Basketball: Figure It Out

"I haven't read your work..."

Margaret Atwood shares a story about a couple meeting a chef, who asks whether they've eaten out lately. They explain they dined at a local place. "How was it?" They say they enjoyed it. He responds, "anyone can cook a good meal, once." We have to bring our best again and again. 

In Gridiron Genius, Mike Lombardi informs why Bill Belichick has coached on seven Super Bowl winners. The acronym is STEPS - excel in Strategy, Tactics, Execution, Preparation, and Situational awareness. 

When we watch other sports, we see coaching excellence in preparation, skill development, culture, decision-making, and more. Find the lessons. Yesterday, watching high school volleyball, I saw examples that translate to our favorite. 

Develop depth and experience. Years ago against a state power, the setter broke a shoelace. The reserve setter came in cold and the team won six of seven points. Melrose graduated its setter, the sectional Player of the Year. A pair of youngsters, a sophomore and a freshman, replaced her. Coach Scott Celli (Massachusetts Volleyball Coaching Hall of Fame, 2012) brought in the freshman (Autumn) to play the second set. She showed some nerves early and the team trailed 14-15 (sets to 25). Many coaches would substitute in the regular lineup, but he let the team "figure it out." They responded with an 11-4 run to win 25-19. Autumn had ten assists in her debut. 

Bill Parcells says, "confidence comes from proven success." Leaving our comfort zone allows players to grow theirs. 

"Fight for your culture every day." Most teams play best with their best lineups on the court. But getting our teams to reach their potential means getting the entire roster to excel in its role. Everyone played, rewarded for hard work in practice. A culture of teamwork and inclusiveness values each player. 

Energize. Jon Gordon wrote The Energy Bus. Another reserve, Claire, came in during the final set. She embodied Rule 7, "Enthusiasm attracts more Passengers and Energizes them during the Ride." Her presence boosted the energy on the floor. She also delivered five kills, as she brought both intangibles and measurables. That's not criticism of others but praise for the praiseworthy. 

Catch people doing well. Take positive lessons back to our programs. 

Lagniappe: 

Radius Athletics shares a different way to get into the Pick-and-Roll

The set begins 4 out, 1 in, with post entry. This translates into a step up pick-and-roll with multiple options. 

Basketball: Legacy, Whakapapa, and Us

"Everyone has their own version of the truth. But there are facts... you can come up with the best obtainable version of the truth." - Bob Woodward (MasterClass introduction)

Basketball is truth. Kevin Eastman emphasizes it. "You can't fool kids, dogs, or basketball players." Eastman says of truth, "You have to be able to tell it, live it, and take it." 
Why coach? We learn, we share, we teach, and when done well, we leave a legacy. 

James Kerr's Legacy shares the legacy of the great New Zealand ruggers, the All Blacks. They weave Maori culture, language, and traditions into their championship team. 




Chapter 14 discusses Whakapapa, the continuum between past, the present, and future. Kerr writes, "True leaders are stewards of the future. They take responsibility for adding to the legacy." He adds, ‘“ You don’t own the jersey, you’re just the body in the jersey at the time.” It’s your job to continue the legacy and add to it when you get your opportunity."

How do we build legacy? We search for truth and model our best obtainable version. 

Establish and ingrain your philosophy. There is no patent on one way. "Every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser." But every successful program executes its preferred style. Mike Hebert's Thinking Volleyball has an exceptional treatise on style of play. "The Cubans also helped me understand that playing volleyball was not just about the perfect execution of a skill. They told me that it was also about using the skill to express yourself. The Cuban culture is one of passion and appreciation of artistic accomplishment. This includes sport."

Define our mindset. Commitment, discipline, and energy require no unique skills. Teaching, listening, and learning belong to every successful program. Those values apply for both coaches and players. Carry them to the classroom with attention, respect, self-awareness, and self-examination. "What do I need to know?" "How can I grow those skills?" The best choose to make the sacrifices. 

