Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah rewarded with big minutes

Vinny Del Negro followed his message with minutes.

One game after benching Joakim Noah for the entire second half, Del Negro played the second-year center 13 minutes 37 seconds consecutively bridging the first and second quarters and 32 minutes overall.Noah finished with eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Asked what he needed to see more consistently from Noah, Del Negro answered directly.

"Energy, focus, rebounding, control the paint for me better, run the court, do all the things he's definitely capable of doing," Del Negro said. "He has to bring energy. He wants to get better. He has to keep working. When the opportunity is there, go and make it hard for me to take you out."

Noah admitted his inconsistent minutes, brought on somewhat by his own poor conditioning, have made this season difficult.

"I have to keep working," Noah said.

Any team observer has noticed Noah's improvement in this area. Consistently before games and after practices, Noah gets in extra sprints.

"He's been putting in extra effort," Del Negro said. "It helps him and also helps the team. He's working. As he continues to work, he brings energy and length up front that we need."

Talent doesn't always equal championships

As I am watching the Eagles crushing the Cowboys and being disgusted by the drama that the Cowboys seem to love, I heard a great quote from former Cowboy Troy Aikman:

"Talent doesn't always equal championships and a talented team doesn't always mean you are a team"

It is disgusting the amount of bickering that takes place on this team. If they lose, blame is spread throughout. If they win, then someone is mad they aren't getting the ball enough. How is it even enjoyable to win when not everyone is enjoying the victories? Yes the victory is nice, but personally I get the most out of a victory when I see everyone around me enjoying the win.

It will be interesting to see what happens after this loss and if the blame game starts to take place. After all, they are champions in that category.

Blazers listen up, sound off with win over Raptors

Article here from the local Portland, OR paper on Coach Nate McMillan stressing talk and communication on defense. Here is a piece from the article:

This Trail Blazers team is a very tight-knit group off the court, but as it turns out, the guys have had problems communicating on the court, particularly on defense. Screens by the opponents were going unannounced. Team rules on pick and rolls -- going under or through a screen -- were not being voiced. And assuring voices of help defense were muted.

As a result, the Blazers defense has suffered, so much so that McMillan termed the team's latest defensive outing against Dallas as "bad. Really bad."

So before Saturday's game in front of 20,588 at the Rose Garden, McMillan had a plan. As he addressed the team at the front of the room, he walked to the back, where a glass refrigerator sits with Gatorade and bottled water. From there, he asked Oden and starting small forward Nicolas Batum to give their scouting reports on the Toronto players they would guard.

Two of the quietest players on the team, Oden and Batum each gave their report. Still standing by the refrigerator, McMillan made his play.

"He told us 'Look, there are going to be 20,000 people out there, you need to talk louder,'" Oden said. "He said, 'I'm standing right here next to a little refrigerator motor and I can't even hear you. Speak up.'"

By the end of the night, the Blazers defense had spoken loud and clear, holding Toronto to 32 second-half points, including 10 in the pivotal third quarter.

"The Bostons, the Lakers, their defenses are always talking loud," LaMarcus Aldridge said. "And coach made sure to make a point that everybody needs to hear us talk on defense. I think it helped."

Bell, Diaw bringing winning attitude to Bobcats

Saw a good article on nba.com about newly accquired Charlotte Bobcats Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. Both players came from the Phoenix Suns a couple of weeks ago. They have brought experience in big time situations to the young Bobcats.

Bell and Diaw have started all seven games since arriving in Charlotte. The Bobcats lost the first two games with the new additions, but have gone 4-1 since, showing improvement on both sides of the ball.

In the 23 games before Bell and Diaw arrived, the Bobcats scored 103.5 points per 100 possessions and allowed 108.2. In the seven games since, they've scored 107.4 points per 100 possessions and allowed 101.1.

"I don't know that any of us that came over can really take credit for that," Bell says modestly, even though he's clearly an upgrade over Richardson on the defensive end. "What we did realize when we got here was that this team plays hard every night. They're in a lot of ball games and they always give themselves the chance to win. If you're doing that, you're busting your butt every night and you don't have a defeated attitude, some good things can happen."

"Our next step is expecting to win," Bell concluded. "Good teams know the teams that they're supposed to beat. And against everyone else, they battle their butt off and try to get a win. We have to become a team like that, where we walk into a building and we know that we're going to take care of business."

Human Belief

Found this courtesy of SUM coach Matt Doherty:

1. I believe I'm a work in progress and there will always be a gap between whom I am and who I want to be.

2. I believe every day brings opportunities to learn and do something meaningful.

3. I believe the true test of my character is whether I do the right thing even when it might cost more than I want to pay.

4. I believe no matter how I behave, some people will be mean-spirited, dishonest, irresponsible, and unkind, but if I fight fire with fire, all I'll end up with are the ashes of my own integrity.

5. I believe life is full of joys and sorrows and my happiness will depend on how well I handle each.

6. I believe pain is inevitable but suffering is optional, and if I can control my attitudes, I can control my life.

7. I believe kindness matters and snide comments and badly timed criticisms can cause lasting hurt.

8. I believe there's joy in gratitude and freedom in forgiveness, but both require conscientious effort.

9. I believe what is fun or pleasurable is not always good for me and what is good for me is not always fun or pleasurable.

10. I believe no one is happy all the time, but in the end I can be as happy as I'm willing to be.

11. I believe the surest road to happiness is good relationships.

Wade helps family displaced by fire

MIAMI -- When Dwyane Wade heard the plight of a South Florida woman whose nephew accidentally burned down her home -- and ruined all the family's possessions -- the Miami Heat star knew he had to do something.

So he helped the family move into a new home, just in time for Christmas.

Wade presented Dawn Smith with the ultimate Christmas gift on Wednesday -- the keys to a her new house, along with some furnishings, clothing and gifts to make sure her family has a joyous holiday, something that didn't seem likely just a few weeks ago.

