Basketball: Inspiration, Tribalism, and Improvement (Can We Become Open-Minded?)

Now matters. Share inspiration through powerful words. 

"Every day is GAME TIME." - Jack Ramsay 

"Make every day your masterpiece." - John Wooden

"Next play." - Mike Krzyzewski 

Model excellence in our habits, our preparation, effort, and execution.

What's the process of improvement? Knowledge? Learn more. Effort? Work harder. Change? Reflect on our ideas and beliefs. 

James Clear writes, "Convincing someone to change their mind is really the process of convincing someone to change their tribe. If they abandon their beliefs, they run the risk of losing social ties. You can’t expect someone to change their mind if you take away their community too. You have to give them somewhere to go.

Nobody wants their worldview torn apart if loneliness is the outcome."

We have "basketball tribes." I don't mean solely our favorite teams. Some examples:

• "No zone defense" in youth basketball.
• "Princeton Offense is the best offense." 
• Everyone should play with a shot clock. 
• "We take too many (too few) three point shots."
• "Coach ___________ is an a*hole/misunderstood/great coach." 
• "Analytics are poppycock." 
• "Anybody could have won a championship with that team."
• "Any idiot with a whistle can coach." 
• "He's the GOAT."
• "One and done" 

We can go on and on. Dean Smith was a loser until he won two titles. John Wooden was a loser until UCLA won a championship in his sixteenth season. You're a loser until you win a championship. 

Widespread belief in a theory doesn't make it right. Copernicus proposed a stationary sun, orbited by the planets, as the correct model of the Universe. He got it part correct.  

What favors improvement? 

• Habit (we make our habits and our habits make us)
• Preparation (examine our process and time management)
• Talent (better ingredients, better pizza = "every day is player development day")
• Attitude ("control what you can control")
• Energy (coaches must bring energy every day)
• Curiosity (my way or a better way)

Sometimes the Navy tasked us with completing "JAGman" investigations with a format of facts (what happened, where, and when), opinions (derived from facts), and recommendations (based on the facts and opinions). Truthseeking takes time and work and sometimes overcoming inherent biases. 

Sometimes we can't get all the facts and that compromises our analysis. But it's hard to imagine intellectual laziness, "I just go with my gut" as the standard of excellence. 

Lagniappe. Be professional illustrated by this quote in a Boston Globe article from Nicole Yang and Jim McBride today.

 "Nelson Agholor is the most experienced wide receiver on the Patriots, but the 28-year-old veteran still made it a priority to attend the team’s voluntary practices. “This is where you grow as a player. I definitely want to take another leap this year. You have to be here, you have to learn, you have to be coached up about how you do things, learn the scheme, and just work on the fundamentals."

Lagniappe 2. Getting more from practice from Chris Oliver.