We are fortunate to have the lessons from great coaches, like Dean Smith.
Why were Smith's teams so successful?
Source: Basketball's Best
1."We rewarded unselfish acts that helped the team: good defense, setting effective screens, diving on the floor in pursuit of the ball, assists, blocked shots, deflected passes."
2."Treat each possession as if it were the only one in the game."
3."A leader can be tough, and still show respect."
4."I believed that if we got the little things right, it would help us get the big things right."
Hoop Thoughts
5."Building a team takes patience. There are no shortcuts."
6."Play hard, play together, play smart."
7."Reward unselfish behavior."
8."Team success makes each individual stronger."
Investors.com
9."We prepared for … pressure by the way we practiced."
10."Concentrate on the process rather than the result."
11."An annual goal was to disguise our team’s weaknesses and accentuate its strengths."
12."A leader should take the blame for losses and give the players credit for victories."
AJC.com
13."Smith was an innovator: The run-and-jump defense, the two-platoon system, the strategic saving of timeouts, the Four Corners."
A Game Plan for Effective Leadership
14."Love is the most effective motivator in sports."
CoachCal.com
15."Dean Smith was the original players-first coach. He was the original coach who developed players, yet built a team and let those players drag the program."
ChampionshipCoachesNotes
16."Coach Smith: A leader's job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers' sense of commitment."
17."At the top of the practice day was an offensive and defensive Emphasis of the Day and the players had to learn the Emphasis of the Day and the Thought for the Day."
18."The coach's job is to be part servant in helping each player reach his goals within the team concept."
19."Getting your athletes to accept their roles is one of the biggest challenges of coaching."
20."Winning was very important at Carolina, and there was much pressure to win, but Coach cared more about our getting a sound education and turning into good citizens than he did about winning."
Smith exemplified modeling excellence. He never acted as "the smartest guy in the room," he just was. He lived a principled life and even in death shared with his players.
