The Virtue of Simplicity

On the cusp of our opening practice, I remind myself George Raveling's pearl, "what is not learned has not been taught."

Helping players "see the game" informs the players' ultimate performance, as Descartes', "I think therefore I am," translates to Bobby Knight's "the game is eighty percent mental."

The first hurdle means getting everyone on "Dean Smith time." Phil Ford still sets his watch ahead ten minutes.

"It's hard to make things simple." Simplicity embraces understandable, doable, and measurable. We all know about the Ten Commandments, not the Fifty.

1. "Basketball is sharing." - Phil Jackson
2. Character comes first. Process informs results. - via Brett Ledbetter
3. "Get more and better shots than your opponent." - Pete Newell
4. Basketball is a game of cutting and passing. You stand, you fail. 
5. "Basketball is a game of mistakes." - Bobby Knight
6. "Basketball is a game meant to be played fast." - John Wooden
7.  "Know your NOS." - Kevin Eastman (Know what you don't allow.) 
8. "The ball is gold." - Ellis (Sonny) Lane (Take care of the basketball.)
9. "It's not who you play, it's how you play." - Don Meyer
10. Coaching is for a day; teaching is forever. 

The best teams, the best coaches, and the best players are about succeeding on THIS possession - about getting a quality shot and limiting the opposition to at best "one bad shot." The 'next play', "right now", "in the moment". "positive play", "play with purpose" philosophy all translate to playing effective offensive and defensive possessions.