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Saturday, July 12, 2025

Basketball- “Think Small”


"Think small." - Rob Reiner to Ebra in The Bear

Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink explains that one of his 'Teams' guys said, "Give me three things to know. I can't remember more than that." 

In baseball your swing or delivery can get too big. In basketball, a lot can get too big.

  • The drill book 
  • The playbook
  • Practice teaching
  • The number of video clips
  • Game plans/scouting reports 
  • Information conveyed in timeouts
  • Fundraising 
  • The working hours in a day
Think small. Some players are like the SEAL Team guy who can only handle so much information. Coach them up but be mindful of thinking small, essential details. When players can't handle the volume, we can get a "learning loss." The coach is ultimately responsible. 

Drill book. We can have 'everything' but can't use everything. If I could only have three:
  • Five versus seven (defense) full-court, no dribble. Pass and cut or fail.
  • Jay Wright's "Get 50" warm up. 
  • Small-sided game, 3 versus 3 inside the split. 
Playbook. There tends to be "creep" as the playbook expands. "Do more of what works and less of what doesn't." And "be good at what you do a lot."
  • Space, cut urgently, and pass on time and on target. We called the three-point line the 'spacing line'. 
  • Get paint touches and ball reversals. 
  • Use hard-to-defend actions. 
Practice teaching. Simplify. Tell 'em what you'll say, say it, tell 'em what you told 'em. Sacrifice. Selflessness. Quality shots. Take care of the basketball. Communication. Be specific. 

Video clips. Doc Rivers believes that 13 is the maximum. Anson Dorrance showed only positive clips to the UNC Women's Soccer team. 

Game plans. I'm old. Coach gave us six to eight mimeographed pages with the opponents personnel, offense, defense, and "keys to victory." The eight seniors had played together for six years. We could handle a lot having been through a lot. That's not the same for every team. 

Timeouts. Emphasize one or two key points. Looking in their eyes, do we see confidence or confusion?

Fundraising. I've covered this years ago

Hours in the day. Work-life balance is tough. Mastery? Never happens. If we want to be married or stay married, "figure it out." 

Lagniappe. Transition relies on the point guard. 
Lagniappe 2. Anson Dorrance re: Mia Hamm


It's not the time, it's the work.