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Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Basketball - Question the Players, "How Do You Plan to Impact Winning?"

"How do you plan to impact winning?" Ask players for specifics. "I'm going to play hard" is good but not specific. 

Develop your plan now in the offseason. "Control what you can control."

Make yourself better (become your own coach)

  • Build skill with the ball
  • Play a lot
  • Enhance strength and conditioning
  • Study the game (video, clinics, other reading)

Make positive plays (efficiently) 

  • Get scores (what are your 'four ways to score' - e.g. transition, perimeter scoring, cutting, free throws, offensive boards?)
  • Assist
  • Get stops - defend, block, steal, deflect
  • Rebound

Avoid negative plays (the mental game)

  • Turnovers 
  • Lower quality shots 
  • Mental and physical mistakes on defense
  • "Fouling negates effort" 

Make players around you better 

  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Work out with teammates (skill building)
  • Strength and conditioning as a group
  • Hustle is contagious
1. Prepare your plan.
2. Do the work.
3. Review your progress. 
4. Repeat. 

Specific Recommendations:
  • Find a mentor. 
  • "Winners are trackers." 
  • Use constraints. Seek personal bests setting standards and limitations such as time. 
  • Track strength and conditioning. 
  • Mindfulness to improve focus 
  • Engage AI (ChatGPT, Claude.ai, or DeepSeek) for ideas 
Lagniappe. "Change happens only when you’re willing to think independently, when you do what nobody else is doing, and risk looking like a fool because of it." - "Clear Thinking" by Shane Parrish

Lagniappe 2. Redick playbook (excellent video) 

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