Build culture. Our core values are teamwork, improvement, and accountability. "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." Failure to establish "culture clarity" creates a poisonous attitude. We cannot have separate rules for different players. I recently spoke with a patient who played college football. Teammates resented players who got preferential treatment but didn't earn it. "You know who can play and who can't the first day of practice." Mike Lombardi described the same phenomenon in pro football, where organizational pets were excused from special teams. 

Command ourselves. Years ago, I was an assistant and the head coach asked me to take over at halftime, trailing by seventeen. I stayed positive and made some adjustments, including going "offense/defense" in the last few minutes. We tied the game an went into overtime. I felt uneasy about the playing time of some of the players and started them in overtime. We lost by two. I told the girls, "That loss is on me. We proved that we are competitors." Keep perspective, reflect upon and respect the big picture. There's probably only one person who even remembers that game. 

Embrace adversity. "If we can't trust you as a man, we will not be able to trust you as a soldier." Adversity is our teacher, building character and temperament. Our players, not our record, form our legacy. 

Lagniappe: Leadership





Consistency forges results. Leadership is like brushing your teeth. You can't lead once or for a two-day period and be a leader. Leadership is hard work. Catch people doing something right. 

Basketball Is Problem Solving

Leaders find solutions. Anyone finds problems. Do we want to be a leader or a JAG (just another guy)?

Elite coaches, in the words of Mike Lombardi in Gridiron Genius, control the room, control the message, and control themselves. Therefore, coaching excellence focuses on leadership, "the main thing." What's your main thing?

Find light amidst darkness. How? See and hear Blue Man Group. 



"Each of your eyes has over 120 million photoreceptors called rods and cones...rods are more numerous and specialize in night vision." Rods light the darkness. Cones aren't the answer. I keep a few cones in my car to remind me about that. 

Steal solutions from as many sources as possible...read and research continually. Constantly revise. As we add, subtract. A new drill replaces an old one. 

Spend time thinking. Turn off the distractions and devote 'protected time' to thinking. Even if we only spend ten minutes daily silently thinking. 

In which domains should we invest our time? 

• Leadership. (Become a better leader.) 
• Individual improvement (Create and deny separation; finish; better separation makes easier shots).
• Team improvement ("One band one sound". Are we on the same page? Communication.)

Lessons are everywhere. 

Direction (are we on the right track; if not how do we find it?)
Pressure. Applying and defeating it. (We can't succeed if we can't handle it.)
Playing with a lead...
Playing from behind...
Motivating individuals and teams... 

Think outside the box. How do you solve this problem? 

Get better at getting better. 

Lagniappe:

Need a play that works at the end of a game or late shot clock? Here is a simple last second to the basket play off of a 1-4 flat. pic.twitter.com/92J54sZPut

— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) September 12, 2018

Chris Oliver shares a game winner with minimal time left. 

Basketball: Think in Terms of Possibilities, Hoopopia is Utopia

If I ruled the world...such a fun game. Create your own utopia or dystopia. Assign basketball as the highest form of civilization (utopia, dystopia, or both). 

First, imagine leadership reform. Who runs the world? Basketball coaches, of course! We need structure. And how do we fashion leadership, by election or selection? Certainly, neither Mark Emmert nor Adam Silver are going to be president of Hoopopia. If we had elections, who would run? 

I'd consider Jay Bilas, Kevin Johnson, George Raveling, Bill Bradley, Rebecca Lobo, and Phil Knight as obvious candidates. You'd have high "Q rating" possibilities like Michael Jordan, with slogans such as "Like Mike." Need a dark horse candidate, think Bill Simmons. 


Hoopopia would obviate traditional political parties. We might see movements like "Repeal the shot clock" or "Raise the baskets" by the Randy Newman faction. Ballot questions could include "are zone defenses permitted before high school?"   

You've had your Presidential election. Who goes into the Cabinet? Secretary of Education? You could do worse than Kevin Eastman. Secretary of Defense? Would Bill Russell come out of retirement? Treasury? Steve Ballmer might work. Interior? Brittany Griner's stature rises immediately. 

