Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway partner Charlie Munger shared the secret to their long-term success:
"It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent."
Apply that to our basketball coaching. Today.
1. "Every day is player development day." The daily one percent improvement yields a 37-fold improvement over a year. Commit to the fundamentals every day with efficiency, volume, and competition. If you can't teach skill development, then get help.
2. "The quickest path to improvement is better shot selection." Bad players and bad teams take bad shots. One year our shooting percentage was 20% better just by tracking and sharing the data with players. Fewer "$#7t shots" and "shot turnovers." I saw a high school team score three points in a quarter last season with 19 possessions, ten turnovers, and 1 for 9 shooting.
3. "The ball is gold." Value the ball. Take care of the ball. Stop throwing away the ball. Another game I saw a high school team commit over forty turnovers in one game. "You get what you accept." Do the math. If you have sixty possessions and waste twenty, then you have forty potential scoring possessions. Most high school teams aren't shooting fifty percent, so, even at forty percent you'll score in the thirties. That loses almost all the time.
4. "Stop fouling." Lack of technique, discipline, and sometimes smarts results in bad fouls, retaliation fouls, fouling perimeter shots...including threes. Why turn thirty percent shooters into sixty or seventy percent (free throws) shooters?
5. Make free throws. I saw another high school team lose by one while going 22/45 from the free throw line. Coach broke up practice with four rounds of ten with the winner for the day facing him for the right not to run sprints.
6. Handle pressure. Bad teams can neither apply nor withstand pressure. My favorite 'pressure' practice is 5 versus 7 full court, no dribble. It mandates proficiency in passing and cutting. Teams that break pressure can punish opponents with 'numbers'... 3 on 2s, 2 on 1s.
7. Condition with the ball. There are plenty of excellent drills that condition while building skill. Condition within drills and scrimmaging. Are we coaching basketball or cross-country?
8. Manage tempo. Shorten the game by playing slower with a lead and lengthen it by playing faster. Obviously, a combination of lesser talent and faster play is tough.
9. Never give players excuses to lose. Competition becomes a habit. I'm not coaching NIL players who are counting checks not GPA. Create a culture of competition in every drill, every scrimmage, every sprint. I've coached multiple players who were both outstanding players and exceptional students (high school valedictorians). Model and expect excellence.
10.Win special situations. When the game is on the line in the last few minutes, have actions that create high scoring chances in BOBs, SLOBs, ATOs. It drives me a little crazy to see teams not exerting pressure on the defense. Have at least two of each (special situations and 'go to' actions against man and zone defense) on your play sheet.
Lagniappe. Courage balances recklessness and fear.
"Courage is not knowing where the finish line is and going as hard as you can."
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) November 16, 2024
Championship teams don’t succeed because they know the outcome; they succeed because they play every play, take every step, and make every choice as if it’s the one that matters most. pic.twitter.com/XGriLl77qB
Lagniappe 2. One of the reasons players migrate from basketball to volleyball is this reality. It's a collision sport.
"Courage is not knowing where the finish line is and going as hard as you can."
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) November 16, 2024
Championship teams don’t succeed because they know the outcome; they succeed because they play every play, take every step, and make every choice as if it’s the one that matters most. pic.twitter.com/XGriLl77qB
