Like most people, I never gave much thought to defining my personal philosophy, but I admit I was stubborn about what I believed to be right. Basketball is beautiful game, and I had a vision of how it should be played and how our program should be run. That vision involved our coming together as a team, putting team ahead of self, first and foremost, and being smart and hardworking.We were tough on our freshman. We believed we had to take them out of the bad habits they had formed in high school, often with their coaches’ blessing. In ridding them of bad habits, we tore them down in order to building them up.
The addition or subtraction of just one player can have an enormous impact on a team’s chemistry, not to mention its ability.
We made adjustments each year, depending on our personnel, and an annual goal was to disguise our team’s weakness and accentuate its strengths.
We didn’t fear change even in the midst of the season. When your goal is to put your players in the best position possible for them to be successful, there’s a time to be stubborn and a time to be flexible.
From The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons From A Life In Coaching
By Dean Smith with Gerald D. Bell and John Kilgo
By Dean Smith with Gerald D. Bell and John Kilgo