His Wade's World foundation will make some payments on the home, while Smith and her family get back on their feet.

"That's what I try to teach my kids," said Wade, whose foundation has hosted several charity events this holiday season, mostly for needy children. "It's not about what you're going to receive -- it's what you can give to others from what you've received."

Smith couldn't hold back happy sobs when she saw the home for the first time.

"A big-time relief," Smith said, clearly overcome by emotion. "Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Oh, God, thank you so much."

The NBA's leading scorer this season had a simple message: "Hopefully, you'll like it."

Wade's other holiday events this year included a party for 350 children on Monday, and hosting 100 kids at Tuesday night's Heat game against the Golden State Warriors. He also donated $10,000 to each of three children's organizations, but said he was particularly touched by being able to assist the Smith family.

We can help this family have a new beginning," Wade said.

Mason plays through pain

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason has been playing with a seperated shoulder for the last 2 months.

"I don't know if I've ever seen a tougher football player in 25 years of coaching," Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said. "It's a tribute to who he is as a competitor."

Here are some quotes from the article (Click here for full article):

He will be playing in his 106th consecutive game Sunday against Jacksonville, a game the Ravens must win to get into the playoffs. Baltimore could earn a postseason berth if New England loses earlier Sunday, but that won't matter to Mason.

"I don't think I've ever been in a situation because of an injury or because we've clinched a playoff berth that I've sat out a game," he said. "I still plan on going out there and being out there with the offense."

Against Dallas, Mason was forced off the field three times. He never stayed put, however, because he was determined to do his part to keep the Ravens (10-5) in the playoff hunt.
Outsiders might have perceived his back-and-forth routine to be heroic. His teammates expected nothing less.

"I knew he was going to do that," center Jason Brown said. "It might have been a surprise to you all, but knowing Derrick's heart and how dedicated he is to our team and what we're trying to do right now, I knew that nothing short of him having a heart attack or having to undergo surgery at that moment could keep him off that football field."

Ravens tight end Daniel Wilcox has battled injuries his entire career, so he knows how difficult it's been for Mason to stay on the football field, let alone perform at such a high level.

"Derrick Mason has an amazing drive for a man," Wilcox said. "Right now, he's playing though an extreme amount of pain every week. I don't know if you can put it into words what he's dealing with right now, because many times he's out there playing with one arm. Plus, people know he's hurt. He's just one of the hardest workers I've ever been around."

What could possibly cause a man to put himself through such an ordeal in his 12th NFL season? No one would blame Mason for simply throwing up his arms (well, arm) in anguish and taking a seat on the sideline.

But that's just not his style.

"I really enjoy the pure competitiveness of the game. That's what motivates me," he said. "I think you play better when your back is against the wall or when you're dealing with things, whether it's physical, mental or whatever."

Besides, what would little Derrick think if his father didn't play through the pain?

"I've always been this way. I like to go out there because I've got kids, and one day my son will want to play sports," Mason said. "I can then look back and reminisce with him that your old dad played through some tough ones. That will be motivation for him for whatever he's going through. He can look back and say, if my father can do it, I can do it."

Thabo Sefolosha tries to stay sharp for Bulls

That whirling defensive dervish on display during the Bulls' victory over Utah on Saturday contrasts sharply with the quiet-as-a-mouse personality Thabo Sefolosha cultivates off the court.

But even Sefolosha, when pressed, admits the 10 "DNP—coach's decision" designations that have accompanied his name in box scores this season have affected him.

"Of course you go home sometimes and you say, 'Man, I wanted to play so much. I feel I could've helped them,' " Sefolosha said late Saturday. "You're frustrated. But then you go back the next day and keep working.

"I know everybody sounds the same, but that's what it is. You have to keep working in practice and when times get tough and you don't play much you have to stay positive and keep doing your job. You have to get your mind off the playing time. You work for down the line. It's not the five or six games I didn't play that matters, it's the next game, five games, 10 games that matter."

"Thabo's a professional," guard Ben Gordon said. "He never complains or moans. He just comes out and when his number is called, he produces. You have to give him a lot of credit. He stays ready. He works on his game. It showed."

"The rotations sometimes aren't there for him, but he's been terrific working," Bulls Coach Vinny Del Negro said. "That's why you do all that extra running and shooting and stay prepared. When you seize an opportunity and make a contribution to the team, that's what being a professional is all about."

Jordan on FT Shooting

From Rick Majerus' book "My Life on a Napkin":

"I got paid to be a coach at Jordan's camp, but I would have done it for free. it was worth it just to hear Jordan talk. I picked up things to tell my own team. I'll tell you one thing that was really a great point. Someone asked him during the talk-back, 'When you go to the foul line after you get hit, what are you thinking about right there?'

He said, "Number one, I expect to get hit. My expectation is that I'll be hit, and I'll be hit hard. Then I go to the foul line, and I try not to go to the foul line angry. I don't want those thoughts to cloud the concentration and the mechanics needed to make a foul shot.'

Larry Bird - Hall of Fame video

LeBron's Commitment to Defense

There is a reason that the Cavs are off to a tremendous start this year. It starts and ends with their defense. Good article here on LeBron's new found commitment on the defensive end. Here is what LeBron says:

"Everybody says they want to play defense. They say they want to make a defensive stand,'' James told me Wednesday. "But are you really going to go out there and take pride in your defense and guard your man one-on-one? It took me a few years to realize I wanted to be a really good defensive player, and I've kind of turned that corner to where I am today. ''

"Communication is the biggest thing on defense,'' he said. "If you don't have that, you can easily break down. Me spearheading the defense with Ben and Delonte, we do a good job of trying to make sure guys are in the right spots. We try to help each other. It's not always going to be right, but you have to be able to cover for each other. When you make mistakes, by talking and communicating, you can get through it.''

Says coach Mike Brown:

"He just doesn't do it one time. He does it quite a bit,'' Brown said. "You hear him from the back side of our defense. We may have two people involved in a pick-and-roll, and he's yelling to our guys what they should do, what type of coverage we're in. That's very exciting to hear and see.

