Coaching is teaching that requires critical thinking and problem solving. How we make decisions defines us.
What is it? "Define critical thinking."
Scribbr.com suggests, "Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment. To think critically, you must be aware of your own biases and assumptions when encountering information, and apply consistent standards when evaluating sources. Critical thinking skills help you to: Identify credible sources (my italics)."
Decades ago I served as a jury foreman. The defendant was accused of forgery, passing a bad check, fleeing, and trying to run over a police office while escaping. He was apprehended not far away in the same car and clothing. His defense? He was an identical twin. It took the jury three days to convict, with several jurors saying, "these are serious charges." My reply was that he should have considered that. The exasperated judge responded to the verdict, "this case should have taken you five minutes to decide."
Critical thinking implies an ability to understand the quality and source of information, to put aside bias, and make rational decisions.
Why does it matter for basketball? Critical thinking applies in every situation.
Example 1. Awards and Honors. Imagine you're making a case for a player to be in the NBA Hall of Fame. Where do you start? Is about statistics, championships, relationship with the media?
Total rebound percentage 8th All-Time
Defensive rebound percentage 6th All-Time
Career playoff rebound percentage 1st All-Time
All-League in a category (14 times)
All-Star games (8)
Career series record in playoffs (13-11)
NBA Championships (1)
Data shows dominant rebounding and defense over a lengthy career, including league leading performance in multiple categories. You might think, 'slam dunk' this guy has done it at a high level for a long time. You'd think everyone would be in his corner. But everyone isn't. If "comparison is the thief of joy" then some deny Dwight Howard joy by saying that he's not Chamberlain, Russell, Shaq, or Olajuwon.
Example 2. Team performance. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of our teams, our opponents and our coaching. When winning, what has worked and not worked? When losing, what failed to work and why?
Is our trajectory upward, are we stagnant or falling behind?
Ask where our and opponent points arise and what to do differently or better. Soliciting opinions from within (assistants, players) and outside (less insider knowledge and bias) can help.
Use data to support our arguments. Expect that critics will want to know what data is omitted as well as what is provided. Other 'influence' may come from 'social proof' (widespread opinion) and authority (expert opinion). Be aware of other factors of influence.
From Pinterest
"You are entitled to your own opinions, but not to your own facts."
Lagniappe. Interested in learning more about critical thinking? Try Criticalthinking.org. Here's a subheading on open-minded inquiry.
Excerpt: Indoctrination: Not to be identified with every form of teaching, but rather with the kind of teaching that tries to ensure that the beliefs acquired will not be re-examined, or with pedagogical methods that in fact tend to have such a result. Indoctrination tends to lock the individual into a set of beliefs that are seen as fixed and final; it is fundamentally inconsistent with open-minded teaching. R. M. Hare suggests a helpful test for open-minded teachers who wonder whether or not their own teaching may be drifting in the direction of indoctrination: How pleased are you when you learn that your students are beginning to question your ideas?
Here's a quick video from TED-Ed.
We're 'wired' by evolution to believe what we see and hear. That's what makes disinformation powerful.
Lagniappe 2. It starts with practice.
“Until we start competing better, until we starting playing harder, all the X’s and O’s and all of the adjustments aren’t going to make any difference” - Bill Belichick
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) January 2, 2024
(Via @TheCoachJournal 🎥)
pic.twitter.com/GXxvD4PHfz
Lagniappe 3. There's value to video. Screen-the-screener action confuses the defense and leads to a layup on a BOB.