"Invert, always invert." German mathematician Carl Jacobi taught thinking backwards from the end state. In Pebbles of Perception, Endersen extends this mental model. He asks about goals, how achievement would look, what would guarantee failure, and what steps are necessary to succeed.
Someone asked Amos Alonzo Stagg, "what do you think of your team?" He responded, "ask me in twenty years and I'll tell you." Commander's Intent informs a desired END STATE. What should the team look like?
Define your time horizon. I have no mandate to win today or to win, period. I have cognitive dissonance about winning versus readying players to win for the next coach. Inconvenient truth. Good coaches make their teams survivable. Figure out how to train our teams to take hits and keep going.
Define your time horizon. I have no mandate to win today or to win, period. I have cognitive dissonance about winning versus readying players to win for the next coach. Inconvenient truth. Good coaches make their teams survivable. Figure out how to train our teams to take hits and keep going.
To earn success, study failure. Why do we give up too many points in the post? Do we have ball pressure, poor entry denial, fouls? If pressure bothers us, are we moving without the ball, dribbling too much, passing into traffic, not seeing help defenders?
When the ball sticks, invert. Get paint touches and ball reversal.
Allowing transition points? Invert. Do what it takes to get stops - sprinting, protecting the basket, shaping up, forcing offense to make the extra pass.
Avoid the dreaded S WORDS soft, selfish, sloth. Invert to get intensity and focus. Basketball punishes casual play.
Lagniappe:
Radius Athletics (@RadiusAthletics) tackles a thorny problem, early offense. Young players often struggle to find early offense because of poor spacing or standing. In the top panel, Real Madrid has excellent spacing and sets a high ball screen. This spreads the defense and often exposes the defense when the protection rotates.
