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Sunday, September 14, 2025

What Basketball Coaching (Wisdom) Makes a Difference?

Wisdom is in the eye of the beholder. One coach says, "Aha" while another says "Meh." Judge for yourself.

    1. Everyone benefits from coaching, even coaches. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." The classic example was surgeon Atul Gawande hiring a senior colleague to oversee his technique. Bill Belichick had a colleague Ernie Adams, a colleague since high school. Some called him "Belichick's Belichick." 

    2. "Winners are trackers." - Darren Hardy  Measure progress in skills, physical development, and focus. 

    3. "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford   Expending energy developing players' skills and their confidence pays dividends. 

    4. "Don't extrapolate analytics from professionals" to less experienced players. In the NBA it's free throws, layups, and three-point shooting. High school teams can and do win with three-point shooting. Most will not. 

    5. "Four Factors" extend common sense. Differentials of:

  • Effective field goal percentage
  • Turnovers 
  • Rebounding
  • Attacking the basket (free throws)
determine many games. ChatGPT Plus assist:

Short version: shooting drives wins the most, and it compounds with ball security. Here’s a practical way to think about the best pairs of Oliver’s Four Factors.

The four (quick refresher)

  • eFG% (shot quality/shot making, 3s worth 1.5×)

  • TOV% (ball security)

  • ORB% (extra shots)

  • FT Rate (free points & foul pressure)

Most productive two-factor combinations (offense)

  1. High eFG% + Low TOV% → “Clean, accurate offense.”

    • You shoot it well and rarely give it away. Every trip ends in a good shot instead of a live-ball mistake.

    • Best for skill-heavy teams with confident creators and spacing.

  2. High eFG% + High ORB% → “Misses become passes.”

    • Great when you create quality looks and also re-own your misses.

    • Suits teams with a stretch-plus-crash mix; stresses defenses that help on drives.

  3. Low TOV% + High ORB% → “Possession machine.”

    • Even if you’re average shooting, you manufacture a net shot advantage: few empty trips + extra boards.

    • Blue-collar identity; travels well on the road.

  4. High eFG% + High FT Rate → “Efficient pressure.”

    • Make shots and draw fouls. Defenses must choose: contest hard (risk fouls) or concede quality looks.

    • Works with downhill guards and shooters who punish help.

  5. High ORB% + High FT Rate → “Smash & crash.”

    • Punishes switches and small lineups. Even with middling shooting, you win on whistles and put-backs.

    • Watch foul trouble on your end and transition D.

Most productive two-factor combinations (defense)

  1. Suppress opp eFG% + Control your D-REB%

    • One-and-done on tough shots. That’s the defensive gold standard.

  2. Suppress opp eFG% + Force TOV%

    • Pressure plus contests—limits both shot quality and volume.

  3. Force TOV% + Finish with D-REB%

    • If you gamble to create mistakes, you must end possessions when they shoot.

  4. Suppress opp eFG% + Low opp FT Rate

    • Contest without fouling; keeps their efficiency capped when shots aren’t falling.

How to choose your pair (game-planning)

  • If you expect to be out-shot (opponent has elite shot-makers): target Low TOV% + High ORB% to win the possession margin.

  • If you have a shooting edge: double down with High eFG% + Low TOV%; don’t give back value with sloppy giveaways.

  • If their rim protection is great: lean High eFG% (via 3s) + Low TOV% (skip tough paint attempts) or High FT Rate + ORB% (pressure the rim and live on the line/boards).

  • If they switch a lot: punish with ORB% (seal mismatches) paired with your better of eFG% or FT Rate.

Benchmarks (use as targets)

  • Offense: eFG% ≥ 55%, TOV% ≤ 12%, ORB% ≥ 32%, FT Rate ≥ 0.30

  • Defense: Opp eFG% ≤ 49%, Force TOV% ≥ 17%, Allow ORB% ≤ 25%, Opp FT Rate ≤ 0.20

Simple in-game levers

  • Slipping below your eFG% target? Protect the ball and crash to offset.

