Basketball: Bill Bradley Quotes from "Values of the Game"

Bill Bradley is one of two players to win an Olympic Gold Medal, Euroleague title, and NBA championship.* (other at the end of article)

Banker's son, Princeton graduate, NCAA tournament record scoring, Rhodes Scholar, twice NBA champion, Hall of Famer, author, United States Senator. Bill Bradley has the resume'. 

He wrote Values of the Game. Here are some quotes: 

"With his education and upbringing, he was committed to finding some way to serve other people." - Phil Jackson

"Winning was fun, but so was the struggle to improve...basketball was a clear example of virtue rewarded."

"The passion of solitary practice was matched by the joy of playing team ball." 

(On Rodman): He uses his body only after he uses his brain and his eyes, and then he makes a second, third, and fourth effort." 

(On Chamique Holdsclaw): "Her sheer love of the game becomes infectious." 

"I sensed that the deals were offered because I was a "white hope" and not because of my playing ability." (Bradley did not take endorsements.)

"I never wanted to lose simply because I hadn't made the effort." 

"I stacked chairs in towers to practice shooting hook shots (over a taller player)." 

"I kept shooting until I had made twenty-five in a row from each spot." (Both set shots and jump shots)

"The by-product of those countless hours of practice was a self-discipline that carried over into every aspect of my life." 

"The biggest myth in basketball is that of the natural player."

"They weren't beat physically; they were beat mentally." - John Havlicek

"Off-season is when major leaps occur in a high school player's abilities..."

"It takes real character to derive enjoyment from the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the basket." 

"The difficulty of preparation contributes to the sense of triumph."

"Mastery of others is strength; mastery of yourself is true power." - Lao Tzu 

Lagniappe: 


Quiz answer: Manu Ginobili

Basketball Podcast Notes: Will Voight on Basketball Immersion

Chris Oliver interviews Angola coach Will Wright, a product of NBA (video coordinator initially) and international coaching staffs. He's preparing his team for play in China in a tough grouping including Italy and Serbia. 

Tactics? "Your system starts...on your players...put those guys into a position to succeed." In preliminaries they play teams multiple times and make smaller adjustments with limited practice time.

G-league experience. "You can't be rigid in your approach (with a very flexible roster)." 
Know YOURSELF and YOUR OPPONENT. 

• "Even the best players in the world have weaknesses...simplify it for your players." 
• Take your opponent out of his strength. 
• This puts accountability on players. You can't tell a guy to stop penetration and then yell at him when a guy makes a jump shot. 

"Five man shell is better." There's no four-man shell in the game. Where's your rotation on drivers (with a big) if he's not in the drill? 

"If it doesn't apply...why are we doing it?" 

Any defense...should be compact. Offenses try to spread you out. Five players are moving to the ball. Defensive anticipation can help keep players from getting out of position to react back/close out. 

It's a war of spacing versus shrinking. Where does the help come from? Is it really best to bring opposite side defenders to the ball, exposing the diagonal skip pass? For example, if penetration from the wing happens...the on-ball player (abandons) rotates one player over. 

"Peel switching." Think of a clock. Guards are looking "weak side." (My graphical representation) This produces shorter rotations (by more players)  and limits the skips. It works because of superior communication (an Angolan core strength). 

Voight explains that rolling out peel switching against Serbia (B teams) they produced 22 turnovers by challenging the natural outlets against penetration.

How can you compete against the teams in YOUR league? Find a competitive edge. Maybe you can be competitive when you have no right to be...

The NBA game is very different from college...size, skill, spacing. Trying to play NBA basketball without the core domain skills isn't so helpful. Expose yourself to more styles of play to generate more ideas. 

Key defensive realities. 

• 1 GUARD YOUR MAN. We don't have to accept lesser individual defense. Today's defender mentality (may) allows being beaten. 
• 2 Better technique matters. Do you "get fat" or "get skinny" on the screen? (We call that beating the screen, attacking into the ballhandler.) 
• 3 Shorten rotations. 
• 4 more rotation disadvantages rebounding.

