World: Selling goods on the streets of Athens to help support his family.

Trials: Poverty, uncertainty, immigration issues, limited basketball exposure.

Transformation: Develops from a skinny prospect into one of the most dominant players in the world.

Return: NBA champion and MVP who continually speaks about gratitude and family.

Lesson: Humility often survives success as struggle shaped the journey.

4. Michael Jordan - The Famous Cut

Ordinary World: Talented but not yet special.

Call to Adventure: Being cut from varsity as a sophomore.

Trials: Constant pursuit of improvement. A product of hard work at Carolina under Dean Smith and assistant Roy Williams. 

Transformation: Becomes perhaps among the greatest competitors in sports history.

Return: Sets the standard for excellence.

Lesson: Failure often becomes fuel.

5. Dennis Rodman — The Invisible Man

Ordinary World: Perhaps the most dramatic basketball Hero's Journey. High school bench player, working as a janitor after graduation.

Trials: Poverty, loneliness, rudderless.

Transformation: Sudden growth spurt, junior college, NAIA basketball, then NBA. 

Return: Played on five NBA Champions, 7 times first team All-NBA defense and one second team. Hall of Famer and one of the greatest rebounders ever.

Lesson: Talent sometimes arrives late.

Becky Hammon — The Barrier Breaker

Ordinary World: Undersized player overlooked by major powers.

Trials: Undrafted, constant skepticism.

Transformation: WNBA star, NBA assistant coach, championship coach.

Return: Opens doors for future generations.

Lesson: Sometimes the hero's gift is creating a path for others.

Each Hero's Journey is unique although with common threads. Keep our eyes open and see them all around us - Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, Curt Cignetti. Study them so that we can act as "anteambulos" - clearing paths for those around us and finding canvases for others to paint. 

Lagniappe. Former Belichick confidant Ernie Adams kept a sign on his desk, "Stamp out bad football." What sign belongs on ours? "Stamp out bad shots" is one idea. 






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Monday, June 1, 2026

Basketball - "Always Do Your Best" - Someone Is Watching

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz has a big following. The fourth, "Always do your best," resonates for many. Coaches help players and teams build character and competence. 

The second section of Colin Powell's book It Worked for Me, starts with a chapter, "Always Do Your Best, Someone Is Watching." 

One pundit said he noticed a kid shooting repeatedly half an hour before summer camp activities started. The kid turned out to be Steph Curry. As Bill Walsh wrote, "Champions behave like champions before they are."

The best take pride in their preparation, not just performance. When you give your best, it limits regret. Regret stays with us. 

How many times in our lives has opportunity arisen because someone saw us giving our best and intervened to help? It doesn't matter whether their motive was altruism or self-interest. It's satisfying to have the resourcefulness to pull yourself up by the bootstraps. It's another to be gifted boots. 

Reflect on the many tryouts you've attended or supervised. 

  • Finding the "It Girl," the player who has "It."
  • Seeing a spark that intrigues you.
  • Spotting untapped potential in a youngster with athleticism, size, and skill.
Remember the story of Naomi, the little sixth grader who came up to me two minutes before tryouts and said, "Coach, I am really excited to be here." Isn't that the point? 

Summary:

  • "Always do your best. Someone is watching."
  • "Every day is showtime."
  • "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
Lagniappe. Some lists need periodic sharing. Kobe's inhabits that. 

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Sunday, May 31, 2026

The Companion of Leadership? Problems

Whether flourishing or failing, problems will follow.

Going great? Around the corner is Pat Riley's "Disease of Me."

Not going so well? Problems seem like wolves at every door.

Types of Problems 

Accept the reality of Chuck Daly's "48" - minutes, shots, million - and see that coaching and economics demand "allocation of scarce resources."

  • Minutes. Players decide the lineup via performance. It's human nature for players, family, and friends to place blame on coaches. 
  • Roles. Clarify roles. Encourage people to excel in theirs. "Problem personalities" create problems. Have hard conversations before a crisis.
  • Recognition. Everyone wants appreciation. That arrives in different forms - playing time, praise, publicity. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Spread recognition to "lesser luminaries" who contribute. Dean Smith leveraged that at Carolina. 
Identifying Problems

Problems fall into knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Communication via assistants and captains helps identify both smoldering fires and "black swans." 

Black swans are the "unknown unknowns," the 'out of the blue' potential catastrophes that can derail teams. They could be ethical, moral, health, or other. Nobody could predict the impossible coincidence Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Halliburton, and Damian Lillard (all wearing "0" tearing their Achilles. 

Known unknowns are many - variance of player and team performance, team chemistry, substance abuse and off-field issues, and so forth. 

Knowns are expected issues of competition. In military terms, "The enemy gets a vote" and "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." Or Mike Tyson's, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." 

Into the Abyss

Stay humble; stay hungry. I knew a doctor who boasted that he could keep anyone alive for twenty-four hours. Then he ran into acute trauma victims during the Gulf War. Hubris meet humility. 

