Total Pageviews

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Basketball - Getting Noticed

Everyone wants the triad of minutes, role, and recognition. Get noticed.

As a player what gets noticed? Control what you can control. At tryouts with the youngest group, I asked players to sit on the baseline. I then said, "I need a volunteer." Hands fly. I explained, "that's not good enough. When you hear, "I need a vol...pop up like you were shot out of a cannon." That gets you noticed.

One year a player beat me to it. 'Naomi' came up to me two minutes before tryouts and said, "Coach, I am really excited to be here." I need that type of player on my team. 

1) Attitude. Attitude is approach. Be punctual, positive, consistent. Be the same person every day.

2) Effort. Strive to be the hardest worker every day. Effort translates into superior conditioning.

3) Decision-making. Good decisions extend to home responsibilities, academics, extracurriculars and work. How you do anything should be how you do everything. 

4) Know your job. Know the team philosophies, calls and sets, and assignments in every situation. That includes asking good questions, especially if uncertain about what is required. 

5) Do your job. Execution implies attention to detail. That implies being in the right places at the right times and doing right what's expected. 

6) Communication matters both verbal and nonverbal. Bring personal energy and energize teammates with both words and actions. 

Bill Belichick reduces a player's responsibility to:

  • Do your job.
  • Work hard.
  • Pay attention to detail 
  • Put the team first.
Lagniappe. Get ahead by recognizing and creating advantage. 

Lagniappe 2. The 100% Theory.  

Posted by at

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Basketball Conditioning with Lower Body Injury

Players with severe lower body injuries face multiple challenges. Limb atrophy (muscle wasting) occurs rapidly with accompanying weakness.

Conditioning likewise fades without game play, treadmill, or cycling. "Todd Buckingham, Ph.D., exercise physiologist at PTSportsPRO in Grand Rapids, Michigan, tells Runner’s World that most people will see their VO2 max fall between 4 and 8 percent after about a week of no training. By two months, you may be looking at a 20 precent drop, and mitochondria (the “powerhouse” of the cell) declines at an even faster rate. “After one week [without training], mitochondrial content in the muscle fibers decreases by about 50 percent,” he adds."

This Runner's World piece suggests many specific alternatives for limited or non-weight bearing exercise. Thinking about Jayson Tatum's recovery, I wonder about one-legged rowing, arm ergometry, and seated battle ropes in particular. 

There's no urgency to reestablish conditioning but most recovering athletes want to resume activity as soon as possible.

Swimming won't be an early option as wound healing takes priority.

For people interested in upper extremity conditioning exercises, these might apply. 

During weight-bearing restriction, what options are available for conditioning?

From ChatGPT:

1. Arm Ergometer (Upper-Body Cycle or UBE)

  • Best option for cardio when lower-body use is limited.

  • Mimics cycling but with arms; adjustable resistance.

  • Targets shoulders, arms, and upper back while elevating heart rate.

  • Can be used seated (even in a wheelchair or with a leg elevated).

2. Seated Battle Ropes

  • Short intervals (20–30 seconds) of high-intensity arm slams or waves.

  • Great for anaerobic and aerobic conditioning.

  • Works core and upper body, raises heart rate quickly.

  • Keep the lower extremities supported and stabilized.

3. Shadow Boxing or Seated Punch Drills

  • Use light dumbbells or resistance bands.

  • Throw jabs, hooks, and uppercuts while seated.

  • Time-based intervals can create aerobic stimulus.

  • Engages core, deltoids, and cardiovascular system.

4. Resistance Band Circuits

  • Combine upper-body movements (rows, presses, curls, triceps extensions) in a nonstop circuit.

  • Minimal rest between sets keeps the heart rate elevated.

  • Easy to adjust intensity and position to protect the injury.

5. Swimming with Pull Buoy (if medically cleared)

  • If in water therapy is permitted, a pull buoy between the legs can keep lower limbs immobile.

  • Swimming with just arms (freestyle or breaststroke) provides resistance and cardio without weight-bearing.

