Basketball: Notes and Success from a Wise Old Man (Charlie Munger)

Some intellects deserve wide dissemination. Charlie Munger, co-principal of Berkshire Hathaway, is an example. His message crosses disciplines. His ideas can make us better thinkers, better coaches. Don't learn to become a billionaire. Learn to become better. 



I share excerpts from his Commencement speech at USC.

"What are the core ideas that helped me? The safest way to get what you want is 🏀 to deserve what you want. Earn the deserved trust of the people we work with."  

Deliver what you'd want to buy. (Would we want our child to play for that coach?)

At the funeral service, with people there to celebrate the person being dead, the minister said, "It's time for someone to say something about the deceased...nobody came  forward...still nobody...finally someone said, "his brother was worse."" 

Confucius said, "Wisdom acquisition is a moral duty." It means you are hooked for lifetime learning...without it, you aren't going to do well. 🏀 Learn the game.

🏀 Skillsets required constantly change. Berkshire's achievements followed Buffett being a learning machine..."you can progress only when you learn the method of learning." He advises us to know the edge of our own competency. 

Half of Buffett's time is spent reading and another large amount is spent talking with talented people. 

🏀 Learn big ideas in big disciplines. Danger! You may know more and upset specialists and cause offense if someone else loses face. ("Now I'm just regarded as eccentric.")

A senior partner told a brilliant young lawyer, "behave in such a way that the client thinks he's the smartest person in the world...or make the senior partner think he's the smartest person." 

Cicero said, "A man who doesn't know what happened before he was born goes through life like a child." (Know history of our discipline.) Big ideas need context in a mental latticework. 

Think about the inverse. If you want to know what will help India, think what would hurt it. 🏀 If we coached against our team, what weaknesses would we exploit? 

What do we want to avoid in life? (Invert) - sloth and unreliability. 🏀 Avoid selfishness, softness, sloth (laziness). Avoid intense ideology as it "cabbages up one's mind." Putting ideology out pounds it. 

Iron proscription: "I'm not entitled to have an opinion on this subject" - lacking enough knowledge about both sides of an argument. 🏀Having an opinion on everything means sharing our lack of information and perspective. 

"Avoid self-serving bias." I'm entitled to do what I want. If Mozart couldn't get by with overspending, we shouldn't. 

"Envy, resentment, revenge, and self-pity are disastrous modes of thought." A friend carried cards, reading, "Your story has touched my heart. Never have I heard of anyone with as many misfortunes as you." Self-pity is not going to help the situation. 🏀Attribution bias leads to excuses not success. 

What about others' self-serving bias? "If you would persuade, appeal to interest not to reason," said Ben Franklin. 

Perverse associations. Avoid working under someone you don't admire. 

"Objectivity maintenance." Darwin paid attention to DISCONFIRMING evidence. Checklist routines avoid errors. 

"Non-egality often works better." Cites Wooden playing the top seven the most. Get more of the practice into those with the most ability. 

Think like Professor Max Planck not the chauffeur. We need depth not just superficiality. There is Planck Knowledge and Chauffeur Knowledge. Don't be "all hat and no cattle." Try to get the responsibility into the Planck knowledge crowd. 

Excellence will parallel interest. If you don't care, you won't excel. "Whenever we're behind, we work fourteen hours a day until we're caught up." 

Epictetus - "every mischance in life is an opportunity to behave well...and learn something." 🏀 "Love our losses." 

Epictetus wrote his epitaph, "Here lives Epictetus...a slave, maimed in body and the ultimate in poverty and favored of the gods." He was favored because he became wise.

Grandfather Munger recommended, "Be prepared by anticipating trouble." 🏀 We need a comeback game as well as offensive and defensive DELAY games. 

"The highest form of civilization is a seamless web of deserved trust."

Lagniappe: Video Study 



DHNo? Was the design a DHO into second screen? If so, the Nets blew it up, but Portland still executed. 




Curl and Attack. Harris gets the pindown and reads an edge off the curl, attacking the basket. 