"Then one thing I talk to him about is his weakside defense. I thought [in Wednesday's victory] we didn't come up with all of them, but he got his hands on a ton of balls coming from the weak side because he was in the correct position defensively. And he was aware. When you've got your leader doing that type of stuff on that end of the floor, it's very contagious.''

More from Coach Brown:

Talking your way through defense is a big step forward from just talking about it. To demonstrate how thoroughly indoctrinated his club has become to the task, Brown -- in the middle of a pregame chat with reporters -- interrupted his comments to stop Williams as the point guard walked by.

"Hey, Mo! Mo!'' Brown said. "What's the one thing we have to do tonight? Yeah, one thing ...''

Poor Williams. Suddenly, a dozen people were looking at him, the silence lengthening. He might have been thinking about his Christmas list, pondering world peace or solving quadratic equations on his way out to shoot some warm-up shots, but now he was on the spot.

"We ... have to defend,'' Williams finally said.

Brown beamed.

"Now look at his face,'' the coach said. "That's a sincere young man there. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. That's just how my guys are. And you've got to love it. It just comes from within them. We've talked about it, and they believe it. I can ask any one of my guys that and they'll give you the same answer.''

Three keys: Be agile, mobile, and hostile

From former coach and ESPN announcer Fran Fraschilla:

Here are some things that are important for post players:

1. Always catch the ball and look to the middle.

*By doing this, a post man can see 90 percent of the court. He can locate his defender, see where double-teams in the defense are coming from and locate his teammates cutting to the basket.

2. A post player should always initiate contact in the lane.

* You can 'read your defender and which way to make a move when you get your body on him and know where he is. For example, when you "seal" your man away from the basket, it creates room to set up the lob pass over the top.

3. A post player should have a favorite move and a counter move.

* It is usually a waste of time to teach a player five or six moves inside because they wind up using none of them. It is better to perfect a jump hook or turnaround jumper. And, like a pitch who has a change-up to go with his fastball, a counter move is needed. I like the "up and under" where you fake the jump hook to get the defender off his feet, then step through and power the ball through the basket.

4. When rebounding, always keep your head and hands up and move towards the basket

*Rebounding is mostly about effort and desire so go hard to the basket on each shot.

5. A good rebounder anticipates where the missed shot will go.

Fakes

From an NBA Assistant Coach:

What I have found at this level is that players use every advantage they can find to be the best they can be. The art of faking is important to the point guard position as they have the ball in their hands a large percentage of the time. The best players in this league have mastered not only the eye fakes but also:

*the pass fake
*the head fake (as part of the shot fake)
*the foot fake (jab step)
*the voice fake (“use me, use me” — then they slip the screen)

An Unbelieveable Comeback

I love the raw emotion of this picture. This picture is the reason you put all the time in the gym, weightroom, field, or whatever your particular sport is. The great thing about winning something special in team sports is the ability to share that one isolated moment with so many people. When you put in the time and effort and enjoy the process of the season, the picture above is what you get. On Saturday night the Husker volleyball team made a tremendous comeback to defeat Washington in the regional finals to get to the Final Four.

If you did not watch it, you don't have to be a fan of volleyball to appreciate what committment these ladies made when they were down 9-3 in the final set (first one to 15 wins). Being down 9-3 is the equivilent of being down 10 points in basketball with a minute to go, 2 touchdowns with 2 minutes to go, or down 5 runs in baseball going into the last inning. They played with the intensity and emotion that it takes to win a match in a hostile environment like Washington had Saturday night. Here are some pieces that I really liked from the Omaha World Herald:

"That match, I think, sums up our whole season so far," said NU's Tara Mueller, "We are a team that only focuses on the next play. That's what we did out there, and it was so fun.

"All you saw out there was a team that's united and a team that plays with a lot of heart," says NU's Rachel Schwartz, "Our word for that match was 'authentic'- and the reason for that is that we were doing things that nobody but us believed we could do. Whatever people think about us, it's OK. Because we believe in ourselves."

Here is a little about All-American Jordan Larson, who was really struggling until late in the match:

In one of the most brilliant individual performances in the history of Nebraska athletics, Larson turned into a player possessed with fulfilling her team's season-long dream. The star senior out of Hooper, Neb., blasted kill after kill- mixing in a big block here and a key dig there- to ignite Nebraska on a 9-0 run. In all, she was responsible for an amazing six of nine points as the Huskers went from being down by six to ahead by three.

"I just felt that when we were down (early in the match) like I wasn't giving everything I had. I felt like I wasn't doing anything productive, so I thought I needed to do something about it. That was me putting what I had left out there."

While watching their determination, communication, and teamwork in the final set, I thought to myself that I've never seen a team in any sport want it as bad as they did.

McNabb had right mental approach after benching

Donovan McNabb may some day reveal the true emotions he felt after getting benched for the first time in his career.

McNabb got yanked at halftime of a 10-7 game at Baltimore on Nov. 23, the Eagles fell apart. A three-point deficit turned into a 36-7 rout.Now isn't the time. Not with the Philadelphia Eagles making a push for the playoffs and McNabb leading the way.

"The only thing I'm focused on at this particular point is playing the Cleveland Browns," McNabb said.

The Eagles (7-5-1) host the Browns (4-9) tonight in a game that has important playoff ramifications. No one could've imagined Philadelphia playing meaningful games 2½ weeks ago.After McNabb got yanked at halftime of a 10-7 game at Baltimore on Nov. 23, the Eagles fell apart. A three-point deficit turned into a 36-7 rout.

The Eagles were 5-5-1 and going nowhere. McNabb's future with the team after 10 seasons was clearly in doubt. His relationship with coach Andy Reid was being questioned.Watching a healthy McNabb stand on the sideline in a hooded sweatshirt and jacket while Kevin Kolb ran the offense was strange. It seemed to signal the end of an era in Philadelphia.

