BRAD STEVENS AND BUTLERS DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY (PART VI)

From a clinic given at the University of Florida comes some great notes from Butler's Brad Stevens talking about the Bulldogs' defensive principles.

Here is Part VI of those clinic notes:

PRIORITIZATION

Coach Stevens says the important question is "are your prioritizing what's important?"  The absolute goal is to stop the other team from scoring.
 
Despite the fact that a lot of people talk about "tempo" in the NCAA tournament, Butler never mentions "tempo" once.  They just want ot make it difficult for you to score.
 
Scouting is a huge part of the equation for Butler.  Their system must be adjustable and flexibile in terms of guarding different players/teams.
 
Coach Stevens said they used a trip to Italy to work on some different things and it took them three months to get back to their identity.  So even though as a coach you are thinking about jumping to the ball all summer doesn't mean your players are...Coach Stevens learned that you need to start back over every year.
 
He used an example from Tony Dungy -- the concept of "regenerative leadership" -- older players spreading the culture to the younger players, and the younger players continuing the cycle when they become older players.
 
Next: Defensive DNA #6: Awareness

RICK PITINO'S SUCCESS IS A CHOICE: STEP #1 BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM

The following comes from a book titled "Success Is A Choice" co-authored by Coach Rick Pitino.  Here are his thoughts on the first of his 10 steps.

STEP #1: BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM

We cannot minimize the importance of self-esteem. Without it, we become paralyzed. We are unable to move, to go into action.


Extraordinary self-esteem produces extraordinary things.

Much of self-esteem, in fact, is tied to being honest with yourself about whether you deserve victory. Therefore, don’t try to foot the person in the mirror. You’re only wasting time if you do.

When you’re underachieving it’s easy to think everyone else has the secret except you. You look around at successful people and think they have everything going for them.

Underachievers frequently don’t understand their role in things.

Self-esteem comes with a catch, though. We must deserve it. It’s counterproductive to boost someone’s self-esteem when that person doesn’t deserve it.

Here are five key rules for building self-esteem:

1. Help each person see himself or herself as having a significant role, no matter what it might be.

2. Create a significance for the group, whether it’s an organization, a team, or a company.

3. Maintain positive reinforcement for the effort people are giving.

4. Recognize the people who get less attention in the group because they’re not in the glamorous positions.

5. Never forget that it’s imperative to keep people positive, because those who are discontented have the potential to infect others.

THE KEY COMPONENT FOR THE MOTIVATOR

“The first thing you must understand is that the person being motivated must have the feeling that the one doing the motivating really cares about you.”

-Billy Donovan

COACH MEYER: AS A PLAYER YOU'RE DOING ONE OF TWO THINGS

From "Playing For Coach Meyer" by Steve Smiley:

Great men do great things. Coach Don Meyer is a great man who does great things. Everyday he works on giving his gift of knowing the game of basketball and player development away to anybody who will listen, and anybody who asks him. Coach Meyer takes pride in sharing his love and passion for the game of basketball and player development each and every day. It doesn’t matter if you are a 7-year old putting up jump shots in the gym all by yourself, or a successful coach yourself who has been coaching for 20 or 30-plus years, Coach Meyer will go out of his way to help you become the best player, coach or person you can be.


We all know that Coach had won a ton of games but that’s not what I’m going to remember about him after my career is over. I’m going to remember his desire to get better everyday and the way he pushes his players to improve not just on the court, but off it as well.

Coach Meyer made this point simple enough when he said: “As a player, you are always doing one of two things. You’re either bringing energy to the team, or you’re sucking energy away from the team. On our team, we want energy givers, guys that bring energy to the group.” This is a simple enough concept, but Coach Meyer would constantly ask us what type of player we were on an individual level. Was I an energy giver or an energy drainer during the last practice? Did I make the team more energetic, or did I bring the team down? Constantly Coach Meyer would question every player on the team, and as my career progressed I began to see how important the concept was.

SELF-AWARENESS LEADS TO BETTER LEADERSHIP

The following comes from Michael McKinney of www.LeadershipNow.com

Self-awareness is where leadership development begins. Self-management and authenticity flow from self-awareness. Self-awareness can be divided into four parts: what is known to us and others, what is known to others but not by us, what we know and others don’t and what we don’t know and others don’t either. Plumbing the depths of self-awareness takes time and more intensive tactics. However, our biggest gain in self-improvement can be had by finding out what others know that we don’t. And they know more than we think.

Here are twelve keys to greater self-awareness:

1. Stop blaming others for your choices. It’s you.

2. Take a personality assessment to help you gain some perspective.

3. Get feedback from as many significant people in your life as you can. This can be uncomfortable for both you and them, but it is the fastest method for gaining a better picture of yourself. (Make them feel safe. It's a big, unknown risk for them!)