Why are we doing what we do? In pro ball, coaches use timeouts to set offense and in college to set defense. Why? Do we have enough transition off free throws? 

"A bad shot in a two-for-one situation" likely still carries mathematical edge. 

Young players lack experience and know how but we can gradually introduce our ideas to build their game IQ. I'm thankful for the summer participation we have, realizing our players have many alternatives. 

Lagniappe: stressing the 2-3 zone defense

"Short" vs. 2-3 Zone from the @Raptors 🔊 (ft. #CoachPaint by @CoachPaintCH) #ZoneOffenseTips pic.twitter.com/SkFqAww3MD

— Radius Athletics (@RadiusAthletics) July 17, 2019

Basketball: Core Concepts - Angles plus Lagniappe on Zone Offense

"You're in the arena." - Richard Nixon (on politicians) 

In his MasterClass, investigative journalist Bob Woodward asks what we don't know. Approach study asking ourselves what more can we learn? Have good evidence and information to support your story. That won't protect us from criticism. 

Play smart, play hard, play together, have fun. Angles frequently determine the outcome of action. Understanding angles shows your basketball IQ. Today, let's share simple concepts on angles. Young players don't know what we think they know. 

Run wide in transition. Running wide spreads the defense and creates better passing angles and good angles to attack the basket. 

Post entry from wing. Against the hard front, "swing and seal" gets and edge. 

Guards often must relocate to get a better angle for post entry. Dribbling to below the foul line extended usually accomplishes this. 

In every youth game and many high school games, defenders (e.g. x1) cheat out and steal "wing to top" passes. Offenses have options...like clearing the post out (to drive) or better spacing and back door cuts for 1. 

Scorers finish from multiple angles with either hand off either or both feet. We practice "Hinkle Layups" during most summer sessions. Tip: starting players with just footwork (no dribbling), e.g. left-right-left for right-handed layups can help. This was especially valuable working on reverse layups from the left yesterday. 

Getting open on the help (weak) side. By sliding lower, 3 gets below the 'visual field' of x3 opening opportunity for a skip pass or back door cut. 

Run to a spot. Gretzky would say, "go to where the puck will be." We've all said it a 1000 times, "run to a spot" between the attacker and the basket. 



Screeners screen from the side, angle, or even flat (especially "drag screens" in transition). 

When players understand angles, it simplifies actions for teammates. 

Lagniappe: "Core concepts" zone alignment by Randy Sherman and Radius Athletics. 

Tom Izzo likes his "Fist Down" set against the Syracuse zone. 

Here's "Boeheim versus Boeheim"

Basketball: Professional Approach, How Bill Bradley and the William Sisters Did It

Be professional.

Game 161, the Red Sox led 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning with a man on first. Revenue aside, it was a meaningless game. A sharp single to right sent the runner to third and the throw was wide. But left-fielder B.J. Surhoff backed up the play. Hustle didn't determine a playoff position, draft choice, or contract bonus. Surhoff embodied professionalism. Respect. 

Serena Williams' MasterClass described her childhood summer routine. Daily practice 9-11 and 1-6. Saturday workouts 9-12. Sundays were off. Twenty-three grand slam titles later, the effort shows. 10,000 hours or not, practice paid. Not everyone agrees. "Johansson argues that deliberate practice is only a predictor of success in fields that have super stable structures. For example, in tennis, chess, and classical music, the rules never change, so you can study up to become the best."

Not a great 'natural' talent, Bill Bradley created an athlete. "Managing to get his hands on the keys to the high school gym, he created for himself a schedule—three and a half hours of practice after school and on Sundays, eight hours every Saturday, and three hours a day during the summer."

Kobe Bryant took 1000 shots a day in the summer. Larry Bird shot 500 free throws a day before school. The road to success travels a four-letter path, WORK. 

The Coursera class on study advises the Pomodoro technique, twenty-five minutes of work and a five-minute break. That allows a mental 'recharge' before attacking the next segment. It also advises spaced repetition (not cramming) before the test and self-testing to prove knowledge. We regularly remind, "trackers are winners." 