School uniforms would change. Contemplate the arguments over NBA or college gear and logos. Dystopian societies (think 1930's Germany) love logos. And the arguments over branding...Reebok, Nike, Adidas...

Hoopopia further empowers AAU, trainers (Drew Hanlen for Governor), sporting goods manufacturers. And you think women's college basketball is "crabs in a bucket" scramble now? Your child's future depends on having the right coach and the right program. The Ivy League becomes the Poison Ivy league. A degree in English isn't worth the paper it's written on. 

College applications wouldn't just be about GPA but PPG. Captain of the basketball team would carry more weight than class rank. Knowledge about David Thompson might mean more studying David Copperfield. Air Jordan bests Jane Eyre. And being in the Pep Band counts. 


Great American heroes? Currency wouldn't be about Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. Maybe Auerbach, Jackson (Phil not Andrew), Newell, and Wooden adorn coins in circulation. 

Governor of Alabama? Charles Barkley, naturally. Pennsylvania? Jay Wright. You see the logic. The Supreme Court? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the logical Chief Justice. Or maybe Michele Roberts not John Roberts. 

Maybe Hoopopia isn't such a bad idea. And don't worry, there's still room for intrigue, corruption (who gets the basketball contracts), and every base human instinct. I have to wonder where Rick Pitino fits in...

Lagniappe:

We had a small turnout at the workout yesterday. No worries. Small group teaching gives more individual instruction, more repetitions, and more feedback. 

Even with a small group, we can work on VDE (vision, decision making, and execution)...but it's still better with a minimum of four. 

Basketball: Turning Failure into Success

Many sports are failure games. Mickey Mantle struck out over 1700 times. His career batting average fell just short of .300. But when he wasn't failing, he won three MVPs (and three 2nds), made sixteen All-Star appearances, hit over 500 home runs, led the league in Wins above replacement (WAR) nine times, and was seventh all-time in adjusted OPS.  

We can't let fear of failure stop us. Rational people doubt themselves. The opposite of fear is recklessness, not courage. Courage balances the extremes. Seek balance. 

Greatness arises from failure and humble origin. Ulysses Grant graduated in the middle of his class at West Point. He became an alcoholic. At one point he sold firewood on street corners to subsist. At the beginning of the Civil War, he labored in obscurity in his father's leather shop. From these marginal existences, he led victory during the Civil War.  

Bill Russell grew up a sickly child in West Monroe, Louisiana. The family relocated to Oakland, where his father was a shipyard worker and his mother died of kidney failure when he was twelve. Russell wasn't a highly acclaimed prep player. He went to USF, discovered by Hal Julio. That paid off with a pair of NCAA titles and Olympic gold. His professional career yielded eleven rings in thirteen seasons. Frank Deford wrote, "Fourteen times in Russell's career it came down to one game, win you must, or lose and go home. Fourteen times the team with Bill Russell on it won."

Russell saw basketball this way, "If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you're doing becomes art."

The path to success is cryptic. Legendary playwright David Mamet has "what hinders you?" engraved on a new watch, a tribute to Stoic philosophy. Master film scorer Hans Zimmer begins each day facing a blank white screen bereft of notes. 

People struggle everywhere. I remind some, "Don't beat yourself up. There will always be someone else to do that for you."

We can never be better than we believe we are. Self-belief isn't arrogance. Choose balance. Achieving balance requires finding a manageable process and discipline to follow. 

Lagniappe: Free throw rebounding. 

Failure to rebound free throws frustrates coaches. Defensive rebounding reflects positioning and toughness. I teach players to 'sandwich' one side and man up the other. But we should be aware of 'tactics' used to rebound free throws. 


Zak Boisvert shares the X technique. 

I teach players to beware the "Hook" technique where the offensive rebounder "hooks up" the closest rebounder's outside arm (technically a foul). Another technique offensive rebounders use is jab stepping into the lane and bouncing low if the inside rebounder overreacts. 



Here, Zak shows the Nova free throw rebounding tip strategy. 

Lagniappe 2. Remember Kevin Eastman's WILT: "What I learned today." 