6. Arm-Based HIIT Circuit (Seated)

Create a timed circuit with the following exercises:

  • Medicine ball slams (seated)

  • Resistance band punches

  • Overhead presses (light weights)

  • Seated battle ropes

  • Seated lat raises

Structure:
30 seconds work / 15 seconds rest x 3–5 rounds

Precautions

  • Always coordinate with physical therapy or medical staff.

  • Monitor fatigue closely to avoid shoulder overuse injuries.

  • Keep posture supported, especially if seated for long periods.

 Lagniappe. Mental fortitude matters most if you have enough ability. 

Lagniappe 2. Close the gap. 


Posted by at

Friday, May 16, 2025

Basketball - Dalio's Messages

Learn by reading more and applying where possible. Bridgewater Fund principal Ray Dalio, author of "Principles" shared his thoughts in an interview in How to Invest by David Rubenstein.  

1) "Pain plus reflection equals progress." That's how Dalio built Bridgewater. He's a 'hard guy'. Bad decisions are painful. If we learn from them we have a chance at future success. Another old saying about this was, "Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment." 

2) "You have to be an independent thinker." Whether investing or coaching, consensus thinking tends to produce average results. 

3) "I love being a mentor to those I've passed the lead responsibilities to." Everyone benefits from coaching and having elite coaching gives others a chance to produce superior results. 

4) "I'm a global macro investor. That means that I look at the whole world and the interconnectedness of it, trying to figure out how it works." Basketball is similar as everyone works to understand the intent, strengths, and weaknesses of opponents and works to limit the strength and attack weaknesses. 

5) "It was real thinking, dropping us into real cases (at Harvard Business School) and debating, "How would you approach that?" Watching games real-time and on video replay, "play along" and ask "what will they do next?" "How will they attack that zone?" or "How will they adjust to lessen the rebounding disadvantage there?" Every game shares multiple 'case studies'. 

6) "I could stay on the safe side and have a safe but mediocre life, or I could try to cross through the risky jungle to have a great life if I could get to the other side." Each of us defines our risk tolerance and how to navigate the particular ecosystem we inhabit. 

7) "Thinking. It had a big effect on how I approached life." There's value to unlock by understanding mental models (e.g. sample size, circle of competence, feedback effects) and cognitive bias (risk aversion, confirmation bias, recency bias). 

Lagniappe. Our actions define our standards. 

Lagniappe 2. Iverson action into a basket cut. 

Lagniappe 3. Payton Pritchard, who led the NBA in regular season threes off the bench, warms up in close.    

Posted by at

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Basketball - Avoiding Bad Plays

 

Bill Belichick extends the teachings of Coach Bob Knight. "Basketball is a game of mistakes." The quote above reflects the impact of Tom Brady on winning. More precisely, Brady kept the Patriots out of negative plays. 

Teach players, feed them the gospel of playing clean. 

  • Take quality shots (the quickest route to improvement)
  • Value the ball (turnovers are zero percent possessions). 
  • "Foul for profit." Never foul perimeter shots. No retaliation fouls or fouling bad or bailout shots. 
  • "Mental mistakes have no redeeming value." - Bill Belichick 
  • Missed assignments show up on the scoreboard not the scorebook. 
Grainy black and white film showed us defensive breakdowns (baseline drives, bad fouls) and low percentage or rushed shots ("#$%& shots"). Film imposed humility.

Basketball teaches truths. 

"Teamwork is a force multiplier."
"Turnovers kill dreams." 
"Selfishness, sloth, softness" belong to losers. 

In Any Given Sunday, Coach Tony D'Amato says "the game is pure." He laments how the business of football corrupts the sport, despite the honesty and beauty in the game itself.

Many of us feel that way about basketball, conflicted about kids learning to play and a parent paying $45 to watch a twelve year-old play travel ball. Not watching kids at $45 a pop is one way to avoid seeing bad plays. 

Lagniappe. Create your own shot. 
Lagniappe 2. Another brief but deep thought from Belichick in The Art of Winning. "Big, obvious things should be big and obvious to you." What would be your biggest, most obvious thing? 


 




Posted by at

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Basketball - "I'm Right and You're Wrong!"