McNabb never pouted, though. He didn't criticize coaches, blame his teammates or demand a trade. Instead, McNabb responded like a leader.

"He's always been positive," running back Brian Westbrook said. "He remained the leader of this team, a person that everybody on the team looks at as the leader and goes to for advice. That situation with being benched, I'm sure it was a situation that made him sad or depressed or whatever. But he came back to work, worked hard to be that leader and he helped us win those last two games."

Behind McNabb's arm and Westbrook's legs, the Eagles beat NFC West champion Arizona 48-20 on Thanksgiving and upset the conference-leading Giants 20-14 at New York last Sunday.

The Eagles will make the playoffs if they win the last three games and the Falcons lose once.McNabb has completed 67 percent of his passes (46 for 69) for 451 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions since his benching. Reid said the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback just needed a break from the action.

"He's a great player," Reid said. "Sometimes you just need to take a step back and things kind of clear up for you. He's playing great football right now."

Two Pains: By Kevin Eastman

From Celtics Coach Kevin Eastman:

The Pain of Discipline

Being disciplined is a great characteristic to have, but a difficult one to maintain over time. It’s not easy to work out day after day after day. It’s not easy to get in the weight room day after day after day. It’s not easy to do go to work and grind it out day after day. There is a pain factor involved — physical pain, mental fatigue (brought on by boredom of doing the same hard things over and over again), emotional pain from sometimes working your tail off every day and not being successful. The types and intensity of the pains will vary, but the constant is that they will be there!

In our careers it’s not easy to keep reading and studying the books, articles and reports or to continue to figure out how to become a better coach, salesperson, manager, CEO. Success is a disciplined process, not an overnight miracle.

Speaking from personal experience with our team last year, I think one of the reasons for our success was that we were willing to recognize and deal with that pain, to work through that pain, to invest in and commit to the grinding process that you have to go through to become successful in any meaningful challenge. For every NBA team, that challenge is to become the World Champions!

The Pain of Regret

Simply put, when all is said and done, if you haven’t invested in the discipline needed to be successful, you will look back and regret not having done everything within your control to make the outcome a successful one. This is the ultimate pain of regret. We know lots of people who do this — the ones who are constantly saying things like, ”I wish I had…” rather than ”I’m glad I did…”

So you, your team, your company all have a choice — do you choose the pain of discipline and continue to do everything possible (whether it hurts or not) to become successful? Or do you choose to shortcut things? Maybe you aren’t consistent in your energy and enthusiasm, or maybe you don’t maintain the focus needed to succeed. In any case, if you don’t choose the pain of discipline, you will regret it.

Buc Ball

Tampa Bay Bucs defensive cordinator Monte Kiffin has created a defense over the last 13 years that has dominated the NFL known as 'Buc Ball'.

"Buc Ball isn't for everybody," said Kiffin, a native of Lexington, Neb., who played in the defensive line at Nebraska and later served as the Huskers' defensive coordinator in the 1970s. "You have to buy in to what we do. I think Brooks says it best."

Kiffin is referring to future Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks. What Brooks is saying could be said for every single sport when it comes to defense. Says Brooks:

"Buc Ball is more of a state of mind," Brooks said. "It's believing what we do, buying into it. It's maxing out every play - whatever your maximum ability is. For instance, if you run a 4.6, you run a 4.6 every play. If you run a 5.0, you run a 5.0 every single play. Max out."

If your job is to take on the fullback and turn the play in to a strong safety, that's what you do, and trust that the strong safety does what he's supposed to do. Not try to turn back the fullback and make the tackle. That might mess up everybody."Buc Ball also is about accountability.

That's the one word that hasn't wavered my entire career here, no matter who you are or where you come from. When you become a Buc, you buy into accountability. That goes beyond football."

"If it's not your style of football or the way you carry yourself, you won't be here long," Brooks said. "You won't get the chance to play Buc Ball."

Commitment to the Team

Good stuff from Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro (shown left) talking about his high draft picks Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. Both players were top 10 picks in the draft (Thomas 2 years ago, Noah last year) and have not quite reached their potential so far as NBA players. Here is what Coach Del Negro has to say about the situation:

Del Negro said of them: "They're young and have to find their way. When you're on the court, you have to value those minutes. The guys who are focused, know their role, commit to it and come with effort every day will play.

"I can handle mistakes. But I can't handle lack of effort. And I can't handle lack of commitment to the team. Those guys know that. They're working better. That's always a work in progress with a young team."

"Commitment is coming in with energy every day, with focus, trying to get better, lifting weights, being on time, paying attention in meetings, being ready to play, knowing what your role is, who you're guarding, what their strengths and weaknesses are, how you can affect the team in a positive way," he said. "Commitment is being a professional, working every day to get better individually. As that happens, the team gets better."

"It's not just one guy," Del Negro said. "As a team, we have to jell and there are always bumps. If guys commit to the team, they'll get a chance."

Mental Toughness

"The definition of mental toughness is not letting anything get to you. It's just staying focused no matter what's swirling around you, just continuing to mentally fight through whatever obstacles there might be, whether that be a certain play or situation or a bunch of things that come up as a football player."
Tom Brady, Patriots QB

Body Language

Found this quote in the archives from two years ago about former CU player Anthony Tolliver. Quote from Nick Bahe:

There are a handful of guys," Bahe says, "whether you're in an office job or playing basketball, that walk in, you know, 'God, I don't want to be here today.' Shoulders slouched. Anthony always walks in with his head high, chest out, excited about being here. When your leader's doing that, it's definitely contagious."

Jimmy V on the ESPY Awards 1993

The Jimmy V Classic is being played tonight on ESPN. It honors the late great Jim Valvano, former coach of the North Carolina State men's basketball team. This is a speech he gave in 1993when accepting the Arthur Ashe award for courage in sports at the ESPY's. My favorite speech in sports!