  • Turnover spike? Throttle back risk (fewer live-ball passes), hunt fouls to stabilize efficiency.

  • Opponent hot from 3? Switch or top-lock, then own the D-glass; don’t let makes turn into momentum runs.

    6. Excellent teams don't give games away. Winning close and late means avoiding bad offensive (bad shots, turnovers) and defensive (missed assignments, fouling, second shots) possessions, having strong special situations (e.g. BOB, SLOB, ATOs), and making free throws. High ambition teams are strong closers with offensive and defensive delay games, too. 

    7. Learn to apply and to defeat pressure. Strong teams can survive deficits and comeback attempts by maintaining or stealing possessions. Especially with young players, acclimate them to close and late situations in each practice. 

    8. "Every day is player development day." - Dave Smart  Investing in player development via study or outsourcing pays big dividends on the back end. 

Find something worth adding to your proven approaches. 

Lagniappe. "Hope is not a strategy." 

Lagniappe 2. Invest in finishing.  

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Saturday, September 13, 2025

Basketball - "Prove It"

Coaches, players, and defendants share a strange common ground. In court, the presumption is “innocent until proven guilty.” Defense attorneys argue from what’s called the “Hypothesis of Innocence.”

Sport flips that on its head. Every athlete walks onto the court, field, or ice as “guilty until proven innocent.” They compete in constant prove-it mode.

That pressure is what makes competition so compelling. It’s like chefs presenting their signature dish. The cooking metaphor fits—because in both kitchens and arenas, success comes down to “time and temperature.” Training, like seasoning, demands the right balance of intensity, seasoning, and patience.

Great athletes have the will to take risks and the skill to back them up. 

UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was a literal farm boy from Indiana. He decorates the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield as both a player and as a coach. His UCLA Bruins won ten NCAA basketball titles, including nine in ten years. 

He didn't win a championship at UCLA until his sixteenth season. Winning is hard. As former Alabama football coach Nick Saban tells his players, "Life is hard." 

Overnight success is myth. Every day, guilty until proven. 

Lagniappe. 

 

Lagniappe 2. Study the game. 

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Friday, September 12, 2025

Can We Be a Basketball "Original" in a Copycat Sport?

What makes a team "unique" in a sport that lends itself to a wide variety of styles and actions? 

Offensively, Pete Carril-era "Princeton" had a difference-making offense. As popular as it was, it hasn't translated at the professional level. 

Tex Winters' "Triangle Offense" won about half of NBA titles (11) during its run. A better argument is that powerhouse franchises led by Michael Jordan (six titles) and Kobe and Shaq (five) were more responsible. 

Although John Wooden's "2-2-1 press" certainly influenced UCLA dynasty, any claim of unique diminishes the impact of Alcindor (Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton, and a cavalcade of stars. The 1970 team with Steve Patterson at center (after Alcindor's departure) might have been unique during Wooden's tenure. Patterson was "only" 6'9" and his 17 points and 11 rebounds helped UCLA defeat Jacksonville and Artis Gilmore. 

I asked ChatGPT Plus for suggestions:

Coaches and players constantly borrow what works elsewhere. But “original” does exist, and it usually shows up in a few ways:

1. Strategic Innovation

  • New systems or wrinkles. Dean Smith’s “Four Corners” offense, Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven Seconds or Less,” or Don Nelson’s “point forward” concept all broke molds.

  • Even a small twist (e.g., the “short roll” pass off pick-and-roll) can feel original when it reshapes how teams attack.

2. Role Redefinition

  • Players changing what’s possible. Magic Johnson as a 6’9” point guard, Steph Curry stretching the floor to 30 feet, Nikola Jokiฤ‡ blending post play with point-guard passing — these are “original” because they made the game rethink positions.

  • “Positionless basketball” itself started as original thinking and became mainstream.

3. Cultural / Leadership Models

  • Wooden’s Pyramid of Success wasn’t just about basketball — it gave his teams a framework no one else had.