Basketball: Lessons from an NFL Opener

Sports shares lessons as siblings share parenting. My sister and her husband generously took Ellen and me to Gillette for the Patriots opener. Lessons emerged.

(Margaret Atwood, from MasterClass)

Almost every game has ebbs and flows. So do seasons and even careers. But success finds consistent players and teams playing present and well. Fight off Dickensian worst of times with situational play. The Patriots punted inside of two minutes left and downed it at the one. Brilliant. In the "Hail Mary" situation, immediately Rob Gronkowski trotted onto the field with five seconds left as an extra defensive back in the Hail Mary Defense. The Patriots had seven defenders inside their own twenty with the ball on the Texans' forty-four. The Scouts model conveys the need, Be Prepared. Game over. 

Turnovers kill. Three out of four NFL games are lost not won. After a fruitless opening drive, the Patriots turned a fumbled exchange into a Brady to Gronkowski touchdown. Value the ball. 




Grow your skills; expand your role. The Patriots acquired Phillip Dorsett for Jacoby Brissett last season. Dorsett had deep speed but mediocre short and intermediate routes. He grew his route tree and caught seven balls for 66 yards and a touchdown. "Do more to become more; become more to do more." 

Good teams can fail strategically. The Patriots often kickoff high to pin returners deep. Kickoff rules have changed, so coverage doesn't get a running start. The Texans repeatedly returned kickoffs beyond the thirty. Touchbacks return the ball to the twenty-five. The Patriots didn't adjust. "Do more of what's working and less of what isn't." 

The Patriots lost a timeout with a failed challenge. The Texans unwillingness to risk a timeout cost them a big completion to Rob Gronkowski. Saving timeouts can have merit, but failing to deploy them to stop momentum or make a substitution can fail decisively. As Jim Rohn says, "suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret."

The Patriots had a two touchdown lead with less than half of the fourth quarter remaining. A Patriot rookie muffed a punt leading to a costly turnover and Texan touchdown. There wasn't a play to be made and he had three Texan coverage members bearing down on him. There's a real possibility the rookie gets released tomorrow, as much for his poor judgment as for poor execution. "Discipline is more important than conviction" and "life is about the management of risk." 

Lagniappe: modified from CoachingToolbox

5 Spots in a Row Shooting Drill

We're too young to run this from the three point line. The shooter must make three consecutive shots to advance to the next spot. You have to finish by making five in a row (one from each spot) to finish the drill. In other words, you have to make a minimum of twenty shots. We're not consistent enough to do this yet. Move the distances in and see how far the shooter can advance in a set time (e.g. 3 minutes). 

Eastman Quotes from "Why the Best Are the Best"

What's the easiest article to write? Simple, steal the words from someone else. 

Education changes behavior. Kevin Eastman brings elite teaching wherever he goes. He's a willing sharer, someone who leaves a teaching legacy in the game. Here are a sample of quotes from his new book, Why the Best Are the Best. You'll immediately notice there's nothing proprietary to basketball...Eastman's advice applies to living. 

Wholly complimentary, I remind readers that it reminds me of William Irvine's classic about stoicism, A Guide to the Good Life. For example, "If you lack a grand goal in living, you lack a coherent philosophy in life. Without one, there is a danger you will mislive and you will end up living a bad life."

• I often say it’s not about where you’ve been and what you’ve done, but about where you’re capable of going and who you are capable of becoming.
• 
  
• “success lies in simplicity; confusion lives in sophistication."
• 
  
• Keep a “WILT” (What I Learned Today) list.
• 
  
• Champions are about doing what it takes … and not just taking what they can get.
• 
  
• What if your team had NO accountability?
• 
  
• No Procrastination. I will become a pro at refusing to give in to procrastination!
• 
  
• You leave a legacy by the attitude you bring each day, the example you set, the conversations you have, and the mentoring you do.
• 
  
• “Sometimes you have to put your heart into something knowing that it may be broken. - Doc Rivers
• 
  
• At some point your knowledge has to catch up with your passion.

It's a book worth keeping on your desktop, a resource for daily pearls. 

