TOUGHNESS
COACHABILITY
HARD WORK
COMMUNICATION
LEADERSHIP
TOUGHNESS. "The game honors toughness." Toughness blends the physical and mental. It describes the ability to make "tough plays" and to maintain high performance over longer stretches of play. Good teams do not quit.
In his classic ESPN "Toughness" article (and eponymous book), Jay Bilas catalogs over thirty toughness musts, including Get on the floor.
"The first player to get to the floor is usually the one to come up with any loose ball. Close out under control: It is too easy to fly at a shooter and think you are a tough defender. A tough defender closes out under control, takes away a straight line drive and takes away the shot. A tough player has a sense of urgency but has the discipline to do it the right way."
Overtime, excavated from 1973, Boston Garden, sectional championship game. Forced a held ball and won the tap, not a "typical" career highlight. In my +/- performance rating system, that would be +2, invisible in the box score.
COACHABILITY. Coachable players focus, listen, and embrace their role. Their only agendas are finding ways to make teammates better and win. "Inversion" is relevant here, as uncoachable players have agendas, selfishness, or worst - apathy. Bill Belichick said, "At this point in my career, I want to coach guys I like. I want to coach guys I want to be around and that’s it." He added the desire for tough, smart, and dependable players.
HARD WORK - We have skill players, effort players, and the total package. Coaches value players who never take plays off and "don't cheat the drill." The jockey can't continuously apply the whip. The horse has to want to run.
COMMUNICATION. "Silent teams lose." Talk is underrated and intimidates opponents. It begins in practice. Eye contact is communication. How players interact non-verbally is communication. Bills Coach Sean McDermott gets it:
LEADERSHIP. Leadership blends multiple traits - character, humility, accountability, integrity, relatability, and others. Without willing followers, there are no leaders. Leaders model process excellence which doesn't guarantee results. Player leaders help coaches take the pulse of the team. Leaders speak hard truths that deserve attention and like Caesar's wife have a higher level of responsibility.
Consider adding an "intangibles checklist" and reviewing its value with our teams.
Lagniappe: Players, watch more video to learn about timing, defensive rotation, and angles. Don Kelbick's "think shot first" mantra works in this Radius Athletics video.
The analysis includes "dos and don't" (e.g. don't help off the ballside corner) that separate winners from wishers.