EXTREME NEXT GAME PREPARATION

There are always the stories about the coach that starts thinking about the next game as they are marching off the field or leaving the court.  But I've never read or heard of a coach that took it to the extreme level that Paul "Bear" Bryant did while coaching at the University of Kentucky in 1950. The following comes "The Last Coach" written by Allen Barra:

"The tenth game was a horrific 83-0 slaughter of North Dakota University in which Bryant yanked his starting players out of the game at the half and sent them to the practice field to start preparing for the following week's game with Tennessee."

"THE COACH K WAY"

The following is an excerpt from an article written by David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel.  Whitley went to here Coach Mike Krzyzewski speak and listed the following as the "Coach K Way:"

• Treat everybody right.

Example: Before each season, Krzyzewski introduces his team to the crew that cleans Duke's basketball facilities.

"You need to treat these people like they're your family," he says.

• Give your team ownership.

The U.S. Olympic team was a spoiled-brat mess when Krzyzewski took over in 2005. Before the first practice, he told players there would be no team rules, but he wanted them to come up with "standards."

Players were given responsibility. They've responded by winning gold medals in 2008 and 2012.

• Adapt.

Krzyzewski won his first title 24 years ago, when players often stuck around four years. This year's Duke team will probably have three one-and-dones. Rent-a-player goes against Duke's brainy image, but clinging to the old way was a permanent ticket to the NIT.

"You have to be in a constant state of trying to learn," Krzyzewski said.

• There is no totem pole.

When players are treated equally, they gain confidence. Case in point: Grayson Allen.

He was the relative runt of Duke's freshman litter. But when the Blue Devils trailed Wisconsin by nine points with 13 minutes left, Allen slapped the ball away on defense, scrambled after it and dived to save it from going out of bounds.

"It was one of the greatest plays in the history of our program," Krzyzewski said.

Allen didn't get up and beat his chest. He looked at the Duke bench as he yelled, "Let's go! Let's go!"

Duke rallied to win 68-63 in Indianapolis. The emotion in Krzyzewki's voice was still crackling in Orlando.

 

SABAN ON "THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE"

This is one of the best things I've read in some time and something that we will share with our team.  It comes from Coach Nick Saban who has had some discipline issues with his team this off-season.

“They all think they have this illusion of choice,” Saban told AL.com. “Like ‘I can do whatever I want to do’. And you kind of have a younger generation now that doesn’t always get told no, they don’t always get told this is exactly how you need to do it. So they have this illusion that they have all these choices.”

Then Saban got a little philosophical, and provided an interesting look at how he views the price you have to pay to be successful.

“But the fact of the matter is, is if you want to be good, you really don’t have a lot of choices, because it takes what it takes. You have to do what you have to do to be successful. So you have to make choices and decisions to have the discipline and focus to the process of what you need to do to accomplish your goals.”

“All these guys that think they have a lot of choices are really sadly mistaken. And I think, as we all have done with our own children, they learn these lessons of life as they get older, and sometimes the best way to learn is from the mistakes that you make, even though we all hate to see them have to make them. And we don’t really condone them when they do.”

SOME OF OUR BEST COACH K BLOG POSTS

In honor of Duke's National Championship last night, here is a list of some of our favorite blog posts regarding Coach Mike Krzyzewski:

Practice & Playing Time Thoughts

3 Things to Learn From Coach K

Having Fun Is Doing Hard Things Well

The Next Play Mentality

Choosing The Right Words

Thoughts on Coach K from Jay Bilas (Coaching U Live)

Coach K on Developing a Culture

Coach K on Maintaining Passion

Key Words for Coach K

Teamwork Begins and Ends with Communication

Coach K's Little Blue Book

Random Coach K Thoughts

THE BEST UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO SEEK AND ACCEPT CHANGE

There are a lot of different ways to coach and teach our game -- many of those ways lead to the development of good teams.  But the one constant above all -- for those who sustain excellence for long periods of time, if their ability to seek out and accept change when it is part of improvement.

Few coaches have met the success over long periods of time like Coach Mike

Krzyzewski. There was an article written in the Buffalo News recently on that topic by Bucky Gleason.

 

You can read the entire article here.  Below are some key excerpts: 

“I saw an interview that he did the other day where he said that he, himself, is still learning and still adjusting and still evolving,” Christian Laettner said Thursday by telephone. “He’s learning how to coach these kids. He’s coaching them differently today than he did me 23 years ago. Coach K is still learning.

“They say, ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.’ He’s breaking that cliché. He’s an old dog for sure, but he looks young on the sideline. He has a lot of passion and intensity, but he’s not so rigid that he doesn’t evolve and change with the way kids are today and the way the game is played today.”

Five years ago, Duke won its last national title with sound defense and effective shooting from the perimeter. In 2001, it had a great forward in Shane Battier, was strong inside with Carlos Boozer and a great shooter in Mike Dunleavy. In the early 1990s, it revolved around Laettner, Hurley and Grant Hill.

“I’m sure he’s still stubborn about some deep-rooted, hard-core philosophies that he has,” Laettner said. “I’m sure he delivers those messages to the kids very strictly and very stubbornly. In other ways, he has to be willing to change, be willing to give in and relent, and relate with these young players today.”