No rational person starts an argument, "You're an idiot. I'm right and you're wrong." The other person rightly and immediately turns us off.

Adam Grant's Think Again delivers many messages about the value of rethinking. A top takeaway is to keep a rethinking scorecard, tracking change of heart, more accurately changing our minds. 

How can a discussant more likely get another to rethink?

1) Seek common ground. Rather than summarize all areas of disagreement, find agreement. Repeating as a pro sports champion is hard. Why did I lack confidence in the Celtics chances? They played a long season in 2024 and they had three players - Tatum, White, and Holiday - on the Olympic team. Additionally, they accumulated a lot of known injuries (Brown's knee, Porzingis fatigue syndrome, Holiday 'mallet finger' and muscle pull, and Tatum's wrist). Those are just factors that could impact performance. Every team has guys hurt now. 

2) Provide only strong arguments because opponents will attack your weak ones. Disney's Bob Iger approached Steve Jobs about merging with Pixar. Jobs outlined a long list of negatives and only three positives. Iger felt sure a deal was doomed. Jobs countered, the positives, although few are far stronger. Don't give opponents an abundance of weak arguments. Find strong ones. Bringing in a hundred page document adds weight but not gravitas. For example, the Celtics are in cap jail and new ownership won't want to take a financial bloodbath with a season without Tatum. Far more likely that they'll trigger a reset by moving big contracts and try to get into a manageable salary cap position. 

3) Ask more and better questions. Grant found that negotiators fared better when twenty percent of their statements were questions. Regularly return to the "Big Four" from Michael Useem's The Leadership Moment: 

  • What went well? (Where do we agree?)
  • Went went poorly? (Where do we strongly disagree?)
  • How can we do better next time? (Where can we move closer on this?)
  • What are the enduring lessons? (Are some of our disagreements less substantive and just emotional, or even by chance?) Where we grew up, went to school, or our baseball team shouldn't torpedo civil discussion. 
Common themes here are: improving relationships and communication, more 'big picture' focus, and removing distractions and noise. Another is setting aside emotion for more analytic, thoughtful, and rational discussion can benefit both sides. 

Lagniappe. JJ Redick shares his thoughts on a contentious issue, zone in youth ball. 
Lagniappe 2. Coach Hacks shares drills. 
Lagniappe 3. Maximizing points per possession is tough in the playoffs with better teams, better defense, and more physicality. 


Posted by at

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Basketball - GTHI (Got to Have It)

In The Art of Winning, Bill Belichick says there are five or so GTHI (Got to Have It) plays per game. With few scores in a game, that makes sense. There might be more or fewer depending on the competitiveness of a basketball game.

In a tight contest, many might show up 'close and late'. These plays score or deny opponents from scoring. Sometimes it's more nuanced, holding on to a rebound, corralling a loose ball, making free throws, blocking out a tough rebounder or inbounding the ball against pressure. 

In a rout, sometimes there are no GTHI plays.

'Basketball powers' develop "possession enders," players who score, get stops, and rebounds. New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau noted that teams prosper with defensive runs and rebounding runs as with offensive runs. 

Top teams find ways to neutralize the impact of pressure. They win the "balance of power" between offense, defense, and conversion between the two. 

We don't always recognize when a GTHI moment didn't happen. A missed layup might have triggered an offensive run or a live-ball turnover changes momentum as an opponent turns it into a transition hoop. 

Practicing situations prepares us for better decision-making and execution when games are in the balance. Do we have a couple of winning plays for BOBs, SLOBs, ATOs, and half-court GTHIs against man and zone defense? 

GTHIs separate championships from regrets. 

Lagniappe. As coaches, humility allows us an improvement mentality. 


Lagniappe 2. Bilas speaks truth. 

 Lagniappe 3. Attention to detail...  

Posted by at

Monday, May 12, 2025

Why Basketball Defense Fails

Basketball defense fails for many reasons. 


1st quarter Pacers shot chart versus Cavs, from ESPN, 5/11/2025

Sometimes superior offense leaves defenses in the dust with shotmaking. Indiana made 12-18 three-point shots in the first half en route to a 41 point halftime lead over Cleveland. 