Basketball: Confidence Game

Note: this is originally posted at my local volleyball site, but works equally well for basketball. 

"Confidence comes from proven success." - Bill Parcells

Better players have more confidence; confidence makes players better. How do we advance along the confidence continuum? We need a combination of physical skills (to earn belief) and emotional skills to translate those skills into action during moments. We cannot be our best until we believe in our best. 

Years ago I met Derek Jeter's sport psychologist at an investment conference. He shared thoughts about trading psychology. He taught Jeter to improve his posture, his walk, how he carried himself, and how he thought. That informed legendary performance.

Our inner voice speaks to us tens of thousands of times daily. Retrain that voice; repurpose those messages. We can rewire ourselves to improve and become our better version. Forget about being bulletproof or failure-proof; become success-oriented and failure-resistant. 

Most professional and Olympic athletes use mindfulness as a resilience tool. Mindfulness decreases stress hormones (cortisol), lowers blood pressure, improves attention and awareness, improves learning and memory, and reduces anxiety (partly by reducing density in the brain's fight or flight center, the amygdala). As Frank Herbert wrote in Dune, "Fear is the mind killer." Here's a brief summary of Search Inside Yourself discussing benefits and technique. 

Resilience training (sport psychology) has other avenues like those discussed in 10-Minute Toughness by Jason Selk. Here's another link to an excellent summary. 

Morse code TTP (Trust the process.)

Process produces results. So develop your process.

Breathing - centering breathing. The 'easiest' is a 'square' pattern of four counts, in - hold - out - hold and repeat. Mindfulness training also teaches breathing techniques. 

Identity statement. This is who you are. "I am a capable, confident, focused volleyball player. I am successful." 

Highlight reel. Create an ESPN-style mental highlight reel of your best play...those moments accumulated over time that represent your best. Visualize that highlight reel daily for a couple of minutes. 

Performance statement. This is how you play. "I play team volleyball. I play with knowledge, intensity, and aggressiveness. I am relentless; I do not stop."

Breathing. Finish your routine with cleansing and refreshing breaths. 



Mireya Luis may have been the greatest women's volleyball player ever. She grew up in Cuba jumping to pick fruit from trees. Her biggest concern was that she might catch her feet in the net. 

In Cuba, the team spends 2:45 of a three hour practice on spiking. That is their chosen style of play, relentless attack. 

Here's a post from my basketball blog including footwork, balance, and jumping training. 

Basketball: Point of View

"The NCAA was so mad at Kentucky they gave Cleveland State two more years of probation." - Jerry Tarkanian 

Who tells the story? Every story has points of view. The head of the NCAA, an assistant coach, the star player, a walk-on, the manager, a junior custodian, a player's parents, or an outside narrator all have a point of view. Does a unified story emerge or nuanced one, depending on point of view? 

Every organization tells its story. "Student-athlete health, safety, and well-being remain our top priorities (NCAA)." In court papers, "The NCAA denies that it has a legal duty to protect student-athletes." Emmert replied, "I will not quibble about the language..." 

“Our mission is to be an integral part of higher education and to focus on the development of our student-athletes.” (NCAA Office of the President)

“Our championships are one of the primary tools we have to enhance the student-athlete experience." (NCAA Office of the President)



"It's far too easy to look at this huge top-line revenue number and say 'Everyone is making money...'" (Mark Emmert, NCAA President)

“Keep compliance issues on the front burner permanently so that we don't pay attention to compliance issues just when there is a problem.” (Mark Emmert, NCAA President)

Compliance is as adherence does. "During a two-year period, the head coach asked student-athletes if they would like to participate in voluntary activities before and after mandatory practice. He then listed the voluntary activities on the daily practice schedules. The student-athletes believed their presence at the activities was mandatory and, at times, members of the coaching staff were present and observed the activities. Additionally, sometimes the coach allowed the required practice and skill activities to run longer than their scheduled times."

"Most of the things that I saw Northwestern athletes asking for are either in place or on their way to being in place." (Mark Emmert, on Northwestern National Labor Relations Board actions). The NLRB denied Northwestern players the right to unionize, but Northwestern modified its handbook to specify more rights and violations. Whether student-athletes are employees becomes murky.