Serena Williams recommends playing with superior players. UCONN and other college women's programs compete against a men's practice team, highly selected to challenge them. The men who compete against the Phoenix Mercury know they have to compete. "If you are not bringing it against the Mercury, you will get beat down."

The Williams sisters had a great teacher, their father. He knew his daughters weren't as strong as most men. He told them they had to throw "like boys." Serena says, "I can throw the ball just as far as any quarterback." 

Excellent players don't "go back to basics." They never leave. 

Maybe you won't need a routine with deliberate practice and lifelong learning to get to the top of your field. Do you want to bet your career on it? 

Lagniappe: "Confidence comes from proven success." - Bill Parcells




Lagniappe 2: High-low actions can open up interior scoring. 

The triangle offense can provide an easy to understand and execute flow into a high low action. Here is an example...full edits and breakdowns of the triangle offense are also on https://t.co/L22yyVXl7K pic.twitter.com/kRnvTaLwcy

— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) July 15, 2019

Lagniappe 3: "Roll and replace" creates other opportunities.

 

Basketball: "Tunnel Vision" Is Real

Performance intersects vision, decisions, and execution (VDE). Great. How does that help us?

Advancing the ball, we employ wide vision to spot options and we use narrow vision (focus) to execute...targeting the rim, catching the ball, delivering passes, and so forth. 

Under duress, we get tunnel vision. Tunnel vision limits or alters our perception and exposes us to grievous errors. The death of Amadou Diallo in 1999 exemplifies tunnel vision. Officers misidentified him as a suspect in a serious crime, leading to his death in a hail of bullets. He was unarmed. 

Under stress, the brain's stress center triggers a series of events leading to an adrenaline (epinephrine, norepinephrine) surge increasing breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and focus on 'the threat'. 

It happens in basketball, too. Wide vision vanishes and narrow focus vision and behavior take over. Peripheral vision disappears and with it, our choices. Players force shots, take situationally-inappropriate shots, dribble or pass into traffic, or don't pass at all. 

How do we expand our vision and slow the game down? 
- Awareness that we are all vulnerable to stress-mediate tunnel vision.
- Employing techniques (e.g. conscious focus on breathing)
- Preparation for high stress situations
- Mindfulness that reduces stress hormones like cortisol 
- Basketball Decision Training (Chris Oliver) to speed recognition and execution
- Learning 'cognitive biases' that impact decision-making  

The Israeli Air Force developed software to improve pilot decision making. Intelligym programmers have modified a system for basketball training. The manufacturer contends that both performance improvement and less degradation over time, "money time effect" enhances play. 




The "poor man's version" might be asteroids. 

With even a limited number of players at summer workouts, we work on concepts from different spacing situations to help players recognize patterns and opportunity. Overcoming tunnel vision creates challenges and chances for big conceptual gains. 

Lagniappe: Legendary pitching coach Ray Miller advised, "work fast, throw strikes, and change speeds." 


Lagniappe 2: The extra pass. Via @HalfCourtHoops 

Manu Ginobili "One More" Passes pic.twitter.com/wohcVytP0S

— Half Court Hoops (@HalfCourtHoops) July 13, 2019

Lagniappe 3: via @HoopsSean Passing out of the roll. 

Short Roll Passing - Dunker’s Spot pic.twitter.com/MWK5jLNOLp

— SeanBillermanHoops (@HoopsSean) July 14, 2019

Basketball: Mental Toughness with Serena Williams Notes

Everybody knows what mental toughness is. My definition: "Immersion in doing your best without worrying about results degrading your process." Don't let the moment become a distraction. Everyone won't like you or your best work. And sometimes our best work won't succeed. 

Championship teams and championship players have it. Everyone wants players with it. 

Resilience follows mental and physical preparation as night follows day. Lack of study and understanding spawn mental mistakes. Poor conditioning, fatigue, and lack of repetitions birth underperformance. Mentally tough players like Kawhi Leonard or Steph Curry earned results. 