  • Gregg Popovich’s culture of international scouting and empowerment of players (e.g., Manu Ginรณbili’s freewheeling style) made originality less about X’s and O’s and more about how a team functioned.

4. Aesthetic Expression

  • Creativity in how a player plays: Pete Maravich’s flair, Jason Williams’ no-look passes, Kyrie Irving’s handle, Jokic’s water-polo passes.

  • These don’t reinvent basketball but feel “original” because they’re unique signatures, not just imitations.

5. Timing and Courage

  • Often, what seems “original” is simply doing the right thing before everyone else is ready to copy it.

  • Think: adopting the three-point shot aggressively in the 1980s, or embracing analytics-driven shot selection in the 2000s.

๐Ÿ‘‰ In short, “original” in basketball doesn’t mean inventing something never seen before — it’s often a new synthesis, or someone daring enough to push an idea further than anyone else. 

  • Originality doesn't equate to successful or appropriate. Watch some high school programs build their offense around three-point shooting when they lack high-level talent capable of shotmaking. 
  • Originality such as "The System" still requires a roster of players capable of functioning within its parameters. 
  • There's an argument to be made that a return to roots - defense, rebounding, and toughness - helped Kelvin Sampson return Houston to basketball prominence
  • Legendary Pete Newell cautioned coaches about attempting to reproduce systems they played under noting that it often results in a "poor copy of the original." 
Lagniappe. "He called the second two strikes, delivered when the victim was facedown on the ground, overkill and testified that in his experience overkill was equated with an emotional context." - Michael Connelly in The Fifth Witness. Teams sometimes respond to real or perceived slights with overkill. "What goes around comes around" or FAFO. 

Lagniappe 2. Late game play. 

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Thursday, September 11, 2025

Basketball’s Silver Rule

Rest easy, Adam Silver. Nassim Taleb’s “Silver Rule” belongs in the game: Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.

Applications on the court:

  1. Physicality, not assault. Basketball isn’t gentle. But moving screens with flying elbows or “gorilla basketball” designed to injure? That crosses the line. If that's your ethos, switch to football. When four middle school girls get knocked out with injury, that's no accident.

  2. Sportsmanship starts with coaches. Down 15 with three minutes left? Get kids more minutes, don’t press the bottom of the other team’s roster. Running up the score in middle school basketball teaches the wrong lesson. 

  3. Respect the refs. Some coaches start “working the officials” from the opening tip. I’ve seen one tossed 45 seconds into a game. If nothing has happened yet, why stir trouble? 

  4. It’s not all about “my boy.” A Hall of Fame coach once told me about a parent furious his son didn’t get the final shot in a close game. Another teammate got an open look and missed. That happens. Basketball is a team game. 

  5. Handshake lines should be brief. After an upset win, the opposing coach told me, “We would have won if we made any shots.” We’ve all thought that, but the line isn’t the place to say it. Wins and losses don’t define our worth.

A Good Rule: when it’s better left undone or unsaid, don’t do it—or say it.

Lagniappe. Strive for consistency. 

Lagniappe 2. I coached with an excellent coach, Ralph Labella who argued that commitment was most critical for achievement.  

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Wednesday, September 10, 2025

The Basketball "Idiot Index" - Finding Inefficiencies

Walter Isaacson, in his biography of Elon Musk, shares how Musk devised an “idiot index”—a simple measure of inefficiency. The index compared the cost of a finished product to the cost of its raw materials. If the gap was wide, then the process was flawed. Smarter design and execution could shrink the gap, save money, and improve outcomes. Musk would bring component production "in house." 

That insight raises a compelling question: what would a basketball version of the Idiot Index look like?

Diagnosing the Gap

Biographers give us glimpses into how people think. Sometimes it enlightens us, sometimes it unsettles us. Translating Musk’s idea into basketball invites the same reflection. What are the “hidden inefficiencies” that separate a team’s raw material (talent and potential) from its finished product (wins, culture, reputation)?

Some candidates for a Basketball Idiot Index might be:

  • Potential vs. Actual Level: The space between what a roster could achieve and what it consistently produces.