Take-aways. 

Facts do not exist in a vacuum. We manipulate them. 

Organizations and individuals understandably advocate for their self-interest and frame the narrative accordingly. They often embellish their points and camouflage or conceal opposing views. 

Consider point of view in that context. When I read Seth Davis' chapter on Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney in Getting to Us, I thought Swinney was on the fast track to sainthood. Not so fast. 

That makes about as much sense as saying playing additional rounds of Russian Roulette would be safer. 

Lagniappe: 



Everyone develops their process. This isn't suitable for team practice, but form shooting has value for a perishable skill. 

Basketball: Simplifying Time, Plus Double Lagniappe

Time is our precious resource. How can we use time better?

In John Maeda's The Laws of Simplicity he lists time as the third law, after reduction and organization. But reducing and organizing inform our ability to maximize time. Go hard. Have too much time at the end our life, not too much life at the end of our time. 

Reduction demands that we purge time wasting. Plan every activity, drill, and lesson to use time wisely and respect others' time. Brian McCormick cautions us about the three L's - lines, laps, and lectures. 

Within drills, emphasize not only proper technique but high tempo. 

Examples: 

Condition within drills to promote efficiency. 

3 by 3 by 3 shooting promotes conditioning and competition (track percentage and makes over time). The shooter rebounds and passes (well) to the next group of approaching shooters. We can run the drill half court pre-game as well. I usually run this drill for 5 to 6 minutes. When we can make at most 40 percent during the drill, we know game conditions degrade accuracy. 

"O-D-O" (offense-defense-offense) replaces scrimmaging. We start the initial possession with a free throw, BOB, or SLOB. This practices special situations within game-like situations. Regardless of a possessions outcome, the defense picks up full court and offense looks to run. Sometimes we extend the action to five possessions. Another alternative is having 3 groups of four, which gets more players touches. The "off group" can work on form shooting, dribbling drills, etc. until they're in within a minute or two. 

Station work and small-sided games. We play some 4-on-4 without dribbling at one end and have remaining players play pick-and-roll at the other end. Other times we have two groups (one with each coach) play 3-on-3 on one side of the split (above).

Organize drills (by name) to help players enter an activity quickly. We often group by practice shirt color (blue, gold, white). That limits reorganizing time within the team. 

I'm sure that you have more and better approaches to share. Use our resources as well as we can. Coaching is a sharing profession. 

Lagniappe: 


Coach Castellaw shares Spurs' (draw) gap-kick-swing actions. 

Lagniappe 2:

Every day, build upon our process...adding, subtracting, refining, revising. Cut! 

Basketball: Visualize and Prepare for Failure

"All simulators are wrong." - Chris Hadfield

"The drill is not the game." 

In a MasterClass lesson, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield discussed simulations. The Russian space agency creates a vacuum around its mockup of the International Space Station (ISS). When they 'simulate' a leak (a micrometeorite recently hit the ISS), oxygen pours out, creating a life-threatening emergency. Astronaut trainees have to solve a 'real' not a simulated problem. Finding and securing leaks are literally life and death scenarios. They must diagnose and isolate the damaged compartment and seal the leak. The ISS doesn't generate its own oxygen, brought to the ISS periodically. 

Learning basketball is just like learning to ride a bicycle. People fall off as they learn. 

Simulators became essential with the evolving aviation industry. A dozen pilots died delivering mail in 1934 because of unfamiliarity with flying in bad weather. Edwin Link flew to a meeting in unflyable conditions and his company received contracts for Link Trainers. It wasn't the first simulator, just the most renowned.

Failure leaves a strong and bitter taste. Many drills don't simulate pressure and decision-making required during games. Brian McCormick has written about this extensively in his Fake Fundamentals series, contrasting block and random practice. 

Failure can leave deep footprints. Build in decision-making and failure at practice. The classic challenge is advantage-disadvantage. My favorite situation is 5 against 7 with no dribbling. Without passing, cutting, vision and execution, you lose. Modifying shell drill by removing a defender randomly forces defensive scrambling and communication. 