Coaches want players who stay engaged, possession by possession, playing consistently regardless of the score or the opponent. As Don Meyer said, "It's not who you play, it's how you play." 

Pressure is unavoidable. Improve mental toughness through controlled breathing (mindfulness) and working on COTE skills (confidence, optimism, tenacity, and enthusiasm). That includes an optimistic vocabulary. I can and I will, not I'll try. Mental toughness manages pressure. 

Notes from Serena Williams' MasterClass chapter on Mental Toughness:

"Tennis is 70% mental."

"How are you getting into your opponent's head and make them think they're not going to win today?"

Physical fitness is a prerequisite to mental strength. 

"Practice scenarios" (to build mental toughness). She pretends she's serving 15-30. 

She uses a mental trick, "In ten years, no one's going to remember this match."

"...Realize it's not the end of the world...take it one point at a time." (possession by possesion)

"Take it one moment at a time." ("Next play.")

Because she won a set ONE TIME down 0-5, she knows she could do it again. 

"Move on to the next match." 

Injuries happen...you have to get past it. She plays eleven months a year and knows that injuries and fatigue are part of the process. 

"For me, it's about how you recover when you're down."

She wants to show character and endurance constantly. 

"Someone with nothing to lose can be a very dangerous opponent." 

"What can I do better?"

"If you're angry, you're not going to think clearly." 

"Troubleshoot why you missed the shot. Don't get frustrated. Solve the problem." 

She admires Kobe Bryant and LeBron James for their mental toughness. 

Lagniappe: Which NBA players do you think are mentally tough? Do you gravitate to the stars or the dirt dogs (e.g. Marcus Smart)? 

Mental toughness questionnaire. 

Basketball: Simple Innovation (Do More with Less)

"No progress occurs without change, but not all change is progress." - John Wooden

"Imagination leads to innovation, leading to differentiation." - Bill Russell

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is synonymous with innovation. DARPA spawned the Internet, drones, "colored" defoliants (most famously Agent Orange), the human exoskeleton, and more. 

Even if we're not so innovative, we can do more with less. Simple rocks! 

Equipment modification: 
-Masking tape on glasses can limit ball-watching during dribbling.
-Kyrie Irving improved his handle by covering a ball with a plastic bag.
-Shooting with cloth gloves hinders feel.
-Slightly deflated basketballs force passing versus dribbling.

Equipment disadvantage:
-Ankle weights or weighted vests challenge movement. 
-Weighted basketballs increase strength. 

Home-grown cheap tech: 
-Fill empty half-gallon plastic bottles with water and use instead of cones (if you must)
-Trash cans in the driveway substitute as screeners, to work on shooting off screens. 
-Duct-taped bundled newspapers are jump box substitutes. 
-A tennis racquet duct-taped to a step ladder builds a shot blocker.
-Combine techniques (trash can plus shot blocker) 

Boundary changes:

Practice "developmental offense" inside the split (line bisecting baskets). This could simulate a low set or horns, "Triangle" offense, UCLA, or spread. Demonstrate creative options and encourage freelance. 

Time modification:

-Simulate time and score situations (low shot clock, end-of-period, end-of-game). 
-Change the rules. Give one team an arbitrary lead (e.g. six points with three minutes left) and give the other team possessions in the half-court (defend the lead). 

Player constraint:

-Because her backhand relies on her left hand, Serena Williams sometimes practices tennis LEFT-HANDED. Larry Bird played a game left-handed (incompletely) and scored 47 points.
-During practice, limit players during a scrimmage from shooting outside the paint. 
-Some coaches will require a player to keep one hand at their side during a drill to prioritize moving feet
-You all remember Norman Dale (Hoosiers) insisting on four passes before a shot. Practice paint touch and ball reversal or multiple ball reversals before a shot to train ball movement (Kirby Schepp). 

These are just some examples. Coaches regularly use advantage-disadvantage drills and other techniques to innovate teaching and practice. 

