In John Maxwell's The Seventeen Qualities of a Team Player, he includes a chapter on "Solutions." What helps us unearth solutions? Outline the process and share examples.
1) Refuse to give up. UNC under Dean Smith trailed their archrival Duke by eight with seventeen seconds left. They could have mailed in those last seconds. They chose to fight.
2) Refocus. In almost every game, you see a player make a mistake like a poor shot or a turnover and then "double down" with a foul. Coach used to call them 'stupid fouls' or 'retaliation fouls'. A proverb says that "holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Next play mentality or "playing present" prevents one bad play from bleeding into a series of errors.
3) Rethink your strategy. When Plan A isn't working, move on to Plan B. That might mean changing tempo, going from man defense to zone, or using more screens and backcuts against pressure defense. If we miss our turnoff on the highway, find the next exit.
Most people credit economist John Maynard Keynes with this quote, "When events change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
4) Repeat a winning process. Fire, Ready, Aim is a losing approach. Most things in life require finding an edge, applying it, and repeating the process relentlessly. Great habits, ruthlessly applied, produce results.
Summary:
- Refuse to quit
- Refocus
- Rethink
- Repeat
Lagniappe. Aggressiveness and fundamentals (footwork) add value.
2 AREAS OF FOCUS FOR YOUNG PLAYERS
— Steve Dagostino (@DagsBasketball) May 4, 2025
I’m often asked where do you start with working with young players. The 2 areas I have our trainers focus on is AGGRESSIVENESS AND FOOTWORK.
Getting players to be competitive and aggressive will give them a foundation that will lead to… pic.twitter.com/4j64zYYEuW
Lagniappe 2. Quicken your release.
QUICK RELEASE IN WORKOUTS
— Steve Dagostino (@DagsBasketball) May 21, 2025
One of the reasons players can’t translate shooting success I. Workouts to shooting success in games is because their preparation and release in training isn’t as fast as it is in games.
You’ll see great shooters like Steph push themselves to prepare… pic.twitter.com/U8jLbUMrBr
Two drills I used: 1) face the basket, flip back over your head, catch on a bounce, turn and fire. 2) QuickDraw - ball at chest, bounce hard, catch and shoot quickly