3-on-3 'chase' transition also stresses the defense. 

Add constraints in area (e.g. small sided games), time limits to achieve results in drills, situations (e.g. starters playing from behind with limited time OR playing with a lead (e.g. 8 points, 3 minutes) without any additional offensive possessions allowed.) 

Virtual reality could be the next failure evolution. Enterprising programmers could present many challenges requiring decision-making. 

Lagniappe:




Everyone knows a myriad of pick-and-roll defenses - over the top (hard), show (hedge/fake trap), switch, blitz (double), ICE, et cetera. Zak Boisvert shares another, bringing a help side defender and rotating the on-ball defender. I've heard this called "X" by some. 

Basketball: What’s on Your Shelf?

“Doing something that may not be good for you but is better for the team.” - Kevin Eastman

In the Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda shares a conversation with an MIT student who worked with poor, terminally-ill  patients. “What are the few precious things that you can afford to keep at the end of your life when you already have so little?” A ring, a photograph, or another small memento was what he consistently found. Marc poignantly surmised that memories are all that matter in the end.

Memories help define us. But only to the degree that we allow them to. Sport awards emotional extremes. It uplifts and crushes, sometimes in the same contest. They uniquely build, corrupt, and destroy. Think Maya Moore and Donnie Moore. 

What are the basketball memories that belong on your single shelf? As we age, we appreciate more how we serve others and care less about our memories. 

Do we care what’s on our shelves or what relics stay on our players’ shelves? I have team photos and autographed basketballs. But I value intangibles, players’ advanced degrees or acceptance letters to chosen colleges. One player carried the laminated John Wooden Pyramid of Success I hand out to each player in her gym bag every day to high school. She has it at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. 

Control what we can. The player experience is fragile enough. Nurture and shelter it. If we want to foster big hearts and minds, acting small won’t get us there.

Memories hatch from possibilities. Find the players willing to transform possibility into reality. Teach them to explore the edge of possibility with a repeatable process. 


Teaching basketball enriches our lives; help our players forge lifelong memories. Learn to value not what we have but what we give away.

Lagniappe: Chris Oliver on breaking half court traps. 

Basketball: Stealing Ideas

Everyone perceives information differently. I shared two books with a patient. She described Jon Gordon’s The Positive Dog as useless and Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect as Life-changing. 

The same goes for jokes, movies, blogs, and advertisements. Writers bleed to tickle your fancy. We hope that what captures our interest tweaks yours.

John Maeda uses the acronym BRAIN to inform better teaching.

BASICS
REPETITION
AVOID causing desperation
INSPIRE
NEVER forget repetition

“Get back to basics.” That’s wrong. Never leave. Footwork, balance, maneuvering speed. Fall in love with easy. The game honors toughness. Cut and pass. Simple works.

“Repetition makes reputations.” Coach Wooden’s EDIRRRRR. Explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition x 5.

Aversion to loss overwhelms our will to leave comfort. Bon Jovi’s lyrical advice, “you can’t win until you’re not afraid to lose” makes sense. Don’t put our students in situations where loss - of ego, respect, or hope - is guaranteed.

Inspiration drives aspiration. Learning well keeps learning dynamic. Maeda writes, “In the martial art of Karate, for instance, the symbol of pride for a black belt is to wear it long enough such that the dye fades to white as to symbolize returning to the beginner state.” Quest to be a master as perpetual student inspires me.

Never forget to repeat what matters. Students learn and coaches serve.

Lagniappe:

Empower students with the chef’s menu. Again, Maeda shares, “The Western equivalent of omakase is the “chef’s menu.” From appetizer to main entrée to dessert, an exquisite choice of two or three options is offered each step of the way. Thus the chef’s menu results in a great meal because the best dishes of the evening are put forward.” Why would we put forth anything less than our best?

