Praise goes to the carpenter or the tools, but seldom the toolbox. You know the expression, "It's a poor workman who blames his tools." Never, "it's a poor workman who blames his toolbox."
As butchers, bakers, and coaches, we accumulate tools unique to our profession. Tools are concepts, objects (Coach Izzo's football helmets and shoulder pads to teach rebounding), libraries of books, videos, and drills, and style from master of the living room to professor to dictator. Most of us combine tools including previously described "tools of refinement."
But what comprises our metaphorical toolbox? Methods are to our toolbox as books are to a library.
Our toolbox is unique and complex. It blends our millions of synapses and the physical Fort Knox holding our playbook, drills, practice schedules, and myriad of coaching resources. It holds the wisdom of mentors and the lessons of victory and defeat.
What builds a better toolbox? Toolboxes are flexible. The toolbox expands or contracts as we revise the content and mixture. We apply it through technology transfer into our players and teams and the broader basketball community. Tools are only as good as the craftsman who wields them.
What belongs on the top levels of the toolbox? In Stephen King's metaphorical toolbox, he includes vocabulary, grammar, and the paragraph. Our basketball toolbox drawers, includes philosophy, structure, shields, experience, and miscellaneous tools.
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner
And every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for
Is to die in your sleep."
Lagniappe 2. Writing advice from Stephen King in On Writing: "I would argue that the paragraph, not the sentence, is the basic unit of writing—the place where coherence begins and words stand a chance of becoming more than mere words."