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Thursday, May 21, 2020

Basketball: "Change My Mind" Guys

We fight a daily battle with being "set in our ways." Late in his book Gridiron Genius, Mike Lombardi discusses Change my mind guys, specifically Malcolm Butler and Doug Pederson. 

Butler convinced Lombardi that gems are out there in small school guys and Pederson showed him that sometimes there's a there there, coaching the Super Bowl Eagles. The Patriots recently drafted D2 safety Kyle Dugger in the second round. They go out of the box. 

"Change my mind guys" can be administrators, coaches, players, support staff.  My daughter struggled with intractable back problems that a chiropractor solved with exercises in a few weeks. 

A medical school classmate (Dr. Bob Hansen, Pain Management) convinced me to consider epidural lumbar spine injection for back pain. That proved to be a game changer for my patients and me. 


Arlene Blum led the first women's expedition on Annapurna, one of fourteen Himalayan peaks above 8000 meters. Their mission showed women to be as audacious, as triumphant, and as vulnerable as men in high adventure. Arlene Blum was a change my mind guy. 

Bill Simmons interviewed Ricky Williams who discussed how medical marijuana use could have prolonged his career...instead of having to take opioids to control pain. So an ex-NFL running back was a change my mind guy. 

Ed Pabulinskas had a video showing the release off the index finger; he became a change my mind guy for teaching shooting hand placement.  

Foreign players once had a bad rap in the NBA. But Sarunas Marciulonis, Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili and others changed everyone's mind. 

Lawrence Frank (clinic notes) was somebody's change my mind guy, going from manager under Bob Knight to NBA coach. Jaylen Brown became Bostonians' change my mind guy becoming a solid third option after Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum. Warriors' video coordinator Nick U'Ren was Steve Kerr's change my mind guy, convincing Kerr to go small with Andre Iguodala over Andrew Bogut and turn a 2-1 deficit into an NBA title.  

Part of mature decisions is the capacity for change. Change my mind guys remind us to stay flexible to fight for the future. 

Lagniappe: "The quality of the pass relates to the quality of the shot." Pass to a guy's knees and the timing and accuracy of the shot are disrupted. 



Accuracy and decision-making are pivotal to maximize each play. When the receiver catches the ball in stride, Lombardi calls it "running against air." 

Lagniappe 2: "Experience is not preparation." - Bill Belichick

Lagniappe 3: Leaders put their reputation into the hands of others.