1997 NBA Finals - Utah Jazz Vs. Chicago Bulls - MJ Flu Game

The Will to Win!!

"I didn't want to give up. No matter how sick I was. How tired I was. How low on energy I was. I felt an obligation to my team, the city of Chicago, to go out and give that extra effort"

An excerpt from “Values of the Game” by Bill Bradley

The need for discipline applies first to conditioning. It’s painful and grueling, but there’s no alternative. You can’t lead the fast break or tear down 20 rebounds a game if you can’t run and jump without fatigue. Getting into shape and pushing the body to new levels every day is a mental activity. When you believe that you can’t do another lap or another push-up or another abdominal crunch, your mind forces you to go ahead. When your wind is short and you have a pain in your side from running, only your mind can get you to withstand the pain and go on. As UCLA’s legendary coach John Wooden says, “Nothing will work unless you do.”

I used to hate getting into shape no matter which routines I followed- laps, line drills, playing one on one full court, running the floor while passing the ball back and forth with two teammates. After six weeks of agony, during which every part of my body ached so badly that many mornings I crawled from bed to bathroom to soak in a hot tub, the pain began to diminish and the muscles started to come around. When you train seriously for basketball, you learn the difference between getting into condition and getting into condition. In the lesser of those two states, you can run up and down the floor and do what you have to do without the interference of fatigue. But you’re not really in peak condition until you can cruise when others push. When your body is honed, you can run your opponents around and around, with little immediate purpose beyond tiring them out, making them angry, or distracting them from any defensive concentration.

My toughest opponent, John Havlicek of the Boston Celtics, was a true genius when it came to using conditioning as a weapon. His goal was to get his opponent to give up, to stop overcoming fatigue, to stop pushing himself. Havlicek saw it as a matter of who gives up first. “You’ll pass out before you’re overworked, bust most people don’t know that,” he once told Orlando Magic senior executive vice president Pat Williams. “They think they’re overworked, so they stop. They could have kept going, but they didn’t. They weren’t beat physically; they were beat mentally.”

Derek Fisher is tired of blowing leads

Point guard offers a reminder to Lakers of what they want to avoid. From the L.A. Times:

Derek Fisher had seen this type of behavior too many times, so he acted quickly.The steadying influence in the Lakers' locker room felt the need to approach the whiteboard after another close call Friday against Washington and write a simple phrase -- "Boston Finals" -- followed by the number 24, a reference to a more painful time in recent team history.

The Lakers have frittered away large second-half leads in many games this season, reminding Fisher of the 24-point advantage they lost in Game 4 of last season's NBA Finals.

"That was a window of opportunity to be champions, to take that series to 2-2 with the fifth game on our home court," Fisher said. "We did the same thing that we're starting to do now -- allow teams to get back into a game by executing poorly on offense, turning the ball over, taking poor shots and becoming porous on defense. I just wanted to kind of remind us that if we want to get back to that point, we have to correct this now."

"Tired more so than alarmed," he said. "How many times do you want to bump your head against the same brick wall? The wall's not going to give. Why expend the mental and physical energy that it takes to have to rebuild momentum like that over the course of a 100-plus-game season?

"Nobody says you have to beat anybody by 20. However, if you do put yourself in a position where you're up 16 or you're up 20, we're talented enough and we're good enough that we should be able to extend that lead or hold it."We're not doing it. I don't know if we're getting bored or just losing that immediate focus that we start the game with. We definitely need to improve quickly."

Fisher isn't alone in his thinking.

Kobe Bryant said Friday's victory didn't "sit right" with him because the Lakers were "not moving in the right direction."

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Very impressive for a team that is leading the Western Conference to still be concerned about the way they are playing!

Jets’ Jones Lives a Dream of Passion and Purpose

Terrific article in the NY Times today on Jets running back Thomas Jones. His teammates and coaches respect the energy and enthusiasm that he brings to his team everyday:

But Jones’s impact outruns his numbers. Before each game, teammates gather around him looking for a shot of energy. Jones never plans his speeches, nor did he program the tears that welled in his eyes before the Jets’ victory at New England last month.

He speaks — or shouts, or implores, depending on the mood — from the heart. The same as he did while starring at Virginia. The same as he did in high school.

“Everyone feeds off his energy,” fullback Tony Richardson said. “He’s tearing up, yelling. Thomas is a very vocal guy and very passionate. You see a lot of that in the way he plays. Guys look forward to his speeches. They wait for it. Because it gets you going.”

“It’s easy to give a speech at the game and get fired up there in front of 70,000 people,” Jets coach Eric Mangini said. “The hard part is when you’re tired, when it’s Week 10, 12, 14, and you’re still being the same guy, still improving.

“You’re a veteran having a great year, but you’re still doing all the little things that got you here.”

Good Guards

Far too often, high school guards believe that what college coaches are looking for is someone to light up the scoreboard. While scoring is certainly an advantage, you can make it as a college guard if you understand and master all four points listed below, even if you are not a great scorer.

Good guards...

1. Get their team into offense by:

*Developing a good handle
- Including the retreat dribble

*Knowing how to attack pressure
- Always looking up the floor
- Looping the lag guard to create an open side of the floor
- Using the retreat dribble to back out of traps, stay out of trouble, and to space the floor
- Avoid dead man’s corner

*Know when and how to feed the post

*Creating through dribble penetration
- Both for the post and the perimeter
- Deliver the pass into the shooting pocket
- Make use of on ball screens to assist in penetration and to create your own scoring opportunities

*Making good decisions
- Know their teammates
- Take reasonable risks, think running the break
- Know game situations (clock, score, possession arrow, etc.)
- This bullet is bold for a reason

2. Knock down the open jump shot

*Doing their homework early when it comes to foot organization

*By “one-twoing” into all 3 point shots

3. Defend the dribble

*Can pick up fullcourt and work the dribbler

*Can flatten out dribble penetration on the ½ court

4. “Run the Show”

*Recognize the importance of good guard leadership

*Are “self-authorized leaders”

*Number 4 is in italics and underlined because you must be a coach on the court

Overcoming Adversity

espn.com has an excellent article on former NBA player Wayman Tisdale and his fight against cancer that caused him to lose a leg. Says Tisdale:

"You can never give up because quitting is not an option. No matter how dark it is or how weak you get, until you take that last breath, you must fight."