4. Get a coach or mentor. They don't have to know more than you. They just have to see you in action and help you to be a better you. You're not as hard to figure out (complicated) as you would like to think.

5. Understand that your biggest irritations look a lot like you.

6. Look beneath your behavior to reveal your assumptions and filters. They dictate how you see yourself and others and impact how you relate to them.

7. Look at your roadblocks. Learn to separate facts from your interpretations of them.

8. Analyze your interactions. A lot of negative interactions signal a selfish approach to life.

9. Reflect daily on your behavior. Ask questions like: How do I handle difficulties? What do I think or do when I don’t get my own way? How adaptive am I? Can I control my emotions? Do I tend to say what I’m thinking when I’m thinking it? Do I judge other people and create conflict? How do others relate to me?

10. Organize your thoughts in a journal. It is one of the best ways to capture what is going on around you and inside you. Make a note of the causal remarks people make about you.

11. Read books and go to seminars that help you rethink your assumptions and address your problem areas and blind spots.

12. Be careful what you say. Words mean a lot. Your language reflects your thinking and attitudes.

LOMBARDI'S ENCOURAGEMENT

One of my favorite books is "The Maxwell Daily Reader" which sits on my desk.  Each day I open to the day's date and read the message that John Maxwell has developed for that day.  One such message includes a story about Vince Lombardi.  I've wrote about this story before but thought it worthy of repeating -- especially with Maxwell's thoughts on motivation at the conclusion:

Vince Lombardi, the famed Green bay Packers football coach, was a feared disciplinarian.  But he was also a great motivator.  One day he chewed out a player who had missed several blocking assignments.  After practice, Lombardi stormed into the locker room and saw that the player was sitting at his locker, head down, dejected.  Lombardi mussed his hair, patted him on the shoulder and said, "One of these days you're going to be the best guard in the NFL."

That player was Jerry Kramer, and Kramer says he carried that positive image of himself for the rest of his career.  "Lombardi's encouragement had a tremendous impact on my whole life," Kramer said.  He wen ton to become a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and a member of the NFL's All-50 Year Team.

Everybody needs motivation from time to time.  Motivation makes it possible to accomplish what you should accomplish.  Never underestimate the power of it.

Motivation helps people who know what they should do...to do it!

Motivation helps people who know what commitment they should make...to make it!

Motivation helps people who know what habit they should break...to break it!

Motivation helps people who know what path they should take...to take it!

Motivate someone in your circle of influence today.

THE BEAR ON HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO WIN FOR YOU

"If anything goes bad, I did it.  If anything goes semi-good, we did it.  If anything goes really good, you did it.  That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you."

-Paul "Bear" Bryant

BRAD STEVENS AND BUTLERS DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY (PART V)

From a clinic given at the University of Florida comes some great notes from Butler's Brad Stevens talking about the Bulldogs' defensive principles.

Here is Part V of those clinic notes:
 
CLOSEOUTS
 
Butler likes the three steps and then break down (chop your feet) with your arms up.  They stress closing out to the dominant hand.
 
They also guage closeouts based on the skill set of the individual you are closing out on.
 
1. If you're closing out to a great shooter, closeout to his shooting hand and give him less room to get his shot off.
 
2. If you're closing out to a great driver, you don't want to break down as much: "A great driver beats a great closeout every time."


Next: Defensive DNA #5: Prioritization

BEN FRANKLIN'S LIST OF PERSONAL VALUES

At age twenty-six, Ben Franklin outlined his own list of personal values.

• Show commitment. The core values that make you who you are seldom change. This commitment establishes your identity and determines your future.

• Accept the help of others. It is the assistance of others that helps you determine your true identity. Finding out “who you are” is best achieved with the help of someone who can be a sounding board.

• Think positive. You have faults that need to be recognized and minimized. Be humble, but not to the extent that humility makes you set your goals too low. Success is achieved by focusing on, and taking advantage of, your inherent strengths. One wins by leading with strength.

From "Sun Tzu: For Success" by Gerald Michaelson

SOME GREAT THOUGHTS FROM BOBBY JONES

All the following quotes are attributed to golfing great Bobby Jones...they go beyond golf and even sports:

“You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about.”

“A leading difficulty with the average player is that he totally misunderstands what is meant by concentration. He may think he is concentrating hard when he is merely worrying.”

“I never learned anything from a match that I won.”

“Many shots are spoiled at the last instant by efforts to add a few more yards.”

“The secret of golf is to turn three shots into two.”

“The best exercise for golfers is golfing.”

“Golf is said to be a humbling game, but it is surprising how many people are either not aware of their weaknesses or else reckless of consequences.”

“Rhythm and timing are the two things which we all must have, yet no one knows how to teach either.”

“In order to win, you must play your best golf when you need it most, and play your sloppy stuff when you can afford it. I shall not attempt to explain how you achieve this happy timing.”