Let's examine the root causes for defensive failure, both individually and collectively. Breakdowns happen at every level of the game. 

Missed and flawed assignments
  • Common at lower levels (understanding, communication)
  • Failed coverages (e.g. pick-and-roll)
  • Mismatches
  • Transition defense 
Execution
  • Lack of ball pressure allows opponent to run offense
  • Ball containment issues allow penetration, 2 vs 1 situations
  • Poor off-ball defense allows open cutters
  • Poor shot contesting favors easier shots (especially open 3s)
  • Poor or no blockouts allow second and third shots
  • Live-ball turnovers turn into high points/possession offense
Fouling
  • Fouling perimeter shooters
  • Bad technique (often on blocked shots, reaching in-hand discipline)
  • Fouling bad or bailout shots
  • Frustration/retaliation fouls (doubling down after bad plays)
Miscellaneous
  • Inadequate effort
  • Poor conditioning
  • Limited athleticism
  • Awareness issues
  • Low basketball IQ 
This seems like an ideal situation to consult AI for a more comprehensive look. Deep Seek shares some answers. 

1. Poor Communication

- **Switching Errors**: Defenders fail to communicate on screens, leading to open shots or mismatches. 
- **Help Defense Lapses**: Players don’t call out cuts or drives, leaving teammates unaware of threats. 
- **Transition Confusion**: Defenders don’t match up properly in fast breaks, leaving shooters open. 

2. Defensive Fundamentals Breakdown
- **Lazy Closeouts**: Failing to contest shots with high hands or proper footwork gives shooters easy looks. 
- **Bad Stance**: Standing upright instead of staying low in a defensive stance slows reaction time. 
- **Reaching Instead of Moving Feet**: Gambling for steals leads to fouls or blow-by drives. 

3. Mismanagement of Screens 
- **Going Under on Shooters**: Allowing elite shooters space off screens leads to open threes. 
- **Not Fighting Over Screens**: Getting caught on picks forces help defense to rotate, creating open shots elsewhere. 
- **Soft Hedge/No Show on Ball Screens**: Failing to disrupt the ball handler gives them free passing or driving lanes. 

4. Weak Help & Rotation
- **"Ball Watching"**: Defenders focus on the ball and lose track of cutters or weakside shooters. 
- **Late Rotations**: Help arrives too late, leading to easy layups or kick-out threes. 
- **Overhelping**: Unnecessary double-teams leave dangerous shooters open. 

5. Transition Defense Failures 
- **Lack of Sprint Back**: Players jogging back after a missed shot or turnover allow easy fast breaks. 
- **Failure to Protect the Rim**: No defender stops the ball, leading to uncontested layups. 
- **Mismatches in Transition**: Bigs get stuck guarding guards, or defenders fail to match up quickly. 

6. Mental Lapses & Fatigue 
- **Late Shot Clock Breakdowns**: Defenders relax as the shot clock winds down, leading to open looks. 
- **Lack of Focus on Weakside**: Losing track of off-ball movement results in backdoor cuts or open threes. 
- **Conditioning Issues**: Tired defenders stop moving their feet, leading to fouls or blow-bys. 

7. Poor Defensive Scheme Fit 
- **Mismatched Personnel**: Slow-footed bigs in a switching scheme get exploited by guards. 
- **Overly Aggressive Traps**: Badly timed double teams lead to open shots elsewhere. 
- **Zone Defense Gaps**: Poorly executed zones allow offenses to find seams for easy shots. 

8. Individual Defensive Deficiencies
- **Lack of Lateral Quickness**: Slow defenders get beaten off the dribble. 
- **Poor Awareness**: Players lose track of their man or fail to read offensive actions. 
- **Foul-Prone Defenders**: Reaching and hacking instead of disciplined positioning. 

Solutions to Improve Defense 
- **Drill Fundamentals**: Closeouts, defensive slides, and communication exercises. 
- **Film Study**: Recognizing offensive tendencies and adjusting coverages. 
- **Conditioning**: Ensuring defenders can sustain effort for full possessions. 
- **Adjust Schemes**: Switching from drop coverage to hedging, or tweaking zone principles based on personnel. 

