Fast Five: Hearing Voices; Getting Inside Your Team's Head

Effective education changes behavior. Change occurs via the hippocampus, with repetition vital to change. What are the top five play-directed messages your players hear? 

1. Pass and cut. "Basketball is a game of cutting and passing." Movement kills defense. 

2. The ball is gold. Take care of the basketball. Value the ball. Turnovers kill. 

3. Play with purpose. Don't dribble aimlessly. Cut with intent. Do something positive. 

4. Move the ball. The ball sticks; you don't score. The two-second rule; decide and execute.

5. Spacing! Chuck Daly's mantra: "spacing is offense and offense is spacing." Don't cut to an occupied post. Little guards, don't cut to the block. 

Long after I'm gone, I hope these messages resonate with our players as they teach their children.