Power of Negative Thinking

Bob Knight wrote a terrific book called "The Power of Negative Thinking." He emphasized the importance of reducing mistakes, both physical and mental. Sometimes leadership means not only finding solutions but exorcising problems.

First, here are a few quotes from Knight's book:

“You can always turn no into yes, and usually make people happy, but it's a lot harder – sometimes too late - to change yes to no.” 

“What vulnerabilities do we have and what can we do to minimize them, to get around them, to survive them—and give ourselves a better chance to win?” 

“Before you can inspire your players to “win,” you have to show them how not to lose.” 

Knight makes the point that players want to know how to win, while coaches agonize over the thousands of ways to lose. Crushing those ways matters beyond belief. 

Here are ten important NOs and DON'Ts that directly impact results:

1. NO bad shots. Doc Rivers calls them "shot turnovers." Every player needs to know what a good shot is for her teammate. 
2. NO easy shots. Surrendering easy baskets is the road to perdition. Good teams stop transition, layups, putbacks, and bad fouling leading to free throws. NEVER foul a perimeter shot, especially three point shots. 
3. DON'T compound a mistake. What you see EVERY game at EVERY level is a player making a poor play (e.g. turnover), then immediately doubling down on it with a foul. STOP! 
4. NO paint. Penetration leads to layups, dump downs, fouls, and perimeter dishes for uncontested threes. 
5. DON'T lose your assignment. Head turning, switching without switching, poor communication, and "WHO ME?" play allows open players to get open shots. 
6. DON'T run at the shooter* (when closing out). Shooters salivate at the running closeout. A quick fake and it's Penetration City. *However, late in the shot clock or period, we may tell defenders to deny the three and run at the shooter (without fouling). 
7. DON'T play in the traffic. Dribbling or passing into traffic causes steals, deflections, and misery. The best players want space. 
8. DON'T immediately put the ball on the floor after the catch. When you do, you empty your basketball armory. And when you do, "make the dribble take you somewhere." 
9. DON'T stand around. Pass and cut, pass and screen, move to open spaces. STAND around and SIT next to me. 
10. NEVER criticize a teammate. We want to eliminate the negatives, build up our positive self-talk and visualization and use practice to SIMULATE game success.