Lagniappe 1: Via Half-court hoops, Blazers actions

Portland Trail Blazers | SOB Zipper Miamihttps://t.co/7Hn6hKUW9j pic.twitter.com/jWFYsY8SXI

— Half Court Hoops (@HalfCourtHoops) July 10, 2019

Basketball: "Don't Lie." Distinguish Craft from Lies.

Coaches find truth from the Speaking Teacher and the Silent Teacher (clip above). Truth is fundamental to basketball. Getting your head handed to you teaches. 

David Mamet's MasterClass has two chapters about lies and truth. His first rule comes from Rabbi Mordecai Finley, "don't lie." Coaches own truth-seeking. "To tell the truth, you have to figure out what the truth is."

Mamet contends lies include "intent to injure." Basketball separates truth from lies. Recruiting dishonestly or misleading about roles are lies. Encouragement without promises is not a lie.  

Kevin Eastman says, "players have to tell the truth, live the truth, and take the truth." 

"Coaches don't have favorites" is a lie. Coaches favor players who are committed, punctual, prepared, smart, and good teammates. Character doesn't replace talent, but Etorre Messina reminds us, "character is skill number one."  



Crafty defense is not a lie. "Pulling the chair" is art. 



Great fakes are not lies. 



Trying to draw fouls covers a lot of ground. Flopping is lying. "False hustle" and "buddy running" (running with an opponent) in defensive transition are forms of lying to yourself. 

Adopt Bob Woodward's advice, "find the best version of the truth." 

Lagniappe: Two Truths and a Lie 

There's an exercise, two truths and a lie, where you tell two truths and a lie about yourself.  Can you make a lie believable? 

Lagniappe 2: Our job isn't to be the best __________ coach; it's becoming the best coach we can be for our team. 

Lagniappe 3: Tip. Get faster. In her MasterClass, 37 year-old Serena Williams says, "everyone has gotten a lot faster." She does forty-yard sprint drills at least twice a week. She goes for her 24th Grand Slam title in the Wimbledon final. 

Lagniappe 4: Ball reversal. Principles translate. Williams advises controlling the center of the court by moving the ball around. 

Basketball: Shooters, Earn the Green Light

Despite his speed and base stealing prowess, Rickey Henderson wanted base-running signals like everyone else. Manager/third-base coach Tom Trebelhorn gave him the green light to steal. But Rickey insisted. Henderson gets on first, Trebelhorn flashes the signs, then brushes his palm across his chest, cancelling the signs. Rickey steals second. The sequence repeats and Rickey steals third. Trebelhorn says to Rickey, "I thought you wanted signs." Henderson answers, "You gave the take off sign, so I took off." 

Coaches define boundaries between control and freedom. Some players instinctively know situations and skill, reflected in shot selection. Others need guidelines. Championships are won and lost when players forget, ignore, or color outside those lines. 

When do we "greenlight" a player shooting? It's a bottom line process. Start with Jay Bilas' "It's not your shot, it's our shot." Scorers make shots. Willingness to shoot means nothing. I saw a middle school game where the coach implores (his daughter?) a girl to shoot. She goes 0-8 on threes with four airballs in a half. C'mon, man. Love your kid, but hate the shot selection. Don't be that guy. 




I'm annoyed to watch our girls walk on the court without warmups and start jacking up perimeter shots...yet most do. Initiate a simple warmup rule. If you miss a practice shot, take a step in...two steps for an airball. 

Everyone teaches that better shots are situationally appropriate, not closely contested, in range, and in rhythm. We are going to start (eighth grade girls) practicing threes this season. Building range includes shot-ready loading especially with hip and knee flexion on the catch. 

Kevin Sivils teaches range testing, "proof of concept." 

Roy Williams gives players the three-point "green light" when they make sixty (60) percent of three-pointers in practice. Set clear guidelines. 

Greenlighting shooting follows other basketball demands. You have to earn it. 

Lagniappe: Outstanding article, (hat tip - Dave Edwards) Build a high basketball IQ

Understanding the game is the quickest way to improve. Improvement gets you on the floor and helps keep you in the game. 

