"Where are all the customers' yachts" is a Wall Street refrain. On the hardwood, we ask, "where's the basketball IQ?"
We teach players to "see the game". "What is not learned hasn't been taught."
1. Every day, ask "what does my team need now?" Yelling and screaming doesn't solve the 'vision and decision' issues.
2. Coach K says, "basketball isn't about running plays, it's about making plays." In our last three games, we've shot 24 for 134...shockingly, we actually won one of them. We spend over a third of practice on shooting, but it's not translating to production.
3. You need an "Inner Citadel", that doesn't arrive as a birthright. Toughness means not only being open to seeing but acting. When you have the edge, you have to prosecute it. Even if you have 'athletic explosion' it's useless unused.
Responding to adversity translates off the court, and that is paramount.
4. Give players the 'tools' they need to respond. We have spent a lot of time, far more than in previous years, on zone offense, with everything from general approaches - two general offenses, one with more cutting and one with less - and 'quick hitters'. I can honestly say that in six games, we haven't executed them right a handful of times. I'm forced conclude that's bad coaching. We will spend even more time on shooting, more time on zone breakdown (actions against the top of the zone and against the sides) and SSG (small-sided games) against man-to-man. Coach Huggins is right.
I've spent too much time on 'transition' and we're getting nothing in transition. We need to learn how to create, to read and react, to think on the fly.
5. "You can never be any better than you think you are." If you lack confidence, it shows. While unchecked ego creates selfishness and destroys teams, no ego produces indecision. Life is about finding balance. I need to help our players find balance that can translate to better vision and execution. They deserve that; the effort is there.
