Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Basketball: Win More by Finding More Truth

 "Because of the self-confidence with which he had spoken, no one could tell whether what he said was very clever or very stupid." - Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Strong teams win possessions.

Good teams can beat lesser teams by scoring off their errors. Poor teams are victims of their mistakes and opponents' ability.

Become more.

  • Total focus. Win this point.
  • VDE - vision, decision, execution... read the play, make good decisions, execute.
  • Skill - attackers need multiple solutions
  • Offense - win multiple actions
  • Defense - win multiple efforts

Do more. 

  • "Champions do extra." - James Kerr, Legacy
  • "Repetitions make reputations."
  • "Do five more." - Dan Pink
  • Do the unrequired work. 
  • Workout with a teammate...drag them into the top 10 percent.

Eliminate avoidable mistakes. 

  • Communicate. 
  • No missed assignments
  • No stupid fouls, retaliation fouls, or fouling perimeter shots 
  • Reduce turnovers.
  • Reduce bad shots to raise effective field goal percentage. 

Learn analogies. 

Growth means leaving your comfort zone. It is said that the price of an Olympic Gold figure skating medal is experiencing 20,000 falls. A young girl told a competitive mogul skier, "I love how you ski. You never fall." The skier heard something more. She wasn't taking enough risk, not letting her ability out. By having the will to fail, she became a champion. 

Swagger up. 

Believe. Every game on the schedule is a winnable game. You can only be as good as your belief in yourself. 

Metaphorically, bring a tank. 

Summary:
  • Win possessions.
  • Become more. 
  • Do more.
  • Reduce mistakes.
  • Learn analogies
  • Swagger up. 
Lagniappe. Choose a few you love. 

Lagniappe 2. Pressure degrades performance. The goal is to reduce the extent of decline.  

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