PnR and Sink. Off the PnR the Nets get a corner 3 off the sink. 

Lagniappe 2: Munger's 10 Rules

Basketball: Friday 1-3-1, Drill, Concepts, Play. Optimizing Online Learning

Basketball Friday 1-3-1 shares practical and theoretical drills, concepts, and plays. Find something to steal. 

1 Drill: Arizona. We can't work enough on passing, cutting, and layups. Tara VanDerveer shares 'Arizona.' 



Pass up, back, diagonal and finish. Cut hard, finish tough. Vary the finish. We can add resistance near the rim. 

3 Concepts: The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced many coaches and players to Remote Learning. 

1. Practice the first lesson of Stoicism, "Control what you can control." We control our attitude, choices, and effort. Adopt techniques from the Learning How to Learn course. 

The Pomodoro Technique: 20 seconds can make your study more efficient. Alternate study and break periods. Attention is fatiguable. 



Even some pro sports teams have adopted a 25 minute on, 5 minute break approach. 

2. Spaced repetition. "Repetitions make reputations." 



Whether pick-and-roll defense or 3-on-3 small sided games, repetition at regular intervals helps accelerate the learning curve. 

3. Multiple inputs. We learn by seeing, hearing, and doing. We also learn via "self-testing." After reading or practice, write key concepts in your notebook. Writing helps retention. Don Meyer kept three notebooks - one for basketball, one for general knowledge, and a gratitude notebook for his wife that he gave to her annually. Every outstanding player is a student of the game. 



CONTENT. Seek memorable content, like the videos from the Cross Canada Coaches Clinic and its 23 videos. 


YouTube Video Breakdown sites (sample)
Coach Daniel YouTube Channel
Basketball Immersion YouTube Channel
BBallBreakdown YouTube Channel
Mason Waters YouTube

Play: via @BBallImmersion  Stagger DHO '3' 

Dribble handoffs can come at the beginning or end of a play.

Lagniappe: Newell's triad - Footwork, balance, maneuvering speed




AD shows his quickness and finishing skills with the reverse to avoid a block. "Basketball is a game of separation." 

Lagniappe 2: Notre Dame Women, Halfcourt Offense




Collection of Muffet McGraw sets. 


Iverson action through the elbow of 1-4. 

Basketball: Video Lessons from the Bubble Celtics and Raptors

"Talk your book." Encourage players to study not watch. Share educational clips. 

Quin Snyder explained the importance of pick-and-roll defense in a Coaching U Live video, a matter of keeping your job. 



Pick and whatever. In the above video, the Celtics set up a high ball screen. Pick-and-roll is just one option of a myriad. First, note the spacing, even "Stache Gordon" going to fill the corner. Daniel Theis slips the ball screen and gets the feed from Kemba Walker. 



Finish with versatility. Teach players to finish explosively with either hand off either foot. Gordon Haywood gets a flat ball screen from Theis and gets downhill for the layup. 



Butter with that roll. VanVleet hits Gasol on the short roll, who finds Siakam for a corner 3 as Brown comes over to help. The short roll PnR protection proves costly. 




"Don't play in the traffic" and "don't get split." Kyle Lowry violates the traffic admonition and Celtics charitably allow him safe passage to the rim. 




"Slip-sliding away." Hayward and Rob Williams stack screens (twisted Horns) and Smart finds Williams on the slip.



"Shoulders game." Jayson Tatum attacks the basket and gets his shoulder past the defender. He doesn't settle for an in-between shot. 



"Now you see me, now you don't." Smart gets a ball screen and the defender suspects a rescreen. Rob Williams has a different idea with a release to the basket when the defender turns his head. 



"Drop Zone." Toronto varies their PnR coverage, using "drop coverage" against Brad Wanamaker and Williams. That allows a midrange shot and two points. 



"Draw 2." Good players "draw 2" defenders. Hayward stumbles but gets the ball to Theis, who drives, draws, and dishes to Wanamaker for 3. Some teams coach defenders NOT to help off the corner 3. 