  • Impact of Coaching: The margin by which superior teaching, preparation, and systems elevate the same players.

  • Avoiding Self-Inflicted Errors: How much better a team would be if it simply cut down on turnovers, bad shots, and defensive lapses.

  • Program Development: The gap caused by the absence (or strength) of a youth pipeline feeding into high school or college programs.

  • Culture Costs: The inefficiency created by poor team culture—conflict, selfishness, or corrosive outside influences (the “Hoosiers” problem of meddling parents).

Who Can Diagnose the Index?

Doctors order tests, engineers measure tolerances, and biographers trace patterns of thought. In basketball, the diagnosticians are:

  • Coaches who spot recurring breakdowns in execution.

  • Players who self-scout honestly, asking what holds them back.

  • Analysts and Statisticians who track efficiency ratings, turnover ratios, and shot quality.

  • Leaders in the Program who observe cultural issues that undermine performance.

The index doesn’t just measure what went wrong; it tells us how big the gap is between what we are and what we could be.

Can the Index Be Fixed?

A high Idiot Index in basketball isn’t permanent. It points to opportunity:

  • Skill Development: Raising the “floor” of players through fundamentals.

  • Smarter Systems: Installing offensive and defensive schemes that play to strengths.

  • Culture Repair: Building trust, accountability, and unselfishness to eliminate wasted energy.

  • Process Discipline: Practicing repetition, attention to detail, and Wooden-style habits that turn preparation into execution.

Fixing the index means shrinking inefficiency—the same raw material (talent, effort, resources) producing a much stronger finished product.

Musk’s “idiot index” wasn’t about blaming people—it was about spotting inefficiencies that others ignored. Basketball needs the same humility and rigor. The goal is not to shame but to measure and improve.

If your team’s Basketball Idiot Index is high, the challenge is clear: identify the gaps, own them, and then turn potential into reality.

Lagniappe. Coach Berge on earning more minutes. 

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Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Identify Basketball Edges and Leave an Impression


Grandmaster Garry Kasparov once observed that part of chess is knowing what not to do when there’s nothing to do, and what to do when opportunity arises. That lesson applies across sports: players must learn both patience and decisiveness.

When advantage appears—whether in speed, strength, or size—it must be pressed. Great process ensures you can “leave an impression.” As the saying goes, throw your best pitch.

In chess, players don’t see isolated pieces; they see the board in chunks that form themes. Learning works the same way. If you were memorizing Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, you’d break it into manageable parts—“four score and seven years ago” is one natural chunk. Chunking simplifies complexity and helps you “learn how to learn.”

That same principle guides physical training. Skills are built through visualization, practice, and repetition. John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, taught EDIR5: explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition—repeated five times. Top performers across domains rely on this approach because, as Wooden often reminded his players, repetition makes reputations.

Basketball provides its own version of chunking. A simple guard–post–wing triangle can generate multiple scoring options from the same spacing. What looks like one pattern actually contains many layers, just as in chess.


Lagniappe. Execution defines us. 

Lagniappe 2. Coach Tavares suggests ways to free the roll man.  

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Monday, September 8, 2025

Basketball - Telling the Story Combines an Outside and Inside Perspective

Coaches live in two worlds: the external one, with media, fans, and peers, and the internal one, with the team. Externally, the best coaches resist hype. Instead of saying “I’m excited about this team,” they let the story and the numbers speak for themselves. Hype sets you up for letdowns. Underselling your team can be worse—players often perform down to lowered expectations.

Internally, clarity matters. Coaches must state expectations and standards directly. Specific challenges push players beyond comfort zones, while vagueness creates confusion. Translate a broad framework into daily habits that define identity, drive performance, and prove character.

1. Identity

Identity is what your team wants to be known for. It anchors style of play and mindset.

  • Balanced offense and defense: Avoid becoming predictable. Strive for versatility—threaten opponents in multiple ways while protecting against theirs.

  • Play to strengths: If speed is your edge, build pace into practices. If power is your edge, train to impose it. Identity is not one-size-fits-all.