Great defense requires effort, IQ, and cohesion. Even against elite offenses, sound defensive principles can limit breakdowns—but any lapse can lead to easy buckets.

Lagniappe. Examples 

1. Live-ball turnover on opening possession of Pacers-Cavs 


2. Overhelp on the ball opens Nesmith on the perimeter. 



3. Weak-side help loses offensive assignment into corner cut.

 

4. Frustration, retaliation, lack of discipline foul 


5. Sometimes it's not so clear. Halliburton uses a "negative step" to blow by the defender and there's no help. Some teams practice no help off the corner three, offering at most a stunt at the driver. 



Posted by at

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Basketball - The "In Between" Game

Belichick prizes the "in-between game." "It wasn’t an accident that Brady ended up on our team. From our earliest era of success, our team vision was to find players who knew how to execute the in-between game. We wanted players who embraced performing in ways that wouldn’t necessarily be accounted for in any stat, but would certainly be noticed by the coaches—getting out-of-bounds to stop the clock instead of picking up a couple more yards, or spreading the ball around as a QB to keep as many people engaged as possible." - from "The Art of Winning" 

Winning contributions often don't appear in the box score. Players who understand the "in between game" live extreme attention to detail. A few examples:

Defense

  • Fighting over a screen
  • Communication
  • Covering 1.5 (your player and half of another)
  • Saving a ball going out of bounds
  • Deflections
  • Help and recover 
  • Forcing a turnover 
  • Contesting shots without fouling
  • Running a player off the three-point line
  • Taking a charge
  • Blocking out allowing a team rebound
Offense
  • Setting a 'scoring screen' that leads to a hoop
  • Moving without the ball preventing a turnover
  • Hockey assists (the pass leading to an assist)
  • Inbounding the ball safely and efficiently
  • Spacing the floor allowing teammates to operate
  • Avoiding turnovers
  • Shot selection, knowing when not to shoot
  • Running clock, shortening the game 
Intangibles
  • Positivity 
  • Leadership
  • Being a great teammate
  • Mentoring younger teammates
  • Practicing hard
  • Being coachable

Subtle actions and avoiding bad decisions adds 'hidden value" to a player's game. 

Lagniappe. We're always presenting. Do it well. 
Lagniappe 2. Carl Banks was an elite linebacker for the New York Giants. In "The Art of Winning" Belichick quotes him as saying, "one that always stuck with me was something that Carl Banks would frequently say on the practice field. “Don’t let a bad play become a bad day!"

 

Posted by at

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Basketball - The Power of Now

"That which we are, we are, and if we are to be any better, now is the time to begin." - Tennyson

Everyone gets stuck in procrastination mode. "I'll get to it." Escape that trap. 

Eat that frog. That means complete the most unpalatable tasks first, paying bills, hard conversations. Then move on. 

"What does my team need now?" - Brad Stevens  Needs often mean hearing what we don’t want. Sometimes it's working harder...or a day off. 

"If you don't have time to do it right, now, when will you have time?" - John Wooden  Intrinsic motivation is a gift. It's the "Get to" not "Have to" mentality. 

Literature includes knowing Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David which emphasizes "think like a chess grandmaster." 

1) Reflect  Solving hard problems begins with understanding the problem. Our defensive problem was ball containment. And I was too stubborn to change easily to zone to mitigate the issue. 

2) Root cause (leading to decisions) if we’re allowing too many points, is it personnel, strategy or operations? Operational failure such as fouling or poor transition defense are discipline problems. 

3) Trust - leaders establish trust with communications and actions. Trust forges loyalty.

4) Anticipate - what if and what can go wrong? Build anti-fragile operations with depth and training. Every team must handle pressure or pressure will handle them. 

5) Negotiation - there is always give and take. Work to provide solutions for both sides. Some 'leaders' see negotiations as transactional with a winner and a loser. That produces delays and acrimony. 

Lagniappe. Get advice over feedback. 

View on Threads

Lagniappe 2. Let players know what we value most. 