Basketball: Managing Information

Chris Hadfield, from MasterClass (Space Exploration)

During medical school, we transitioned from theory to practice...many use a "peripheral brain." The peripheral brain is a slightly oversized (5 by 7 inch) blue notebook, that contains "important" information. We enter data. That might include the differential diagnosis of metabolic acidosis, treatment of high potassium, how to do a Gram stain (to diagnose certain infections), and hundreds or thousands of facts, acronyms, and more. Ridiculous, I know.

I'm sure students take pictures of information and use their phones as data storage now. I suspect that's more efficient and less effective than our scrawled notes four decades ago. 

What belongs in our basketball "peripheral brain?" And how can we use any tool for sustainable competitive advantage? 

I've shared Don Meyer's three notebook system (general knowledge, basketball, and gratitude notebook annually presented to his wife). I use Google Drive spreadsheets, saving links to short videos, articles, practice schedules, offensive 'elements', drill book, and more. This blog also has become an archive of OPM (other people's missives) and mine. 

Don't rely on memory. We all 'misremember' details. Steve Howe got suspended seven times for substance abuse (I remembered it as eight). Henry Finkel went to Dayton (I always want to say Akron). I know a doctor named Paul, whom I always want to call Steve...very embarrassing. 

Use what works for you. Author Robert Greene deploys an exhaustive notecard system. 
Regrettably, typing is less effective (but creates less clutter) than note taking. The physical act of writing helps imprint information in our minds. Information, learning, and wisdom aren't identical. Meyer's mature simplicity defeats his sophisticated complexity. 

Decide on the format, classification/domains (offense/defense/leadership and subcategories), organization, and retrieval. One advantage of blogging is that the Blogger list function (all, published, draft) has a search function that helps with retrieval. 

Lagniappe: 

Write the best 'story' you can, then make it better by cutting. Some professionals say, "kill your darlings" because a cute anecdote or scene may just add clutter not depth to the story. Radius Athletics shares. 

One step towards Basketball Essentialism is the "One in, One out" Rule.

When you see a drill, set, BLOB, SLOB, etc. before adding it commit to the "One in, One out" Rule - if I add this, something gets thrown out.

"Is this something better, or just something else?"

— Radius Athletics (@RadiusAthletics) August 22, 2018

Basketball: One Word

Jon Gordon wrote One Word That Will Change Your Life. Gordon is a fountain of ENERGY and POSITIVITY that radiates through books like The Positive Dog, Training Camp, The Hard Hat, Soup, The Energy Bus, and more. We each own that word. 



It's easy to dismiss motivational speakers. "They're selling us a bill of goods." The most important talk we hear comes from within. But motivational speakers help us get there. We can't change the world until we change ourselves. 




Exceptions happen. Churchill galvanized England with his speech promising never to surrender. He failed many times during his career; but he saved Western civilization. 

We need self-talk that translates into actions, behaviors, energy, and values.

It's an old concept. My daughters' team that won 55 consecutive league games had TOGETHER. Our word in high school was SACRIFICE. The Celtics used UBUNTU, about community. "I am because we are." 

My assistant, Steve, suggested PERSISTENCE, for the coming season. Whenever I hear persistence, I think of Coolidge. 

Suggesting SIMPLIFY, Coach Jim Boone explains how hard simple really is. John Maeda's Laws of Simplicity suggested these:

Within our life, our process, our program, what is our overarching priority? What can we cut? 

In You Win in the Locker Room First, Gordon and Falcons coach Mike Smith used seven 'C' words to describe winning over players. 

Our word becomes a platform, a rallying point, a vision focusing an individual or a group upon their destiny. 




We had an excellent team that used FIGHT. They hadn't seen the movie. Before the game began, I'd ask, "Are we going to stand around all day, or are we going to fight?" They'd respond, "Fight." 

We'll have a team word this season. Possibilities abound...including POSSIBILITIES. But it won't be my word; it must be theirs, because they have OWNERSHIP and ACCOUNTABILITY for the results and to each other. What's your word? 

Lagniappe: 



Don Kelbick teaches separation off the dribble emphasizing footwork. Whether we emphasize footwork or shoulder-hip-ball, players learn solutions to the problem of getting separation.