Joshua Medcalf (Chop Wood, Carry Water) was on a podcast, mentioning the value of keeping scorecards. That triggered thoughts about three "scorecards."
- Scorecard for Life
- Rethinking Scorecard (Adam Grant, Think Again)
- "Values Scorecard"
Scorecard for Life. What belongs on our scorecard and in what order? That reminded me of David Brooks and the distinction between 'resume' values' and eulogy values. They aren't mutually exclusive.
Douglas MacArthur's speech to cadets at West Point emphasized "duty, honor, country," all noble virtues. Where does the citizen-soldier prioritize family?
My high school coach, Sonny Lane, taught us that taking care of business meant family, school, and basketball. Older readers may recall John McPhee's 1965 A Sense of Where You Are about Bill Bradley and his 1964 Princeton team.
Each of us keeps our personal scorecard. Some of us seek transformational change while others in society practice transactional behavior. We have to trust that a divine scorecard views our eulogy virtues favorably.
Rethinking Scorecard. What did we earnestly believe and later discover to be wrong? For simplicity, confine that to basketball. The saw "Defense wins championships" may never have been true. Russell's Celtics had an eraser, surrounded by other talented players - Cousy, the Joneses, Heinsohn, Havlicek. As the game evolved, offensive juggernauts led by Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kobe, and others provided a more nuanced view. At worst, "Balance wins championships."
"Three pointers are overrated." The 1984-1985 Lakers won the NBA title making 13 three-point shots during the regular season (13/52). The three-pointer as a curiosity became replaced by the trey as the nuclear option for the Boston Celtics and others. Eight Celtics made over 100 three-pointers this season per StatMuse (below).
"Basketball Values Scorecard." Team first attitude appears as the 'scoreboard is greater than the scorebook'. If selfishness, softness, and sloth lose, the opposites give you a chance. Developmental level (youth) basketball requires developmental thinking. Don't sacrifice kids on the altar of victory, as in "never be a child's last coach."
Value the person greater than the player and care about the twelfth player on the team as much as you care about the stars.
Lagniappe. Midrange mulligans?
MIDRANGE IS A TOUGH SHOT TO MASTER
— Steve Dagostino (@DagsBasketball) April 16, 2025
Players tend to shoot a low EFG% from Midrange bc it is on the move, typically contested, and you have to lean/drift/raise up over D to get it off. pic.twitter.com/sIyYasj85p
Lagniappe 2. Develop a variety of finishes.
“3 finishes” warm up - working on one foot finishes around the rim, footwork on the catch and variability.
— Anthony Pugh (@Anthony_Pugh2) April 17, 2025
1. Outside hand reserve
2. Same/same
3. Inside hand
Repeat the process.
Can do for makes or time. pic.twitter.com/OLEEZJo35f
Lagniappe 3. Clear and screen BOB. Worth a look.
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