"Set up your cut and cut hard." VanVleet fakes a flare screen and cuts hard to score off the pass from Gasol. Beautiful. 

Lagniappe: if you got nothing from this, here's payback. 

Want to experience pure, unfiltered joy? Watch my Dad try to hold back the tears when he is surprised by his friends and cast mates in this little tribute video for his Lifetime Achievement Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Love you, Dad! You deserve it all. https://t.co/DdGLjlmHs5

— dan levy (@danjlevy) August 11, 2020

Basketball: You're Asked to Give a Brief Clinic. About What?

"Experience is the best teacher, but sometimes the tuition is high." Support young coaches and share a handful of information that doesn't come cheaply. Be specific. 

1. "Simplify and clarify." 

• Get everyone on the same page. Share common language. For example, do you call your primary pick-and-roll defense HEDGE, SHOW, or FAKE TRAP? What kind of idiot calls it FAKE TRAP (Coach K)? 
• We called a 2-1-2 zone "FIVE" because it looks like a die. 
• Be "performance-focused, feedback-rich." Ask players to explain the what and why.
• Kevin Eastman counsels, "Know your NOs." (E.g. no middle, no dribble penetration, no uncontested shots)

2. "Fight for your culture every day." - Doc Rivers 

• What's important to your culture? Specify. Collaborate, appreciate teammates. Don't ASSUME. Praise desired behaviors. 
• TIA. Teamwork, improvement, accountability.  
• "It's the scoreboard not the scorebook." Don't be a STAT HUN. 
• This is who we are; that is not who we are. "Humble in victory, gracious in defeat."
• Help kids make memories. 

3. "Develop great habits." Make it easy to do the right thing. 

• "We make our habits and our habits make us." 
• Study the formation and maintenance of habits. "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. 
• Consciously build your day. 
• Commit to learning, reading, film study every day. 
• Track your habits. "Winners are trackers." ("The Compound Effect")
• Ask players what book they are reading. 

4. "Possession and possessions."

• Be opportunistic. 
• Win this possession.
• A game is the sum of individual possessions. 
• Use actions that are hard to defend...pick-and-roll, ball reversal, hard cutting. 
• Can you play harder for longer than your opponent? 

5. "Be good at what you do a lot." Pick a couple of key metrics for our team. 

• Define as a team what we're going to excel at. 
• Offensively, limit turnovers ("the ball is gold") and take good shots. 
• Quality teams get more assists. "The quality of the pass relates to the quality of the shot."
• No easy baskets - define transition D responsibilities and clear PnR defensive technique. Better to have two good techniques than six bad ones. 

6. "Fall in love with easy." Make the game easier for yourself and for teammates. 

• Teamwork (communication, ball, and player movement).
• The best players make everyone around them better. 
• ROB shots - Range, Open, Balance. Nobody's good enough to overcome poor shot selection. Shot selection is the quickest path to immediate improvement. "Get 7s."
• I see summer video with players concerned mostly about their scoring not the team. 
• "Don't play in the traffic." 

7. "Every good team can apply and withstand pressure." 

• Break pressure with the goal of scoring off advantage. 
• Make practice hard so games are easy.
• Practice advantage-disadvantage.
• Affords scrimmage opportunity and conditioning. 

8. "Raise your basketball IQ." 

• Study great players. Mason Waters has great player breakdowns on YouTube
• Study great coaches. Billy Donovan's "95" - what are you doing the 95% of the time you don't have the ball? 
• Devote part of every day to studying video (Watching is not study. Consider building each day's study around a theme.). 
• Build a video clip library (e.g. with a spreadsheet on Google Drive). Share clips with players. 

9. "Everybody needs coaching; nobody needs abuse." 

• "What does it feel like to play for me?"
• Relationships are always a priority. 
• Everyone can choose to be a great teammate. Examples from Teammates Matter
• "Speaking Greatness" (Rod Olson). What we say and how we say it. "That's good but" is different than "That's good AND..." 
• "Never be a child's last coach." 

10. "Match roles to your people."