Happy Mothers' Day to the women who make every day special for the rest of us. 

 

Posted by at

Friday, May 9, 2025

Basketball - "Figure It Out"

One of Gregg Popovich's favorite quotes is "figure it out." He expected players to figure it out and he demanded accountability.

After a disappointing Finals loss, he began the next season with an excruciating film review of their defeat. He challenged the players to make that next season a referendum on their character. They won the title.

Figuring it out requires specifics. Examples:

1) Take away transition. We set a goal of allowing no more than three transition baskets per game. 

2) 372. Get "kills," three consecutive stops, seven times a half, both halves. Do that and you'll succeed. 

3) Talk. That starts in practice. "Silent teams lose." 

4) Take care of the ball. "Turnovers kill dreams." The worst team in the women's Patriot League last season led the league in turnovers. Turnovers are zero percent possessions. Even worse, live-ball turnovers often turn into opponent hoops. 

5) Play with joy. Exceptional teams play with joy. If it's all work, there isn't enough joy. 

6) Prioritize preparation. Give specifics about what to do and what to take away from opponents. 

7) "Every day is player development day." What is your plan to be better, shoot better, defend better, be a better teammate? As the coach, how are you specifically combining practice, education, physicality, and psychology to prepare players for next season? 

8) Start a mindfulness program. That includes mindful meditation, visualization, and mindful breathing. Professional teams and Olympians almost universally have a mindfulness practice. It's free, nonpolitical, and non-religious so it steps on nobody's toes. 

9. Get players to work out in at least pairs. That encourages teamwork and competition. Urban Meyer required top 10 percenters to bring a teammate to work to elevate the teammate into the high performance level. 

10.Get players to study video. Ask them to pick a player and a topic to study. Get "under the hood" and see why stuff works. Players and coaches either invest time or spend it. 

Lagniappe. "Challenge yourself defensively." 

Lagniappe 2. Work on 'pickups'. 

Lagniappe 3. Prove it.  

Posted by at

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Basketball Absolutes from "The Art of Winning"

In "The Art of Winning" Bill Belichick explains a management process for evaluating players. He emphasizes the importance of everyone having the same framework and capability for evaluating players. 

Character. He understood not to expect "choir boys." In Gridiron Genius, Mike Lombardi wrote, "Moss was a “program guy”: someone who works hard, is a supportive teammate, and cares deeply about winning. In other words, someone with football character." 

Coaches know that "the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior." 

Athletic Ability. Great players craft great coaches. Ability is necessary but not sufficient. Belichick knew that coaching wasn't enough. Reliability, coachability, and durability stand as additional important traits. 

Strength and Explosiveness. Players have to be able deliver and withstand athletes "playing with force." Raw strength as measured by weight training parameters is not identical to playing strength. 

Competitiveness. Belichick notes that players like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes impact the game through both their ability and competitive natures. We all have coached players whose competitive fury allowed them to outperform other skilled players with less determination. Somewhere I read that John Stockton won every sprint at the Utah Jazz practices. Whether it was speed, will, or both we'll never know. 

Toughness. Toughness is a skill. Players like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, or Steph Curry had mental toughness which becomes a force multiplier. Players can impact their team directly and indirectly, inspiring others to raise their play. Tyrese Halliburton and Jalen Brunson have done that in the NBA playoffs. 

Learning. Superior players study the game. There's a story from 2000 where a Patriots executive was leaving and asked why lights were still on in the training complex. A custodian explained there was 'some guy watching video...a rookie, Tom Brady." Coaches create and promote a learning culture. 

Identifying players with these characteristics is a profound and worthy challenge. 

Lagniappe. Players learn to play at different speeds. 

Lagniappe 2. Coach Steed proposes a hierarchy of edges. He doesn't include home court, which can be powerful. 

Posted by at

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Basketball - Enduring Lessons (10 Years Past)

"It's a 'make or miss' league." Keen sense of the obvious.

Take pride in having a team that punches above its weight. We were mostly small but those kids battled (lesson 1, compete). Ask them to do something and they did it to the best of their ability (lesson 2, be coachable). 