1. "Dot b" is a mindfulness concept to stay under control. Stop and take a breath. Think about conventional and out of the box solutions.  
2. Get help. "No man is an island." Find the 'foxhole guys' who can help.
3. Dig deep. Train players to expect and to confront adversity. Make an "I" problem into a "We" issue. "We can do this."

Anticipate Problems - The Premortem Examination

Know that anything can block our journey. The Premortem Examination can improve projected outcomes about 30 percent, according to Gary Klein. 
  • Depth helps pre-empt fragility. Playing young players helps mitigate future crises of "lack of experience." 
  • Mindfulness increases resilience. 
  • Video study lifts sport-specific IQ. 
  • Reflection on a team's "condition," both physical and mental can help prevent fatigue-based degradation. 
  • Study failure. (see Lagniappe)
Problems are inevitable. Coping with them well is not. It's on us. 

Lagniappe. Study failure. I share an AI consult. I have read the first four books on the list and also recommend David Epstein's bestseller "Range."

Success is a poor teacher.

Failure is data.

The challenge is that failure is often wrapped in:

  • ego,
  • emotion,
  • blame,
  • and hindsight bias.

The goal is not merely to endure failure but to study it systematically.

The Four Levels of Failure

I would suggest coaches examine losses through four lenses:

1. Execution Failure

Did we fail to do what we intended?

Examples:

  • missed free throws,
  • poor blocking footwork,
  • turnovers,
  • missed assignments.

These are often the easiest failures to diagnose.

2. Decision Failure

Was the decision itself sound?

An athlete can:

  • make the right decision and fail,
    or
  • make the wrong decision and succeed.

This distinction is crucial.

This is one reason you appreciate Ed Smith's Making Decisions.

3. System Failure

Did our environment contribute?

Examples:

  • practice design,
  • communication systems,
  • scouting process,
  • leadership structure.

Many coaches stop at player mistakes and never examine the system.

4. Assumption Failure

What did we believe that wasn't true?

These are often the most valuable lessons.

Examples:

  • "Our ball pressure is good enough."
  • "This player learns best through instruction."
  • "Experience equals leadership."

Every season contains hidden assumptions waiting to be exposed.

Books Every Coach Should Read on Failure

1. Black Box Thinking — Matthew Syed

Probably my first recommendation.

Central thesis:

High performers learn faster because they study mistakes more effectively.

The comparison between aviation and medicine is unforgettable.

Sports application:

  • film review,
  • error analysis,
  • learning culture.

A basketball team can create its own "black box."

2. Think Again — Adam Grant

One of your favorites.

Key concept:

Develop a "rethinking scorecard."

The best coaches update beliefs.

Sports application:

  • lineup decisions,
  • offensive systems,
  • player evaluations.

3. Making Decisions — Ed Smith

A hidden gem.

Focus:

  • outcome versus process.

Sports application:
After every match ask:

Was our process good?

rather than:

Did we win?

4. The Success Equation — Michael Mauboussin

Essential reading on:

  • skill,
  • luck,
  • randomness.

Coaches often attribute too much to either.

Sports application:
Understanding variance.

Sometimes:

  • the ball rims out,
  • an official misses a call,
  • an opponent shoots 60%.

Not every loss is diagnostic.

5. Being Wrong — Kathryn Schulz

A fascinating exploration of:

  • why humans resist being wrong,
  • how certainty blinds us.

Sports application:
Humility.

6. The Logic of Failure — Dietrich Dörner

Perhaps the most underrated book on the list.

Dörner studied why intelligent people fail in complex systems.

Sports application:
Teams are complex systems.

Common coaching mistakes:

  • solving yesterday's problem,
  • overreacting,
  • ignoring unintended consequences.

Articles Worth Reading

"The Weakest Link" — Atul Gawande

Part of his broader work on systems thinking.

Failure often results from:

  • process breakdowns,
    not
  • individual incompetence.

NASA Challenger Disaster analyses

Sports lesson:

Normalization of deviance.

Small mistakes become accepted.

Then catastrophe occurs.

Basketball examples:

  • poor communication,
  • poor warmup habits,
  • sloppy transitions.

Practical Framework

After every match:

What happened?

Facts only.

Why did it happen?

Avoid blame.

What assumption failed?

Most important question.

What will we do differently?

Action step.

What should we continue doing?

Many postmortems ignore successes.

A Final Thought

One of the most profound ideas comes from Matthew Syed:

"The reason aviation became safer is not that pilots stopped making mistakes. It's that they became better at studying them."

The same is true in sports.

Championship cultures are not cultures that avoid failure.

They are cultures that:

  • detect failure quickly,
  • discuss it honestly,
  • learn from it systematically,
  • and move forward without ego.

That idea fits beautifully with your long-standing interest in journaling, rethinking scorecards, metacognition (thinking about thinking), and teaching athletes how to think rather than merely what to do (they're not cattle).




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