Monday, October 21, 2019

Coaches' Word Associations: You Know It When You Hear It


We all play the 'word association' game. We link people and ideas, concepts, or words. George Washington might associate with President, cherry tree, wooden teeth, or a dollar bill . My coaching associations won't be yours, nor should they. 

 A father asked his son whether he had turned over the outhouse. The son told him that he hadn't. The father persisted. The son remained steadfast. Finally the father said, "George Washington admitted chopping down the cherry tree." The son relented, "Okay, I turned over the outhouse." The father answered, "Well, George Washington's father wasn't sitting in the cherry tree." 

 John Wooden - The Pyramid of Success

Pete Newell - "Get more and better shots than our opponent."

 Bobby Knight - "Basketball is a game of mistakes."

 Red Auerbach - "the players that play best together"
  Bill Russell - "My ego depended on the success of my team."

 Phil Jackson - "Basketball is sharing."

 Nick Saban - "Are you spending your time or investing it?"

 Dean Smith - "the only man who held Michael Jordan under 20 ppg" 

 Brad Stevens - "The game honors toughness."


Yoda - "Do or do not. There is no try." 

 Gregg Popovich - "Get over yourself." 

 Steve Kerr - mentors, mindset, culture

 Bo Schembechler - "Get the wrong guy and he beats you every day."

 Geno Auriemma - Life leaves scars. 

 John Calipari - "Players First"

Doc Rivers - "Ubuntu." 

 Pete Carril - "The quality of passing leads to the quality of the shot." 

 Chuck Daly - "Every NBA player wants 48 - 48 minutes, 48 shots, 48 million." 

 Mike Krzyzewski - "DR FLaPS" - dribble into gaps, reverse the ball, flash to open spaces, postup, screening (attacking zone defense)

 Kevin Eastman - "Eyes make layups. Feet make jumpshots." 

 Don Meyer - "It's not who you play; it's how you play." 

 Tom DeMark - "You can't do size at highs." (Don't overpay at the top.)

 David Cottrell - "People don't quit jobs; they quit people." 



Lagniappe: The 'threat' of inside scoring opens outside scoring chances. 
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