Feedback looks backward. Advice looks forward. At a recent local Athletic Hall of Fame induction (I'm a board member not an inductee), my former coach, Ellis Lane described a conversation with a former player.
"He shows me this offense, incredibly complex, and says, 'I understand this perfectly'. I tell him that "your players aren't going to." Keep it simple.
This epitomizes the Don Meyer coaching evolution - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity. As coaches mature, we look for ways to simplify.
- "Have a GO TO and COUNTER move."
- "Beat them with your first step."
- "Cut urgently." Offense fails with lazy cutting.
- "Movement kills defenses."
- "One bad shot." Make that the defensive priority.
- "Contain the ball."
- "Attack the ball." No ball pressure, no stops.
I know that I made many coaching mistakes. Here are a few big ones:
1) Overaggressiveness before recognizing talent differential. With the talent edge, aggressive, fast play makes sense. Diagnose first, treat second.
2) Overscheduling. Put our team in the top league, only to lose our top player (now at Richmond) for the season to knee surgery. That went badly.
3) Undervaluing press breaking early in the season. Seasoned teams press young players seizing an advantage against less skill and experience.
Make simplicity a core value and evaluate our simplicity daily.
Lagniappe. High school ball is not the NBA. Or how the midrange game can separate you.
Lagniappe 2. Get better matchups.
The Celtics completely manipulated the Pistons' defense in the clutch last night, and they beat the best team in the East.
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) November 27, 2025
This is how they did it. pic.twitter.com/ggI20QHgPe