Everyone makes the playoffs and we drew a stronger team with three big girls from a stronger division. The kids didn't know that. They just played.

We trailed by a few in the second half and put in a wrinkle. 

Favorite action, double downscreens sets up curls, flare lifts, or a drive for proficient point guards (lesson 3, be versatile). 


The team scored seven points on the ensuing five possessions (lesson 4, figure it out). 

The opponent took a timeout and switched to zone defense. Somehow, we hung on for a three-point win. 

In the handshake line, the opposing coach said, "if we made any shots we would have won." I said nothing. (lesson 5, show and teach sportsmanship). 

Work to put our teams in the best position to succeed. Whatever happens, adopt the Fourth Agreement (lesson 6, "always do your best"). I'm probably the only one who even remembers the game. 

Lagniappe. Do our players know what are good shots? 

Lagniappe 2. This reminds me of something Coach K told USA Olympians before playing the Gold Medal game. When you're standing out there as a team before the game, think about the one person in your life who helped make this possible for you. 

 

Posted by at

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Basketball - "The Art of Winning" and Cognitive Dissonance

"The Art of Winning" is destined to become a coaching classic. 

Bill Belichick is a polarizing person. Many people admire his success and reject his personality and methods. From a coaching perspective, "ignore the noise." 

Cognitive dissonance means being conflicted about two ideas at the same time. Win at all costs means "winning even if by cheating." Most of us would find bribing officials or intentionally injuring other competitors unacceptable.

Bill Belichick's "Art of Winning" prescribes a lot of ideas that lead to winning. I haven't read enough to know whether and to what degree he discusses "over the line" behavior. 

Here are a few quotes from his well-written book, lightly annotated. 

Believe in the saying, "make the big time wherever you are." That's part of being a professional whether coaching Biddy Ball or the big time. 

Have a vision for our teams and share that with them and the surrounding community (starting with family). 

Belichick leans into hedge fund legend Ray Dalio, borrowing from his "Principles." 
Create a learning culture from the top down. Coaches are teachers - teaching our sport, sportsmanship, and values for life.

Celebrity may be a product of success. Celebrity in itself doesn't equate to success. 

We become the product of our habits. The sum of our habits becomes our process. Good process won't guarantee championships. Poor habits guarantee a lack of success. 

Belichick knew that Super Bowls aren't the same as other games because of the magnitude of the stakes and the distractions. He describes operating the "Belichick Travel Agency" for 48 hours after earning a Super Bowl berth. He knew that winning meant "business trips" not vacations. 

Winning isn't a sin. Sacrificing young kids on the altar of victory can be. 

Lagniappe. Leadership requires more than surrounding ourselves with "Yes" guys. 

Lagniappe. 

View on Threads


Lagniappe 2. Maturity matters. 
Posted by at

Monday, May 5, 2025

Quotes from "Mamba Mentality"

NBA great Kobe Bryant wrote The Mamba Mentality: How I Play. 

Find value or inspiration from his quotes. Distill quotes into a word or phrase as a mantra. 

On Mindset

“The mindset isn’t about seeking a result—it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach.”  Trust the process. 

“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success.” No excuses

On Work Ethic

“I saw every day as a chance to get better. That’s why I started my workouts at four a.m.” Do the unrequired work.

“I wasn’t the most talented. I wasn’t the tallest. But I was relentless.” Relentless

On Preparation

“Everything was done to become a better basketball player. Everything. Everything.” Deliberate practice

“I practiced as if I was in a game. So when the moment came in the game, it was automatic.” Chase perfection

On Pain and Adversity

“If I could play through the injury, I played. I don’t think about it. I just move through it.” Keep going

“I never felt pressure. I trained for it. That’s why I was prepared when everyone else was panicking.” Train for pressure

On Love for the Game

“Basketball is everything. This is not a job. It’s what I do, it’s who I am.” Passion to play

“I played through sweat and pain, not because challenge called me, but because you called me.” Calling 

Lagniappe. Cartoon book review - discipline, preparation, persistence. 


Lagniappe 2. Chris Oliver discusses random free throw practice. 
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)