Click here for full article

Ray Allen on teams thinking they are just as good as the Celtics:

“It’s one thing to talk about it,” Allen said. “Like last year for us, there was a lot said about what we were doing. We knew where we wanted to go, but I think we had to go out and do it. We had to get it. We had to grab it. There was not a moment’s rest for us. Every night we had to prove what we were capable of. Now, we’re still in that same mode, and teams that are saying they’re just as good or better than us, they have to prove that. And for us, we’re here and we want it every night. We look forward to the challenge every night.”

- Ray Allen

Accepting his role for the benefit of the team

Duke basketball had a big win on the road over top 10 Purdue last night. Senior point guard Greg Paulus, who had started every game his first three years, has had is role change this year in a real test of team chemistry. Sophomore Nolan Smith has started every game this year, which has reduced Paulus' minutes to around 20 a game. Here is an article from espn.com that discusses the situation:

The insertion of Smith in the starting lineup was the one great chemistry experiment by Krzyzewski, because it sent Greg Paulus to the bench -- for the first time ever, really. Paulus had started 95 games in three years at Duke and had the ball in his hands an awful lot of that time.

Paulus had pretty much been the face of Duke basketball for three seasons. Now, all of a sudden, that face is starting every game next to assistants Chris Collins and Nate James. Tough, one would think, to keep a smile on said face, even if he is the team captain.

"It's a situation -- it's a little bit different," Paulus said, with a hesitation that betrayed more true feeling than his words would allow. "But as far as our team goes, our mindset is to do whatever it takes to win. This being my senior year, I just want to win. It's about the team, and throwing yourself into it."

Said Singler: "Greg's been great this year. We don't see him as a bench player. He's a starter."

Krzyzewski is banking on Paulus to take his reduction to roughly 20 minutes per game and handle it well. Just as he sold NBA superstars on supporting actor roles in the Olympics, he's selling Paulus and fellow upperclassmen David McClure and Lance Thomas on coming off the pine.

"It's an asset," Krzyzewski said.

An asset few teams have these days. And an asset that will help keep Duke competitive all season long.

-----------------------------------

This chemistry always works best when the underclassmen that are starting show tremendous respect toward the seniors who are starting on the bench. Great teams know that it doesn't matter who starts, it matters who finishes!

The Core Value of Servant Leadership Part I: By Bruce Brown

The best of leaders are the first to serve, putting others before themselves. The servant leader is the one who is the first to volunteer to help, never too proud to do work, even the difficult or unpopular jobs in order for the team to succeed. Those jobs are often done without anyone knowing because there is no complaining or comparing. The servant leader is reliably and consistenly a servant for others.

The servant leader has enough self confidence that they are unafraid of being first, of potential failure and of looking silly. They are not threatened by success of others and are the first to take responsibility for mistakes. A sincere, and self-confident, "my fault", brings others together

The servant leader has embraced the self-discipline of being part of a successful team and can avoid immature and unhealthy situations. They work just as hard whether or not they are being watched or measured.

Leadership at the Point Guard

From Sports Illusrated:

If there is one point coach Tom Izzo wants to get across to Kalin Lucas, his sophomore guard, it's that the 6-foot dynamo-who Izzo says is the quickest player he has ever coached- has to become a better leader if the Spartans are to reach their potential this season. "I harp on it no more than 50 times a day," says Izzo, who wants to see him become more vocal on and off the court.

Lucas is getting the message. When he wasn't working on his outside shot or getting to know his teammates better this summer, Lucas was studying game film "so when I talk to guys, I know what I'm talking about."

Portland's Defense turning in wins

Portland is off to a 12-6 start thanks to an emphasis on the defensive end. Both players and coaches felt that it was important to stress defense during training camp. Here is an excerpt from an Oregonian article earlier this year.

McMillan said he asked his two stars [LaMarcus Aldridge & Brandon Roy] what needed to improve next season for the team to succeed, and he said both emphatically pointed to defense. Aldridge said a defensive light went on for him this summer, when he was part of a select team that practiced against the U.S. Olympic team.

In those workouts, Aldridge said, it quickly became apparent to him that stars such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were intent on playing defense, and how that commitment carried over to the rest of the team."

Said Aldridge: "After that, I knew that if those guys can put defense first - I mean, they are best in league - then in order for us to win, we have to be a better defensive team."

"Two areas in particular have been spotlighted: Help defense and containment, or preventing the ball handler from driving. To encourage help defense, the Blazers have been working on 'overloading' defenders to the side of the court where the ball is held.

If more players are on that side, then more players will be closer to the ball should the dribbler beat his man. In theory, this should limit the unimpeded layins that plagued the Blazers last season.

Overloading on defense was a strength of Boston last season during the Celtics' title run. Aldridge remembered in games against the Celtics that if a Blazers player got by his man, he was soon encountered by Paul Pierce, then Kevin Garnett, then Kendrick Perkins."

The Celtics team defense last season made a big impression on Aldridge:

"With Boston, it was like the whole team was guarding you," Aldridge said. "Whereas last year, I felt like we hung guys out to dry. A guy would drive against us, and I would be in the corner, Brandon would be at the top ... so we are trying to emphasize more team-defense this season."

"In conjunction with the overloading defense, the Blazers are working on "cheating", or anticipating that their teammate will need help defense. In theory, that will cut off many drives.

"Last year we were kind of scared to give up the jump shot, and they would go to the basket," Aldridge said. "Like LeBron when he went to the basket and won the game. If everyone would have cheated over, he would have had to pass it."