• Embrace your role because you can excel in your role and vice versa. 
• Most players are complementary players in every league. 
• "There is always a pecking order." - Eric Spoelstra
• Develop players for roles (they can expand their role from stopper, rebounder) during their development. A limited player may carve out minutes by excelling in that role (e.g. stopper). 

Lagniappe: Via Radius Athletics (Rip Screen) via Leicester HS

Lagniappe 2: Celtics Ball Movement



What has Brown done for you lately? 

Assists make everyone happy. 

Lagniappe 3: Find the leader. Last summer we were playing a game and a group of boys was waiting to come on the court. They encroached onto the court and were dribbling basketballs during the game. I went over to one who "looked" like a leader. I asked him as  LEADER OF HIS TEAM (politely) to get his teammates to respect the game and the girls. It worked that time. 

Basketball: What Is Myocarditis? Why Should We Care?

Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle. 

Heart muscle - Myocardium
Inflammation - "itis" (e.g. appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix) 

The concern is myocarditis triggered by COVID-19. Early indications were that among 'sicker' patients, about 20-25 percent developed myocarditis based on blood tests, EKG, and echocardiograms.  

The heart is both a pump, circulating blood to vital organs and muscle and an electrical machine. Interference (illness) can cause pump failure (heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction - hfpef or hfref). Symptoms vary from chest pain (inflammation), shortness of breath/fatigue (decreased pump function), or palpitations/arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). 

You may be familiar with the Red Sox starting pitcher, 27 year-old Eduardo Rodriguez, who won 19 games last year and is sitting out 2020 with myocarditis. 

Two German studies recently found frequent heart involvement in COVID-19 patients. 

In Italy, researchers found an increased number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. This didn't discuss any role for hydroxychloroquine, which is associated with heart rhythm disturbances. 

The American College of Cardiology has promulgated a general approach to the recovering athlete with COVID-19. 

I'd summarize this as "go slow, go low" as far as advancing activity with prolonged convalescence and supervised recovery. 

For any individual patient, they should rely on their doctor and specialty consultation as needed. 

The point isn't to use 'scare tactics' but recognize that in large populations of athletes during a pandemic, caution is advised. Outcries of "they need to play" or "we want to play" are secondary. 

During my career as a Navy physician, we had a gatekeeper role on deciding when athletes could return to play based on medical guidelines, not upon their wishes. This particularly mattered as their primary obligations were to the country as future naval officers. 

I am not a cardiologist, but ran an ICU as a Pulmonary/Critical Care specialist in a community hospital for over twenty years. 

Basketball: "Limfac" (Limiting Factors) and Draw 2

"It Takes a Network to Defeat a Network" - US principle to fight AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq), via Team of Teams, by McChrystal et. al. 

Ideas are the currency of the future. And it takes currency (real and figurative) to invest in their acquisition, organization, and editing. 

In Team of Teams, General Stanley McChrystal and others describe a floundering response and adaptation to the war against AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq). He emphasizes limfac, military-speak for "limiting factors" which prevent an organization from operating at high or peak performance. Superior American technology, forces, and resources struggled in asymmetrical warfare against an under-resourced and untrained adversary that constantly morphed into something else. 

He cites multiple examples to describe the problem - the story of Proteus, the 'shape-shifter', HIV, weakening the body so non-threatening organisms become lethal, and the triumph of Admiral Nelson against the Franco-Spanish navies at the Battle of Trafalgar (using a novel formation, below). 

We all face limfac, whether we realize it or not. They could be external - time, money, focus, equipment, practice facilities, personnel, assistants, organizational support, community involvement, et cetera. Or it can be our lack of awareness, ignorance, or resistance to change. I'll briefly discuss three elements.  

Equipment. "A correctly packed bag can mean the difference between life and death." - Team of Teams

We've all seen players forget uniform parts (sneakers, correct jersey), contact lenses, and medication (e.g. asthma inhalers). Getting everyone on the same page includes preparation details like "packing your bag." An unpacked bag can mean a DNP - Coach's Decision.

