Learn across disciplines. Learn dos and don'ts. Forty years in medicine taught and retaught indelible lessons. We don't have to be a naval officer or doctor to benefit from these lessons. These are all first hand accounts.
A distinguished National Institutes of Health doctor presided over an Infectious Diseases conference. He asked the fellow (senior trainee, a doctor with about five years of experience) about the speciation of a fungus. The fellow answered, "I don't know." The senior physician answered, "You don't know because you don't care." The audience of maybe thirty doctors fell silent. LESSON. Fame doesn't mean you're entitled to be rude and demeaning. Driving the bus doesn't permit throwing passengers under it. "Don't be an a*hole."
Medicine is tough, imperfect, and we can go off track. Mentor CAPT T.E. Walsh would counsel us if he thought we were going astray, "You're following a lit fuse." LESSON. "Don't follow a lit fuse."
Sometimes our work will earn us nicknames, like it or not. Here's a Wikipedia excerpt about "The Fat Man" from The House of God (focusing on the psychological harm and dehumanization caused by their residency training). "He begins the year on a rotation supervised by an enigmatic and iconoclastic senior resident who goes by the name The Fat Man. The Fat Man teaches him that the only way to keep the patients in good health and to survive psychologically is to break the official rules. The Fat Man provides his interns with wisdom such as his own "Laws of the House of God" (which amount to 13 by the end of the book). One of his teachings is that in the House of God, most of the diagnostic procedures, treatments, and medications received by the patients known as "gomers" (see Glossary, below) actually harm these patients instead of helping them." I never used the term "Gomers." Anyway, two nicknames I got from trainees included "The Fat Man" and Skywalker. LESSON. "Teach. Do the work. Keep it simple."
Five answers that plebes learn quickly at the US Naval Academy also work in medicine and sport. "Yes, Sir. No, Sir. Aye aye, Sir. Right away, Sir. I don't know but I'll find out, Sir." LESSON. "To earn respect, show respect."
The senior Captain presided over a Department of Medicine meeting with well over fifty attendees. Another senior Captain asked a question about the wisdom of a department policy. The Chief of Medicine answered, "Captain, if we want your opinion, I'll ask for it." LESSON. "Know when ideas are likely to be embraced or rejected." Steve Kerr took videographer Nick U'Ren's idea to go small (replacing Bogut with Iguodala) against the Cavs and won a title.
Called to a cardiac arrest by the "Code Beeper" at about 3 A.M. I sprint to West 4. The nurse tries to do CPR and the patient is holder her off. LESSON. "Make the diagnosis." Solutions come after identifying the issue.
The smartest doctor I ever met didn't diagnose the woman's pregnancy. No harm, no foul. Some of his detractors wanted to lord it over him. Puh-lease. LESSON. "Nobody is perfect, even the smartest guy in EVERY room."
As a medical student, I was five minutes late for a rotation at Malden Hospital. I don't remember why - traffic, car trouble, whatever. The doctor absolutely crucified me for it. Yet, I don't think it was personal. Phil Ford set his watch ten minutes early to be on "Dean Smith Time." LESSON. "Be punctual."
The patient was admitted to the Bethesda ICU with weight loss and neurologic symptoms (upward gaze defect) and I was the intern. I discovered an abdominal mass. Ultimately he had a germ cell tumor (pinealoma) and was in hospital for nine months with the biggest chart I'd ever seen. He survived the ICU, chemotherapy, and other misadventures. As the resident, I had to dictate the discharge summary. LESSON. "No good deed goes unpunished." Sometimes we're the window and sometimes we're the bug.
Forever ago, the nurse called me into the ICU late at night to evaluate a patient with post-operative unresponsiveness. Vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respirations, temperature) were normal. The patient appeared well but looked exactly like a mannequin... no hair, no eyebrows. The game was afoot. I opened the eyes, which snapped shut. I held a mirror in front of those opened eyes and the patient didn't look at the mirror. Standing behind the patient's bed, I pretended to be a bug (walking a finger across the neck lightly) and there was no flinch. I didn't try any "painful stimuli." Finally, I lifted the right arm above the face. If (s)he were comatose or neurologically impaired, it would fall directly onto the face. Instead, when I released (s)he slowly relocated it to the side. The nurse rolled her eyes. I told the patient, "I'm not sure what's wrong, but you'll be okay." No lab, no CAT scan, but a Psychiatry consult to follow. Happy ending. LESSON. "Pay attention to the details but trust your gut."
Summary:
- Don't be an A*hole.
- Don't follow a lit fuse.
- Teach. Do the work.
- To earn respect, show respect.
- Know when ideas are likely to be embraced or rejected.
- Make the diagnosis.
- Nobody is perfect, not even the smartest guy in the room.
- Be punctual.
- Pay attention to the details, but trust your gut.
Lagniappe. Study this video with a myriad of lessons!
Observations: (too many actions for most teams to execute) Juwan Howard's Wolverines use variety and execution to become a title threat.
- Ball movement
- Baseline drive, cutter fill
- Five-out back cut
- Pistol
- DHO into ball screen
- Helpside multiple actions
- Thru (partial) into ball screen
- Ball screen (roller dominant action)
- "Traditional" post play (71% scoring)
- Paint touch/ball reversal (5:04)
- "Catch on the move" (accelerated rim attack)
- BOB, Triangle, Downscreen, Drive (7:14)
- Spain PnR (7:43)
- Horns stagger
- Catch and shoot
- Side step one dribble
- Jab step and shot
- Step back
- Off the dribble (e.g. in transition)
Another way to "steal points through scouting" is to have script plays. When you know what defense you will see, be prepared with sets to generate easy baskets. You can use them to open the game or coming out of halftime.#ScoutingTips #ServeCoaches#GrowTheGame🏀 pic.twitter.com/sCLMgbv5wT
— Doug Brotherton (@CoachBrotherton) February 27, 2021
Lagniappe 4. Defining moments. We all have positive and negative "defining moments" throughout our lives. Create positive defining moments for others, the "I believe in you" moment that sticks. The Heath Brothers' fourth book, "The Power of Moments" suggests how. As an older coach, I want only to help others achieve their dreams.