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Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Basketball: The Analogy of Good At Bats

Watching the World Baseball Classic, Kevin Youkilis marveled at great players having "good at bats" instead of constantly worrying about "driving the ball." "The little things" impact winning. Doing the right things may not show up in the scorebook.

On the Court: 

  • Fully engage at all times (e.g. transition defense)
  • Be tough - take charges, set hard screens, hit the floor
  • Play smart without the ball in space and time 
  • Energize teammates
  • Play good on-ball and positional defense
Intervention: "players" impact winning

On the Bench:
  • Be mentally "in the game" 
  • Support teammates
  • Study opponents, be ready to come in
Intervention: film the bench 

In Practice
  • Compete, "never cheat the drill"
  • Challenge teammates to be better
  • Listen and take coaching
  • Work to expand your role
  • Never be a distraction with attitude or behavior
Intervention: film practice, team leaders maintain culture

Off the Court 

  • Take care of business at home
  • Compete in the classroom
  • Keep outside voices out of your head 
  • Invest your time don't spend it
  • Keep high standards (chemical health, character, social media)
Intervention: Model excellence and commitment

Bottom line: bring your best version to the court, the bench, practice, and the community. 

Lagniappe. 
Lagniappe 2. Via Charlie Munger, Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts.... Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day - if you live long enough - most people get what they deserve.

Lagniappe 3. 

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