Excerpts:

Here are three simple keys to watch:

1. Do they space the floor well?
2. Do defenders arrive at the ball in close proximity to the catch?
3. Can you identify what each team is trying to achieve on offense and defense (beyond scoring and limiting scoring)? 

Basketball: Greatness Tips from Serena Williams

What do you teach a novice? Where do you start? Principles translate across disciplines. 

We had a new player at practice, an established player's "little" sister...who is about 5'7" going into sixth grade. Her big sister said she was bribed with a promise of ice cream. 




Working on box drills, I emphasized "playing with force." Playing purposefully, with power, separates players from wannabes. Protect the ball, keep it out of the defender's strike zone. 

Can tennis fundamentals help us with basketball? In her MasterClass, Serena Williams teaches getting your racquet under the ball...in basketball shooting, you have to get your hand under the ball. She teaches that the elbow is high on the forehand follow-through...in basketball your elbow is above your eyes on the release. Young players have a tendency to shoot from the chest.  

Serena teaches "body balance throughout the shot." Just as Pete Newell taught the primacy of footwork, balance, and maneuvering speed. 

In her class introduction, she preaches focus, commitment, and work. But she shares that enjoyment is critical to anything you do well. One of our top players came to the workout directly from three hours of volleyball camp. That's commitment. 

The winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles teaches that tennis teaches life skills. You learn RESILIENCE and IMPROVEMENT and the ability to deliver and respond to the UNEXPECTED. 

Lagniappe: Playwright David Mamet says about your process, "this will kill them (your opponent) or this will kill me." 

Lagniappe 2: After warmups, Geno Auriemma's UCONN women start practice with flips, perfecting their release. If it's good enough for them, are they too good for us? 

Lagniappe 3: Popovich 1-4 Wing off ball screen into back cut. 

Having Ginobili and Duncan had its advantages. 

Basketball: Adopt an Idea (Every Day)

See the world through fresh eyes. Refresh and delete from our quiver of ideas and experience. 

"Trust the process." You can't trust or distrust phantoms. Process vaporizes if we can't explain, teach, and share it. In his MasterClass, writer David Baldacci tells aspiring writers to read, write, and think constantly. 

"Nurse" is a play where 1 passes to the post and basket cuts off the opposite post (backscreen) for a possible return. A ball screen from the initial screener is an excellent second option with the resulting double gap pick-and-roll, if you have the personnel.  

Focus. Be self-aware. Mindfulness lowers stress hormones, blood pressure, and decreases anxiety and depression. Through neuroplasticity it builds brain density in the learning and memory centers. And it shrinks the stress center, the amygdala. Meditation worked for Kobe, Jordan, Shaq, Phil Jackson, and great current NBA stars. But it's useless for us? Start here. 

Teach better. Use the Feynman technique: Name, Define, Research, Refine. Ask players to define a back cut. <Crickets> "A back cut goes to the ball then away from the ball." Then, ask them to demonstrate its use, individually and in context. 

Carla Berube moved on from Tufts to Princeton and surely will take the 1-3-1 back cut with her. 

Simplify. 




Two minutes of pick-and-roll from Auerbach and Bird...it's Thanksgiving with all the fixings. Rock and roll all night. 

Everything has to matter. Excellence comes from habits. Habit includes nutrition, sleep, preparation, practice, study, communication, and the professionalism you bring daily. Expecting good play from bad habits trusts a fool's errand. Strive to make each word count. 

In Redbelt, screenwriter David Mamet reminds us, "a man distracted is a man defeated." If we have success, remember why and keep grinding. 

Lagniappe: 



Train to prevail. 

Basketball: Infinity Begins with Nothing. Shotmaking Starts in Close (Drills)

"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heav'n in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour." 
            -William Blake

Blake's poem contrasts vastness - of life, space, and time. Our basketball journey engages mindset, knowledge, ideas, and culture. Elevate players from dust to trust. 

