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Sunday, December 28, 2025

Basketball- Buffett Style

“There is seldom just one cockroach in the kitchen. You know, you turn on the light and, all of sudden, they all start scurrying around.” - Warren Buffett

Every organization has cockroaches - issues that degrade the experience. And "there is never just one cockroach."

Top notch programs have fewer cockroaches than cellar dwellers. Call it "culture of excellence" or "tradition" or "legacy program." They're different in a good way - more discipline, more immediacy, more cohesion. 

What commonalities belong to excellence? 

Divide the positives into two categories: IDENTITY and EXECUTION. "This is who we are" and "that is how we play." 

  • Joy. Success makes fun, although fun doesn't always make success.
  • "Basketball character," how they compete, care about winning, team play, execute under pressure - more than physical skills alone. 
  • Selflessness. "Basketball is sharing," says Phil Jackson. 
  • Intent. There's a plan - spacing, player and ball movement, quality possessions. 
  • Value the ball. Turnovers reflect poor decisions or execution. 
  • Toughness - the best play "harder for longer." 
  • Ball pressure. Loss of containment equals the start of breakdowns.
  • Energy. Energy is contagious. 
  • Attention to detail. They sweat the small stuff. 
  • "Crunch wrap." They don't give away games with sloppiness.  
Invert the positives and you'll find the qualities of cockroach-infested programs. 

Take inventory of our program and see where we fall.

Lagniappe. Players learn at every level. From Jay King in The Athletic, "I think the way you watch film, the process of how the coaches communicate during film, the way guys process information, taking notes, their ability to answer questions in real time,” Mazzulla said."

Lagniappe 2. Randomness, chaos, unpredictability. 

Lagniappe 3. Take advantage of General Stanley McChrystal's "Character Equation."

Character = Conviction × Discipline 

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