  • “Smart team” mantra: Limit unforced errors. Reinforce the idea that intelligence—shot selection, positioning, communication—is as important as talent. 

Identity becomes actionable when coaches embed it into practice design. Drills should reflect the style of play you want, so every rep reinforces the identity. How we practice will define how we play. 

2. Performance

Performance is what you can control today. Principles don’t win games without execution.

  • Preparation: Scouting reports, film study, and walkthroughs. Teach players how to study the game, not just play it.

  • High effort: Effort is non-negotiable. Sprinting to the block, diving for loose balls, or finishing drills strong creates habits that transfer to competition.

  • Attention to detail: Success often lives in the margins—footwork, spacing, timing. Coaches model this by correcting small errors consistently.

Performance becomes actionable through measurable standards—whether it’s serve targets, turnover limits, or hustle stats. Data keeps performance accountable.

3. Character

Character is revealed under pressure. It’s not claimed, it’s proven.

  • Teamwork: Celebrate assists, communication, and rotations that free teammates. Recognition teaches players that “we” is greater than “me.”

  • Unselfishness: Praise players who sacrifice minutes, take charges, or make the extra pass. Build rituals of gratitude, so unselfish acts never go unnoticed.

  • Resilience: Prepare players for adversity by practicing recovery. Simulate late-game pressure, bad calls, or momentum swings, and teach reset routines.

Character becomes actionable when adversity is embraced as part of training, not an interruption.

Pulling It Together

Identity sets the direction. Performance drives the daily work. Character proves who you are when tested. Together, they form a framework that becomes real only when translated into behaviors, structures, and culture.

Frameworks inspire. Programs transform. The job of a coach is not wordsmithing but turning values into lived experience, so that when the whistle blows, your team doesn’t just know who they are—they show it.  

Lagniappe. Horns provides great spacing and a framework to run many options. 

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Sunday, September 7, 2025

Basketball - Cultural Literacy, Understanding Gen Z Better

Cultural literacy helps us relate to players. Yes, I'd be 'delulu' to think we'll all have a shared language with Gen-Z. Making an effort to become aware of "their world" might help understand how to help them to focus and solve problems in the basketball domain. We don't have to know their favorite movies and songs, just more about how they see the world. 

Flexibility. Be willing to adapt traditional coaching methods. When a player learns better through different approaches, experiment with new techniques rather than insisting everyone conform to one style.

The key is showing genuine interest in understanding their perspective while maintaining our coaching standards.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Collaboration. Embrace authentic communication not just hierarchical approaches. Gen Z wants transparency about decisions and reasoning behind strategies. They don’t want, “because that’s how we’ve always done it." They ‘hear’ coaches who explain the “why” behind instructions rather than blind obedience. This recalls Pete Newell's saying, "They're not cattle." 

Technology. Use video analysis, apps, and digital tools not just for performance tracking but as teaching methods. Share film breakdowns through platforms they’re comfortable with. Many Gen Z athletes learn effectively through visual and interactive content.

Individualism. This generation values being seen as individuals with unique strengths rather than being a cog in a machine. Work to learn each player’s personal goals, learning style, and motivations.

Mental health. Recognize stress, anxiety, and mental wellness. Gen Z is more comfortable discussing these topics than previous generations, and they expect leaders who acknowledge the mental side of performance.

Include players in some decision-making processes where appropriate. They want to be seen and to feel heard and valued as contributors, not just followers.

This might mean soliciting input on practice drills and culture building activities.

Personal touches. Lead through genuine relationship-building rather than relying on authority. Share appropriate personal stories, admit when you’re in unfamiliar territory, and be willing to acknowledge that we have been and will be wrong sometimes.

Here are a couple of examples (via ChatGPT) of Gen-Z friendly convos:

1. Correcting Technique

❌ Old-school style:

“You’re doing it wrong. Fix your stance.”

✅ Gen Z-friendly:

“Good energy. Try shifting your weight a little lower — it’ll give you more balance. Let’s test it now so you feel the difference.”

