Saturday, December 4, 2021

Vision Board Superheroes



Adopt the best ideas we encounter. Don't "qualify" with "I'm not a big fan of so-and-so, but check this out." 

Create a "vision board" for inspiration...with resources for ideas. Perhaps a coach reminds us of one core idea or a handful. 

Geno Auriemma' Operate practice at a high tempo for maximum efficiency. UCONN runs at warp speed through their drills, run-throughs, and competitive scrimmages against men. 

John Wooden. The cornerstones of the Pyramid of Success are industry (hard work) and enthusiasm...and "don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses."

Pete Newell. "Get more and better shots than our opponents." What's simpler?  

Dean Smith. Carolina often led the ACC in shooting percentage. Smith emphasized shot quality and sometimes scrimmaged awarding points by shot quality (e.g. layup was two, highly contested jumper nothing, and turnover minus two).  

Dr. Fergus Connolly. Don't track data for data's sake. Meaningful stats impact the score. Make analytics count. 

Sonny Lane. "Sacrifice." Everything is about the success of the team. 

Phil Jackson. Everyone knows about "Eleven Rings." Remember, "basketball is sharing." Also, "for championship teams to remain successful is for them to keep growing instead of trying to do the same things over and over."

Charlie Munger. Warren Buffett's partner reminds us of the many sources of faulty decision making. "It is better to be relatively right than precisely wrong." 

Coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Basketball is about making plays not running plays." 

Zak Boisvert. Turnovers come in two flavors, failed decision or execution. To reduce them, we need better decisions or execution. 

Dawn Staley. Basketball challenges us to solve puzzles. 

Porter Moser. Limiting turnovers is critical for success.

Pete Carril. "The quality of the shot relates to the quality of the pass." Becoming a high scoring team often means becoming better passers. 

Doc Rivers. He lived through the Donald Sterling, LA Clippers fiasco. He reminded players of his parents' message, "Never allow yourself to  be a victim." Coach of the 2008 Celtics, the team unified behind the message "Ubuntu," meaning "I am because we are."

Lagniappe. You get the point. The coach can start the action from a variety of positions. 


Lagniappe 2. What does being "all in" look like?