Basketball Rule (Sports in General Rule)

[basketballjones]

They say that the first coach you ever work for leaves quite the imprint on you, and you're probably never going to shake some of the fundamental rules that you learned from them, so you better pick good ones to work with. The first two I worked for have taken Class A and B boys and girls to the state tournament multiple times, with multiple state titles, and plenty of wins to boot - so hopefully some good stuff was imprinted on me (yet to successfully be put into practice, of course). 

But the first rule that BOTH of them told me about coaching, going into every game, you have to ask yourself one question, "Is my team better than the team we are playing?" Because the Law of Averages states that, "the principle that supposes most future events are likely to balance any past deviation from a presumed average." And most quality coaches take that to mean - the more opportunities I give an opponent the more likely they are to do "what they do." So what does that mean? That means that if you are not the better team, and you play fast, you have created more possessions. More possessions equals more opportunities for that better team to do what they do well. On the flipside - if are you are the better team - more possessions equals more opportunities for them to "F up" and you to score off of that. Both of the coaches I started out with would also challenge me on another rule: (because I think they both saw a glaring weakness of mine unfolding) "Are you trying to win the game or are you trying to see how cool your sh** is?" 

Maybe my frustration with Husker Football is overflowing too much into Nebrasketball... But I am so tired of hearing about "schemes," "play design," "offensive philosophy," "fast tempo," etc... Quality coaches do not win because of their scheme. Quality coaches win because of quality players and their ability to do what needs to be done from game to game to win the game. 

Husker Football for instance: If I was the head coach before the Illinois game I would ask myself one thing, "are we better than these guys overall?" The answer would be, "no, but there's no reason we can't win." And that answer would inform literally everything we are doing that week and how the game was called. And I'll tell you what - that ball would not be snapped with more than 2-3 seconds left on the play clock after any play we didn't get what we wanted out of it. Bad run where you only get 1-2 yards (or lose yards)? We're huddling up, and that thing aint getting snapped until near :01 so that we at least win something. You slowly build up wins and eventually the levee breaks. Not build up a ton of losses through quick plays and then hope for a 50 yard chunk play. Husker Basketball? Probably not shooting 25 3's! Especially early ones!

Probably my main point here... Whoever the next coaches for Husker Football and Nebrasketball are - the last thing I want to hear about is "what they run." I simply do not care, because it simply does not matter. I want to know if they are the adult in the room, manage their staff, hold people directly accountable, and are psychotically focused on bringing in DUDES. After that - can you philosophically match up what needs to be done to win with your X's and O's knowledge compared to the teams that you will play? Night in, night out. The next coaches should not have "fast tempo offenses!!!" because that's what they stubbornly believe in. They should be flexible and not stubborn, and able to play all tempos based off of what needs to be done TO WIN. 

Players over Plays

Winning Mentality over X's and O's Mental Mastrubation Mentality 

/end rant. Sorry
 

[aphilso1]

@basketballjones that's a really inefficient way of telling us that your wife made you sleep on the couch last night.

[basketballjones]

17 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

@basketballjones that's a really inefficient way of telling us that your wife made you sleep on the couch last night.

Actually…. Funny story. Wife and I have been having a ton of trouble with our infant and sleeping. She’s been sick for like 2 months with a myriad of daycare illnesses. 
 

It’s been common for one of us to wake up, reach over to the other side of the bed to see if the other is there, to find an empty bed because the other one got up and is sleeping with the infant in the recliner or something.

 

Last night, the baby miraculously slept through the entire night. My wife, in a pure daze and out of habit, frantically reached over to see if I was there and smacked me right in the crotch then the chin. Beautiful way to wake up! Who needs an alarm clock?

[Ron Mexico]

Wonderful post @basketballjones.

I'd like to add one important component which is mentality. My son has worked with a now retired head high school baseball coach that has won multiple state titles as both a head coach and assistant coach. He teaches a class called mental hitting, although the subject matter would apply to almost any sport. He teaches a master class in the importance of the mentality of competing. My son went from hitting .220 to .470. 

 

Maybe it's because of my experiences listening to Tom Osborne speak and reading his books that I think it is the one component that has been missing since our 3rd winningest coach was fired. I also believe it is a key reason why HCFH has not been able to win. This is where it ties into what @basketballjones is saying where these coaches become to tied to their schemes, and forget that, despite said schemes and talent level we completely fell apart last season. 

 

Being mentally tough is something that takes time to achieve. You can't just flip a switch and become consistently mentally tough. It is the hardest part of sports to teach and instill in players. Everything else flows from being mentally tough. It is a top down approach.