Also, the guards and wings have worked on pressuring the ball handler, but not getting beat, using the mantra "know your limits" when applying the pressure.

"It's pressure with containment," Roy said. "So you pressure the ball while being leery of a drive, thinking of a guy like Kobe or Wade. It's a mindset of 'pressure, pressure ... but don't get beat.' "

Says Aldridge: "We feel like if we put defense first, we can do anything.'

A Winning Attitude

New Orleans Hornets forward James Posey (pictured left) has won 2 NBA titles in the last 3 years (Miami & Boston). The intangibles that he brings to his team are seen as priceless to this teammates.

Says coach Byron Scott: "He has changed our culture because we came into training camp talking about how our defense has to get better in order to win a championship, and no one knows that better than James.

And he's always the first guy off the bench to scream and yell. We needed that. All the guys ask him questions, and you know they're going to listen to him because he has two rings and these guys want to win one.He's like a few players in this league that can affect a game without scoring. He's going to take the charge, he's going to guard the best players, he's going to communicate at all times. I loved him for all those reasons. He's won where he's been. He hits big shots in big games, he defends the best players almost every night."

"It's a mind-set, and I'm trying to get my teammates to buy into that. I'm just trying to share some of the things that I've learned on those two teams where I won and the mind-set as far as preparing yourself to actually win a title. What I keep telling them is: It's a process. You can't get bored with it.

You have to prepare for it each day by practicing hard, getting better and looking at the bigger picture of what you're trying to achieve. You can't get too high in this game in this game and you can't get too low. You've just got to keep working and keep pushing."

The "Glue Guy"

Tayshaun Prince was selected for the USA Basketball team this past summer not because he was one of the top 12 most talented players at the team tryouts, but due to his willingness to do the grunt work.

Said Prince, "You have to have guys that are willing to sacrifice and do some other things, and I definitely feel that I am that guy."

Coach K describes a glue guy as someone who always keeps the team together.

"He's the ultimate team player and a star. I don't want to reduce guys' egos and say, 'You're the 11th or 12th man.' I want them to be a star. And I'm not saying Tayshaun is the 11 or 12th man, but wherever we put him in the ballgame, we want him to come in with a high level of ego, worthy of championship team. He's a glue guy on the team."

Frazier's guts inspire Illini

Injured guard rallies teammates with play of game:

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - It was a night sophomore Mike Tisdale always will remember, but not for all the reasons one might think.The Illinois center scored six of his career-high 20 points in overtime Friday as Illinois rallied to beat Kent State 69-63 in the semifinals of the South Padre Island Invitational. Mike Davis (17 points, 13 rebounds) made three free throws in the final 22 seconds for the Illini (5-0).But Tisdale and his teammates also will remember a courageous performance from senior guard Chester Frazier.With the score tied 62-62, Frazier, playing with a deep thigh bruise, launched himself over the Illinois bench to keep the ball in bounds and keep an overtime possession alive.

"That was the play of the game," Tisdale said.The Illini didn't score on the possession, but the emotional lift was palpable."Somebody had to pick it up, Chester started doing it, and it was contagious," said Tisdale, who had seven rebounds and three blocked shots.To make the play, Frazier sailed over a ducking 6-9 freshman Stan Simpson, with whom he collided in practice Thursday when he got the bruise that made it difficult for him to walk for a time. But Frazier played 42 of the 45 minutes against Kent State, scored seven points, led everyone with eight assists and turned the ball over just once.

Frazier played the lead role in holding Kent State (3-1) leading scorer Al Fisher to 18 points, five below his average. Farragut grad Chris Singletary added 15 for the Mid-American Conference preseason favorites."You have to give Chester so much credit," Weber said. "He couldn't even go to shootaround and do anything. He plays with a big heart and he plays to win."

New Jersey Nets' Harris no longer gets down on self for poor play

New Jersey point guard Devin Harris would be the first to tell you that he might not have been as mentally tough as he needed to be in his first couple years in the NBA. However, he is 'thinking foward' more and try to play through his mistakes. Here is a good article on his mental state right now & how he kept fighting through a rough game recently to help his team defeat the Kings on the road.

Says Harris: "It's good for me mentally, just knowing the first, second, third quarter, (that) I didn't have it," he said in the aftermath of the Nets' bizarre 116-114 overtime victory. "I could have beaten myself up easily. I've done it in the past, where I just totally locked down in the fourth quarter. But tonight wasn't the case. It was a good game for us mentally."

"Early on in my career, I would have just totally let down in that fourth quarter. But I can't afford that here," Harris said. "Guys are depending on me and I've got to deliver."

There is a Reason They are Great Shooters

From Celtics Assistant Coach Kevin Eastman:

Ray Allen always shoots three hours before every game — like clockwork. Since the main floor wasn’t available for another hour, we had to find an alternative. We found out there was another court in the arena, so we headed down there. So as we’re walking into that small gym we hear a ball already bouncing — it’s Mike Miller already into his shooting workout. Two of the best shooters in the game today, three hours before the game, making sure that they continue to work and prepare for the game!

There is no magic formula that makes them two of the best shooters in the league. They work at it all the time. There they were, at opposite ends of the court working on their game shots — game shots from game spots, and each repetition at game speed.

We had three assistants on our end working with Ray and there were two on the other end with Mike. Very little talking — just tremendous concentration — both players proving that even though they are the best, they continue to work to stay there. Being the best gets harder as time goes on so you need to continue to work on your game. Both guys went full speed and had a lather going by the time they were done.

When I walked into that gym I wished every player in the country — at any level — could have seen Ray and Mike working ON GAME NIGHT! Small gym, opposite ends of the floor, opposing teams, but one common denominator — working to get better and focusing on preparing for the game.

The lesson is that preparing for the game is what the best do so well. Working at your game at every opportunity is what makes a player the best at his skill.