2. Giving Constructive Criticism

❌ Old-school style:

“You can’t miss that play. Focus next time.”

✅ Gen Z-friendly:

“I like how aggressive you were going after it. Next step is locking in your timing — that’ll put you in position to finish the play. Want me to show you on film?”

Ironically, for all the talk about the differences, the style reminds me of Coach Wooden's "sandwich technique," correction amidst praise.

Lagniappe. No smooth hands?  

Lagniappe 2. Clinic notes from Mensbasketballhoopscoop  

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Saturday, September 6, 2025

Developing a Basketball Program Blueprint

In fashion design, they use a concept called "Lookbooks." An effective lookbook creates a strong, cohesive visual narrative that clearly communicates a specific brand identity while inspiring.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ In basketball, a "Program Blueprint" conveys a similar intent. 

I handed out a program overview as well as handouts such as laminated versions of Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" and Bilas's "Toughness" values. Was it 'overkill' for middle school? Yes. 

Here's how one might look:

๐Ÿ€ Basketball Program Blueprint

1. Introduction

  • Welcome Letter (from Head Coach)

  • Program Mission and Vision

  • Quick Snapshot: “Identity and Performance”

2. Core Values 

  • Character - You Represent the program continuously

  • Competence

3. Culture & Standards

  • Team Standards (“How we act”)

  • Competitive Character (attitude, decisions, effort, resilience)

  • Player Roles & Accountability ("Excel in your role")

4. Playing Identity

  • Style of Play (offense, defense, conversion philosophy)

  • Competitive Edges (e.g., speed, toughness, unselfishness)

  • Branding DNA (how others see us)

5. Player Development Pathway

  • Practice Schedules, Drill Book

  • Skill Progressions 

  • Mental Game (Mindfulness boosts focus and resilience)

  • Strength & Conditioning

6. Leadership Model

  • Captains (everyone can lead)

  • Player-Driven Standards (peer accountability)

  • Coaches’ Roles (teacher, mentor, strategist)

7. Communication & Community

  • Expectations for Parents & Families

  • How We Handle Adversity (losses, injuries, setbacks)

  • Community Service & Representation

8. Fundraising and Branding 

  • Primacy of Booster Club

  • Legacy (program history, Hall of Fame moments)

9. The Blueprint in Action

  • Season Goals (competitive + developmental)

  • “Proof of Culture” (stories, quotes, player experiences)

  • Long-Term Vision (sustainability)

10. Closing

  • Commitment Statement (make promises to yourselves)

  • Final Words: “Run your race” (results follow the process)

Lagniappe. Develop your standards. 

Lagniappe 2. Teams that lack "shot accountability" forfeit chances to win.  

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Friday, September 5, 2025

Basketball - The Not-So-Secret Formula

Austin Klein writes in Steal Like an Artist, "If there was a secret formula for becoming known, I would give it to you. But there’s only one not-so-secret formula that I know: Do good work and share it with people." Commit to quality. 

The column that matters most is the next one. Wonder is the secret sauce of "how did they figure that out?" It's the Sesame Street song, "I wonder, what if, let's try."

Stay curious. Great books and stories replenish the "curiosity well." Books like George Will's baseball anthology "Bunts" are wellsprings of ideas. The NBA Finals raise questions like what foreign players have been Finals MVP (below) or why did three NBA stars wearing number "0" go down with Achilles injuries? 


SGA's brilliance asks what does Canada do so well in development? Or why do NBA officials get snookered by floppers?

Intensity keeps on giving. Combine it with immediacy and intelligence. 

Develop questions to ask ourselves regularly.

  • What/who can I learn more about? 
  • Have I asked players what they need?
  • What can I teach better? 
  • How can I teach better? 
  • Who can I ask for help on this? 
  • How can I help? 
  • What other resources will be difference makers? ChatGPT Plus helps me. 

Lagniappe. Via ChatGPT Plus, three ideas from "Bunts"

1. The Value of Small Victories

Will uses the metaphor of the “bunt” in baseball—a play that rarely makes highlight reels but can change the course of a game—to argue that not every success comes from dramatic swings. In both sports and life, small, strategic actions often carry great significance. He elevates subtlety and precision over flash and spectacle, showing respect for the incremental and the underappreciated.