In another era, Krzyzewski turned away from recruits who considered playing for a year or two in college before jumping to the NBA. He wanted them to stay for all four years and grow with the program. Although Corey Maggette left after one season in 1998-99 and Luol Deng split after one season five years later, most stayed at Duke.

Krzyzewski made a philosophical U-turn after a rule was implemented in 2006 that called for NBA players to be 19 years old. Rather than resist a national trend, he kept an open mind. He embraced players who helped his program even if they stayed for one season. He realized it would encourage top recruits to choose Duke.

“He has adapted in more ways than this,” Hurley said. “His style of play year-to-year is based on his personnel and the players he has in the program. He’s always done that whether it’s tweaking his style of coaching or now, with this.”

Coach K is still growing with his players. Laettner and Hurley frequently call him for advice when making major life decisions. Hurley leaned on him this year when it came down to coaching UB and opportunities that were presented, such as meeting with DePaul about the opening there.

Their story continues to unfold. And they’re still learning from Krzyzewski.

“It’s a special bond that can never be taken away,” Laettner said. “I’m 45, and he still coaches me to this day just like he did when I was 20 years old. I definitely take advantage of that situation, and I’m sure the other guys do the same thing.”

 

THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP FROM DEAN SMITH

The following comes from "The Carolina Way" written by Dean Smith and Gerald Bell with John Kilgo:

All great leaders know you can’t just talk about good character; you have to live it. To become an extraordinary leader, you must build your own personality skills. This comes first. You must be what you want your followers to become.

Effective leaders build themselves fundamentally. They develop healthy personality characteristics. They love people, care about them, are interested in them, and enjoy interacting with them.

They learn to work well with all kinds of people.

The greatest leaders I’ve known are absolutely devoted to their people. There’s no way to fake it. They put their people in the center of their thinking. They treat their employees with dignity and respect, and they don’t embarrass them or berate them.

A leader won’t accomplish much, or even be happy, unless he or she is willing to compete. Leaders should love competition and not be stifled by it. They must give everything they have to achieve their personal and companies’ goals, as long as it’s done with honesty and integrity and within the rules. Good leaders enjoy putting themselves on the line.

Modesty is also a trait of good leaders. They accept criticism and understand their limitations.

Good leaders love sharing credit for success and understand why it’s important.

JIM BOONE WITH NEW PACK LINE DVD: ADVANCED TACTICS

One of the best teachers in the game, and a dear friend, is Jim Boone at Delta State.  A few years back, Jim put together a great teaching DVD outlining is Pack Line Defense.  Jim is constantly speaking at clinics and visiting with coaching staffs to outline how he plays and teaches the Pack Line.  His first DVD, "Pressure Pack Line Defense" was extremely successful.  It's a great DVD to have in your collection.  And if your response is "I don't play Pack Line."  My response would be that I guarantee that you are playing a few teams that do -- and you need to know the inner workings of the defense to better attack.

Last week Jim released a follow up: "Pressure Pack Line Defense: Advanced Tactics."  The video is an All-Access presentation that gives the viewer an opportunity to observe a team that has never ran the Pack being drilled to do so. 

Jim focuses on Four Key Areas:
1) Conversion Defense
2) Defending the Low Post
3) Defeating Screens
4) Defending Specific Offensive Movements

If you want information on either of the two DVD's (or Jim's DVD on Motion Offense), email him at JBoone@DeltaState.edu. He's got a couple of great PDFs that better explain the DVDs and give you great pricing options. 

 

PGC: 6 INTANGIBLES THAT MAKE YOU INVALUABLE

One of the great acronyms from Point Guard College is SCHAPE:

SPIRIT...good teams practice with enthusiasm and zest...a quiet gym is a losing gym...Enthusiasm = Excellence...demand energy.

"Championships are won with high levels of energy, spirit, and enthusiasm."

COMMUNICATION...talk on the floor, call names, give them re-minders often.

HUSTLE...is on all the time—not a sometime thing…"sheepdog mentality...persistent, enthused, work, everyday.

ATTITUDE...body language is important.

PRECISION...exactness...attention to detail...accuracy...sharpness of approach.

ENHANCEMENT...Contribute to environment—don’t contaminate it...make I better doing something extra...expect to do more than your expected of...do extra...come earlier, stay later, compliment someone, smile, push a broom, pick up trash…...and don’t expect praise for doing extra.

(These notes were actually taken by one of my former point guards, Latasha Dorsey)

3 WISHES FOR YOU FROM HUBIE BROWN

1. Please stop saying "I" — it’s we, our staff, team.

2. I pray that you lose (lost) early in your career.
If so you figured it out that it’s about the kids and teaching.

3. Only take from others what you can teach.
Don’t try to be all things.

DON MEYER: GETTING OPEN IN THE POST

Big man faces the lane (defender usually plays inside) and spins inside and seals him strong. (Don Nelson technique)

Take your man away and flash right back to the ball.

You don’t have to move a lot in the post until the ball is across half court.

Let the ball get into scoring position instead of battling a defender with no chance of ball entry.

If your man is guarding you low (baseline side) try to bury him low while keeping your chest centered to the ball and wide for a post entry pass.

If your man is guarding you high (toward top of the key) take a step up the lane and show the low side hand for entry.