I saw a critical volleyball match rescued by a reserve setter while the starter got a shoelace from a teammate. 

Community involvement. Sustained success needs community support. "It takes a village to raise a child." We've had extraordinary community support through the years. A group of older fans owned the moniker "The Back Row Boys," providing as much or more support to the girls' programs as the boys'. 

Building community is an integral theme for servant leadership. The community generously supports special activities like Senior Night, Hall of Fame Inductions, and fundraising.    

It cuts both ways. A poor relationship with the community deflates the program.

Competition. At the Middle School level, the competition has been the YMCA. But at the High School level, three formidable layers emerged - charter schools, Private Religious schools, and Prep Schools. The high school has lost both quality and quantity, the former especially limiting.  

Lagniappe: What forces promote competitive advantage? 

We see a lot of the American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) this year. Why? Is there something in our environment that encouraged its success? We haven't seen a decrease in squirrels, blue jays, or hawks that threaten adults and young. I don't know if the food supply, changes in pesticide use, or milder winters have helped the 'wild canary.' 

1. Academics. Strong academic performance keeps some students home and engaged. 

2. Facilities. Our community has a terrific gymnasium with exceptional lighting. 

3. Coaching. Programs with superior coaching have a distinct advantage in attracting and retaining players. 

4. Tradition. "Tradition never graduates." Tradition works until it doesn't. 

5. Visibility. Winning teams with strong schedules attract media attention which can help both team and player recognition and awards. 

6. Developmental programs. Travel teams, offseason workouts, and access to strength and conditioning programs all disrupt the level playing field. 

Lagniappe 2: "Draw 2" 




The ability to "Draw 2" is a key basketball skill. Celtics' guards Marcus Smart and Brad Wanamaker repeat the action on the same play. 

Basketball: Spread Offense Thoughts, "What's in a Name?"

Expose teams to spread offense. If for no other reason, we have to defend it. We commonly hear "5-out," "fifty," "open," or "spread." 

It fills the corners and spaces the floor opening driving and cutting lanes.  

This is the "oversimplified" at a glance view. Simplicity, well-executed, challenges defense. Good offense creates hard to defend actions and forces the defense to cover more area. 

• Pass and cut (give-and-go)
• Pass/screen away (multiple options)...more often than pass and screen the ball (slipping the screen is another look) 
• If the first pass is overplayed, backdoor may be available. 
• Of course flare screens and downscreens can happen from the wing/corner. 

Bucks action. It works at EVERY level. Simplicity is part of its appeal. The conflict between simplicity and complexity never disappears. 

Once a team understands core actions, use the protean opportunities (variant of Duke Elbow Clear).

The "Iso" becomes a wing ball screen... as an alternative... and sets us "rejecting the screen" for an anxious defender. 

Here's a post from Radius Athletics about the UNI Spread offense. 

Teaching spread offense adds value for our defense as well. It demands: 

• Ball containment
• Denying the give-and-go (jump to the ball) 
• Pick-and-roll defense
• Defending back cuts 
• Defending off ball screens (switch, through?)
• Help and rotation

As Coach Brad Stevens reminds, "the difference between good defense and bad defense is the outcome of a few possessions." 

Lagniappe: via @PickAndPopNet (ATO with multiple options) 

Nice ATO that Brooklyn has been running down in Orlando pic.twitter.com/LYW4zSHHNa

— PickandPop (@PickAndPopNet) August 6, 2020

Basketball: Recap. But I Knew That.

Coaching young players teaches us a lot. After a player takes a low quality shot, throws the ball away, or doesn't cover anyone, they look to the bench and say, "I know." What does that mean and how does it help? 

What our players don't know frustrates us. If she's such a great coach, why doesn't she win more? 

We can't out-coach systemic unevenness. As Don Miguel Ruiz counseled in The Four Agreements, "Always do your best." 

"Control what we can control." Prioritize handling pressure, stopping transition baskets, taking better shots, and forcing opponents to limit quality shots. 

Become a worthy opponent with effort, better basketball IQ, and persistence. 

Play the right way, respect the game, and show sportsmanship. 