2. Sports as a Mirror of Society

Much of Bunts explores how American sports reveal the nation’s character and contradictions. Baseball, football, and basketball become stages where issues of race, class, politics, and culture play out. For example, he highlights how sports reflect meritocracy (talent matters more than birthright), but also how they reveal inequities and excesses that echo broader society.

3. The Intersection of Sports and Politics

Will emphasizes that sports are never fully separate from politics or governance. From stadium subsidies to drug policies, from Olympic boycotts to Title IX, he shows how decisions in government and culture shape the playing field. His conservative skepticism comes through as he questions both the commercialization of sports and the overreach of political influence, suggesting that while sports inspire, they are also deeply entangled with policy and power.

Sport is meritocracy...except when it isn't. Privilege, nepotism, and local politics are often in play. 

Lagniappe 2. More SLOBs. 

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Thursday, September 4, 2025

Basketball - Focus Empowers Us and Others

The first price we pay in most endeavors is "paying attention" or focus. Daniel Goleman literally wrote the book, Focus.

It's painfully obvious yet overlooked. The most painful losses many of us have endured occurred from mental mistakes, where players forgot or failed their assignments. We never forget. 

What are the benefits of focus?

1) Attention enhances performance.

2) Don't live on autopilot.

3) Focus increases creativity. 

4) Willpower limits distraction.

5) Increased empathy, see how others feel.

Focus and Leadership

  • See the big picture.
  • Leaders need followers.
  • Leaders help others succeed - "unempathic leaders are unable to see their impact on others"
  • Understand the larger context 
  • Meditation enhances leadership and positivity

ChatGPT shares five highlights from Goleman's book, Focus. 

Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman explores attention as a crucial yet often overlooked component of success. Here are five key highlights:

  1. Three Types of Focus – Goleman breaks attention into inner, other, and outer focus. Inner focus relates to self-awareness and self-management, other focus concerns empathy and social intelligence, and outer focus involves understanding larger systems and patterns. High achievers balance all three.

  2. The Science of Attention – Attention functions like a muscle; it strengthens with use and weakens with distraction. Goleman highlights neuroscience research showing that deep focus enhances cognitive control, learning, and emotional regulation.

  3. The Cost of Distraction – Our increasingly digital world fragments attention, reducing deep work capacity. Goleman argues that constant task-switching erodes focus and productivity, making mindfulness and intentional attention management critical.

  4. Flow and Peak Performance – The best performers enter a state of flow, where attention is fully absorbed in a task. Goleman ties this to emotional intelligence and the ability to manage distractions, regulate emotions, and sustain motivation.

  5. Leadership and Empathy – Great leaders excel in other focus, tuning into others' emotions and perspectives. Goleman emphasizes the importance of cognitive empathy (understanding thoughts), emotional empathy (feeling what others feel), and empathic concern (acting to help).

Lagniappe. "Nose on the chest." I also like "crawl up into them." 

Lagniappe 2. Everyone wants to win. Decide how much emphasis to place on development versus winning. They're not mutually exclusive.  

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Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Why Do We Fail as Coaches?

"Invert, always invert." - Carl Jacobi, noted mathematician

If we know why we fail, then we can try the opposite. That's the mental model of inversion. Think "Opposite George" in Seinfeld. 

Relationships. Coaching is first about relationships. The players and team buy what we're selling or it doesn't work. The quality of teaching and player development come next. Inspiration and motivation follow. 

Quality of talent available. "You can't make chicken soup from chicken feathers." Or whatever. Good players make good coaches look better. 

Player development. "Every day is player development day." Players have to hear over and over that they should practice with specific goals to improve some part or parts of their game. Ask "what are you working on today?" 

Team development. Connection and collaboration make individuals into more than the sum of their parts. Players should know and care about their teammates beyond 'superficial' points. When you know how players want to succeed, where and how they want the ball, then you help them succeed.  

