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Sunday, June 23, 2024

Basketball More on What It Takes to Win

Keywords: Character, Talent, Leadership, Teamwork, Commitment

Some teams aren't ready to win, may never be. 

In a Boston Globe interview with Jeff Van Gundy, he remarked, “The game as it’s played has changed a lot. What wins and loses basketball games at any level has never changed and never will. And I thought that was comforting."

Each of us decides what works for us. Different teams choose different pathways such as the 1970s UCLA's 2-2-1 press, Syracuse's 2-3 zone, or Virginia's packline defense. Anyone who says there's only one way or their way has a limited grasp of basketball history.  

If forced to elaborate a few categories, what would we choose? 

Sports character. Michael Lombardi differentiated this. Find your guys. "Moss displayed another Belichick staple: mental toughness, which the Patriots define as “doing what is best for the team when it might not be best for you.” In New England, Moss was a “program guy”: someone who works hard, is a supportive teammate, and cares deeply about winning. In other words, someone with football character."

Talent. Great talent makes great coaches. Find it, develop it, or find and develop it into your desired image. If you take a job just to have the job in a 'bad situation', talent and lack of commitment are usually high on the list. If faced with low talent, then we better master development. If not, success is impossible. 

Leadership. Leadership adds value to not just 'the game' but the lives of the individuals. Leaders get buy-in. Buy-in creates loyalty, but start the 'chain of belief', so well-developed in Ted Lasso. 


This video may sound overly simplistic, but it captures many of the highlights. In software parlance, we need more features and fewer bugs.


Teamwork. In team sports, there is no substitute for teamwork. Collaboration raises teams to more than the sum of the whole. Ideally, players assume leadership and accountability for both individual and collective growth and performance. The team has to become the purpose beyond numbers, pay, awards, and endorsements.  

Commitment. Flanking the top of the Wooden "Pyramid of Success" are "faith" and "patience." We have to stick with the program, the habits, the heartbreak, the process. Sometimes it means adding more believers and watching disbelievers leave.

When people care enough, for long enough, and have some luck and leadership, anything is possible. Fall in love with process.


Lagniappe. Studying the game means watching basketball wherever we find it. 

Lagniappe 2. Resilience takes time. 

Lagniappe 3. Another way to overload the baseline. 

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