Borrow from other disciplines. Create and edit. David Baldacci says writers see the world differently to build their worlds. Playwright David Mamet says Hollywood joke writers spend a lifetime shaving syllables. Process constantly evolves. 

What does our team need now? 

1. Finish at the rim.
2. Create separation with the ball.
3. Shoot better and extend range. 

Hinkle layups. Score from different angles. Force players to go right or left within each attack angle. Vary to include reverse layups. 

Catch and attack. Play low to get leverage. 



Superior footwork gets defenders out of position. 

Hesitate and crossover into a shot.  

Build range by proving your shotmaking. 

Consecutive makes earn you a more distant shot. Each miss moves you in a foot. Work your way out to three-point land. Remember to load hips, knees, and ankles to generate more power. 

Lagniappe: We share this traveling sphere. Fight food waste.  Four minute video. Food waste is a metaphor for talent waste, time waste, energy waste. Make lives functional and beautiful. 

Lagniappe 2: defensive spacing takes away driving and passing lanes. *Spacing is critical at all times. 

Lagniappe 3: Professionalism. Make your product as good as it can be...every day. 

Lagniappe 4: "Time on the screen, time on the page, time on the court." The director, author, and coach wants balance in assigned roles. In The Hero's Journey, the sidekick or posse often subtly determines the outcome. "Coaches" develop the supporting cast as vital contributors to the success of the story. Are we empowering the cast and balancing the story? 

Basketball: Posterized (What's on Your Poster?)

What belongs on your basketball poster? What expresses your world? 

Maybe you have a signature move, tagline, or imagery for your worldview. Make it yours; make it powerful. The Karate Kid (1984) poster radiates emotion and inclusion.

Word clouds appeal to our subconscious. I don't think so. 

Quick slogans are personal. Do we want personal? 

Do you have a few favorite quotes? 

"Basketball is sharing?" - Phil Jackson
"Do more of what works and less of what doesn't."
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." - Einstein
"The ball is gold." - Coach Sonny Lane
"Everyone can be a great teammate." 

Pretty high chance these don't universally inspire. 

Photographs add emotional connection but certainly don't define you. The last thing we need is a coach's picture on their poster. 

Core offensive tactics? This puts players to sleep. 

How about edited pithy defensive core concepts (stolen from Kevin Eastman)?

Work at getting better at getting better.

“Know the game, see the game, feel the game."

Communicate (head start), wake up (engage all)

All in physically, mentally, VERBALLY
“No middle, no give” (know where you’re forcing)
Ball must constantly SEE the next defender (illusion of no lane/gap)
Shoulders game, ‘leverage game’
1) Get between man and basket, 2) Get shoulders lower
Ball side ‘D’ wins games, “Weak side” ‘D’ wins championships (urgency)
Paint consequences: charge, block, turnover, deflection, hard foul
Shot fake at both the beginning and END of PLAY gets you in FOUL issue
Don’t waste fouls (show your hands)
Transition defense is decision ‘smalls’ and EFFORT bigs
If great player has ball, get ANTENNAs up (HELP)
Know your NOs - no middle, no paint, no gives, no corner 3 (NBA), no offensive rebounds
Contest the first shot (FG %), no second shots
Losing teams are one action, one effort teams (winners are relentless)
Keep track of what errors happen to reduce future errors (e.g. bad D, TO’s)
Put a body on length
Defensive runs just as important as offensive runs 
Player-policed team (high levels)
Transition D 1) no pass ahead score, 2) no strong side score, 3) no shot attempts on first two passes (loads responsibility on transition guys running) 
PLAYOFF defense means NO PLAYS OFF
Problem? TMI (too much information for young players). 

At the end of the day, a poster won't define you. "Define yourself."

Lagniappe: If we intend to improve, we have to shoot better. Let's borrow the Maryland 180 shooting drill from Brenda Frese. 



Lagniappe 2: From Charles Ngo blog, A Lesson in Patience. Invest two minutes to read. 

Lagniappe 3: "Tell the story you want to tell."