Highlights from recent blogs: 

1 From Greg Jockims



2 Duke Elbow Handoff and Friday 1-3-1

From the Len Acuff/Chris Oliver Podcast: Get a great mentor. 

3 "The closest thing to a 1 shortcut in coaching is having the right mentors."

From James Clear and "Habits"

4 "Tell the story of why you failed." Do a pre-mortem examination. Examine what went wrong before it goes wrong. We can't change if we're unaware.

5 Develop "highlight reels" for your program. 

- Capture people doing something great.
- Record it.
- Be positive (B+).

6 Track and treat "Defensive Mistakes and Errors" 

7 Learn from innovators (like the NFL's Sid Gillman)

Sid Gillman dreamed of coaching in the Big 10. But he never got a sniff at a job because Gillman was Jewish. "Sid was very sensitive to any type of discrimination...one of the first pro coaches to actively scout historically black colleges, sign those athletes in significant numbers, and assign them roommates by position, not by race." 

8 "Always do your best." 

Everything you have ever learned, you learned through repetition.

 

9 Develop the culture you want. (Notes from Eric Spoelstra)

10 A summer LIFESAVING TIP. 

 

Summer physiology tip. SAVE A LIFE, MAYBE YOUR OWN.The physiology of breath-holding is complicated. But hyperventilating PRIOR to underwater swimming can cause underwater blackout and death from low oxygen. Seeing how long you can hold your breath underwater can LITERALLY kill you or a loved one. Navy divers are trained NOT to do this. Don't you or your children do this either. Don't turn summer fun into tragedy. 

Basketball: Training Lessons, Gone to the Dogs

A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying. - B.F. Skinner



We perform to the level of our training. The latest MasterClass is Dog Training from Brandon McMillan. He shares many "cross-disciplinary" tips for coaching. I am not calling players 'dogs' but noting that operant conditioning works across species. B.F. Skinner first described operant conditioning. "Operant conditioning relies on a fairly simple premise: Actions that are followed by reinforcement will be strengthened and more likely to occur again in the future."

1 Training depends on many factors including the dog's age, history, and "DNA." If he starts with a poorly-trained or abused animal, training will be tougher. I coached an athletic girl who continually talked back and resisted learning. I stayed patient. A year later her mother told me the girl eventually figured out that I was coaching not criticizing. She was an All-League player last season. 

2 Training involves technique and conditioning (repetition with reward). There is no shortcut. "The magic is in the work." 

3 Results are more durable when performed over time and multiple sessions. (Spaced learning principle, see Learning How to Learn from Coursera.org)

4 Training succeeds better when the trainee is rested. (The more emotional, confused, uncertain, insecure, excited, distracted, tired, or stressed we are, the easier we make mistakes.) - Peter Bevelin (Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger)

5 The accompanying voice should be direct not a suggestion or a question. 

6 Praise and reward are integral to the process and should be done "up close." (But, players and their families value recognition in print and electronic media, not just verbal communication.) 

7 End on a positive note. 

Keys: 

- Performance depends on positive repetitions.
- Conditioning takes time and is better when spaced.
- Training under fatigue is less effective. 
- Praise is an integral part of training.
- End on an upbeat note. 

Lagniappe: Spot trends as they evolve. The Celtics employ pick-and-roll "drive and seal" action to good effect in this 8-second clip. 



Lagniappe 2a: "A game of separation..." Harden step-back 



Lagniappe 2b. Jamaal Murray has a killer step back, too. 



Lagniappe 3. Coach Dorsey on Northern Iowa's "5 Out" Half-court offense. 

• Great spacing.
• Always fill the corners. 
• Multiple options

N. Iowa 🤚🏽 out offense is poetry‼️

3 main actions:
1️⃣: Single away screen
2️⃣: Single DHO
3️⃣: Staggered DHO

(Full video on YouTube channel)⤵️https://t.co/vYb2RzswD5 pic.twitter.com/BcNN3rW6lv

— Chris Dorsey (@GentsCoachD) August 8, 2020