Teaching ability. Belichick's admonition to put team first, know your job, and have a 'granular' attention to detail separate winners from losers. 

Lagniappe. Inability to apply and defeat pressure is a primary cause for  losses. 


Lagniappe 2. Seeing the game allows you to play faster. Yet, you can't go a hundred miles an hour, allow plays to develop, and take advantage of defensive errors and mistakes. 
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Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Basketball - Dragonslayers

Teams win with self-belief. And self-belief arises when teams have the talent, savvy, and toughness to play "harder for longer" however the pressure unfolds. That's a process not an event. 

Talent evolves. Player development never stops from youth to professional. Most players don't know what they don't know so require mentoring. 

Learning the game takes time. Learning to win needs cultivation. Situational practice (close and late) and confirming wins with free throws can help. Small-sided games allow for competition with higher volume touches and decision-making. 

Toughness blends innate qualities, experience, and mental training which impacts performance. Mindfulness meditation increases brain density in the learning and memory centers and reduces it in the "stress response center," the amygdala. DOT B (Stop and take a breath) can help players reset. 

Develop a winning process:

Benefits of This Approach

ElementImpact on Winning
Consistent ProcessBuilds confidence, reduces errors
Advantage ExploitationConverts setups into points, under pressure
Mindful Reset (DOT B)Enhances composure and focus
Continuous ImprovementAdapts and evolves, prevents stagnation

As a young player, I benefited from playing with the same group for six years, including years of Summer League. That helped us to three upsets in the postseason - a team on an 18 game win streak, the 22-0 top seed, and the defending State Champion. 

Lagniappe. "Fly like you." 

Lagniappe 2. The offseason is an ideal time to develop power. 

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Monday, September 1, 2025

Basketball - How Good Is Our Coaching Anyway?


"Examine what is said, not who is speaking." - African Proverb

Human nature judges the messenger before the message. We discount advice from someone we dislike, or elevate words of those we favor. Both habits are dangerous. As Charlie Munger reminded us, “It is better to be generally right than precisely wrong.” Good judgment begins with examining the content of an idea, not the identity of its source.

Judging the Message

The critical question is not who said this, but what truth does this contain? Leadership often requires listening broadly and filtering wisely. Arrogance dismisses a useful insight because of its source; embracing a flawed idea because it comes from authority is lazy. Both can sink teams, businesses, and even entire institutions.

We trust our basketball opinions not always on merit, but because of familiarity and ownership. Our coaching is far from perfect. 

The Art of Execution

Ideas only matter if executable. Execution rests on three pillars: people, strategy, and operations. Do we have the right talent? Do we understand the plan? Do we have the systems and experience to make it work? Align resources with goals.

That alignment is imperfect. It requires adaptation. 

  • A company built on speed and creativity should not bury itself in bureaucracy. Speed teams can't plod. 
  • An organization without a strong marketing arm will stumble if it pursues a mass-market strategy. In sports, don't pick fights with "writers who buy ink by the barrel."
  • A business without deep capital reserves should avoid models that demand scale before profitability. In a program with little political capital, don't step on toes. 
Play to strengths, minimize weaknesses, and adapt execution to the resources at hand.

Sustained Success vs. Change

When an approach has delivered durable success, stay the course. Consistency compounds results. But when success is absent, ask why not? Excuses waste time; diagnosis favors progress. Leaders cannot improve an unexamined experience.

A Habit of Reflection

One of the most powerful tools available to any leader is objectivity. Review your last project, meeting, or decision as though you were an outsider. What stands out? Where did execution falter? What assumptions deserve testing? Patterns often reveal themselves only when we strip away self-justification.

Stepping back adds clarity. It shifts focus from personalities to performance, from noise to signal. In doing so, it honors the spirit of that old proverb: wisdom is not owned by the speaker. It belongs to those willing to listen, reflect, and act. 

Lagniappe. Exceptional coaching. Coach Ladouceur 

Lagniappe 2. SLOB Magic from Coach Taveras 


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