The parents meeting opens as the team is selected. A parent asks, "what's your basketball philosophy?" He could have asked, "what's your code?"
There's no unitary answer but there are bad responses such as "I don't have one." I don't have the singular answer, but we need answers...structure and emotion. You play basketball the way you live your life. You cannot hide on the court. Selfishness, toughness, and will are fully displayed.
1. "Shared vision and shared sacrifice earns shared results." This follows from Phil Jackson's "basketball is sharing."
2. TRY is a failure word. Do not tell me you'll try.
3. "Basketball is a game of separation." On offense, get separation and on defense deny separation. Create space offensively and shrink it defensively.
4. "Obsess the product." Attention to details defines us. Skill, skill, skill. A few good or bad plays distinguish winners and losers. Bobby Knight says it this way, "basketball is a game of mistakes." Find ways to cut mistakes - turnovers, bad shots, bad fouls.
5. The only shortcut to excellence is mentoring. Lead. Teach. Model excellence by demonstrating a commitment to outwork, outlearn, and out-execute opponents. "Do five more."
Drill. Shooting...a pair of drills.
Set play from Zak Boisvert
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A backdoor play with a clear and fill approach.
Lagniappe. Key lessons from "The Mamba Mentality"
- “My routine changed over time. My approach didn’t.”
- You have to enter every activity, every single time, with a want and need to do it to the best of your ability." Coach Auriemma says it another way, "every minute of every day."
- "A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness."
Lagniappe 2. "Rest at the end, not in the middle."