Buying into defense

"When you're playing defense, everybody has to buy into it. You can't just have two or three guys saying that they're going to play defense. Everybody has to wholeheartedly, 100 percent believe in it. I can honestly say that everybody on our team, when they step on the floor, knows their assignments. Knows they're either going to have to get on the floor, get dirty or do some things they don't necessarily want to do. But it's all in the character of what we are, and we carry it out from the first man on the roster to the 12th and 13th men.''

"It's like harmony when we get it right, and when one or two guys slack off, it shows. We've embraced the defense, but I don't think teams in this league embrace the defense. Everybody wants to score, score, score. They think, I guess, that offense gets you limelight. But it's defense that gets you wins.''

-Kevin Garnett

Defense is Getting Contagious

Good article here on cnnsi.com about scoring being tougher in the NBA. In the article it talks about how teams are starting to realize the importance of team defense more and more due to the Celtics championship run last year that was stressed by defensive intensity. Here are some good quotes from the article about players/coaches upset at their teams' defensive effort.

*Even more telling than the statistics, perhaps, is the attention being paid to defense up and down the NBA spectrum, from organizations with pedigree to those less proud. The Lakers lost just once in their first 12 games but beat themselves up after two or three of them, cranky over what they considered defensive underachievement.

"I'm not happy with this win,'' Kobe Bryant said after Sunday's 118-108 home victory against Sacramento. The Kings shot 53.4 percent, scored 58 points in the paint and became the third team in five games to score at least 100 points against a Lakers team that dedicated the preseason to stopping people.

"It's a mentality,'' Bryant said. "We want to get better each game. We don't want to give up 100 points.''

Joe Johnson of the Hawks: "One-on-one, we haven't been really guarding our man particularly well. And I'll take a lot of heat for that. But at the same time, we haven't been manning up and guarding our guys. Guys are flying by and getting to the hole and then breaking our defense down.''

"We have lost some of our defensive swagger, intensity or whatever you want to call it,'' coach Mike Woodson said earlier this month after back-to-back losses to New Jersey in which the Hawks gave up 234 points in barely 48 hours.

Controlling Games on Defense

Chris Kramer's theory on pain- "It's just weakness leaving the body"- is one hard often in Marine boot camp. The junior guard has adopted that creed because he knows plenty about pain. He suffers from a condition known as compartment syndrome, which causes high pressure levels in muscle tissue. Two times he had to undergo surgery for it in 2007, and the seven-inch scars on each of his shins are a reminder of that. While he would prefer not to have them, he admits that the scars "do fit my identity".

The reigning Big Ten defender of the year, Kramer is 6' 3'', 205 pounds and built like a football free safety. "I'm usually bigger than players I'm guarding," he says, "so I try to body them up and get them frustrated." Never was this more evident than on Feb. 12 last season, when he went up against Michigan State's 6-foot, 185-pound star, Drew Netizel, and held him to six points on 1-of-7 shooting. "Every time Neitzel came off a screen, Chris was right there," says sophomore guard E'Twaun Moore.

Kramer says he can tell when he's doing his job well because his opponent starts blaming his teammates, and in that game Neitzel "was yelling at every other person on the court," Kramer says. "Once he gets to a point where he's that frustrated, you know you've won the battle.

Kramer's 2.3 steals per game last season helped Purdue rank eighth nationally in the percentage of opponents' possessions that ended in turnovers (25.5). His meager offensive stats- 6.8 points, 21.7 % three-point shooting- belie his value to a team that surprised the Big Ten by coming within one win of a regular season title. Says coach Matt Painter, "Very few people affect the game as much as Kramer does without scoring from the guard position. If you affect the game without scoring, you're normally a big man, dominating the glass, getting a lot of blocked shots. He's able to do it by disrupting the flow, getting in passing lanes, shutting down scorers and just playing tough basketball."

"Chris gets up in a guy's face right from the start," says Morre, "and you can tell that guy is thinking, Oh, man. He ain't ever going to stop."

-Story from Sports Illustrated

Accepting his role

From the Charlotte Observer:

It’s easy for an NBA player to become selfish and self-absorbed. This is a league where statistics matter, particularly when your contract expires at the end of the season.

And that’s what makes me admire Raymond Felton so much these days.

Everyone says they’ll do what it takes to win, but Felton lives it. When Larry Brown moved rookie point guard D.J. Augustin into the starting lineup, Felton could have treated this like a threat. Had Felton frozen out Augustin, leaving him to figure out the NBA by himself, Felton would have been no more selfish than half this league.

Instead, Felton took charge of the transition. He mentors Augustin so much, he should draw a coaching salary atop his player salary. With Augustin scoring and passing, Felton has channeled his energy toward defense and rebounding.

The two of them carried the Bobcats past the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday in an almost organic process. Felton and Augustin simply shot so well (16-of-22 from the field, 4-of-5 from 3-point range) that it didn’t matter much what any of the other Bobcats did.

That won’t happen every night, and I’m not sure Felton will be here next season, once restricted free agency takes hold over the summer. He might well be more valuable to some other team than he is to the Bobcats.

But the Bobcats are better for Felton’s presence: he’s smart, he’s tough, he’s accountable. He sets the right example.

T-Wolves guard Randy Foye on Kevin Garnett

'One thing I miss about him is, he just let me go. That's why I was so successful my rookie year,' said Foye, who has sputtered in the season-plus since. 'No matter what happened, if I made a mistake, I'd look at him and he'd go [Foye balls up a fist and pumps it], like 'It's all right. Keep your head up.' It makes you feel better. It'd be like that for anyone in their work, if there was a legend who pumped you up. For a young player, that just boosted my confidence. Sometimes, in my rookie year, I felt like an All-Star out there because he let me do what I wanted and when I got it going, he let me go.' In games, Foye said, it was like having your big brother there to hold your coat in a schoolyard fight. 'There was a swagger,' he said. 'KG would come out and hit a shot, and it was like, 'Everybody, we're in this together. I'm patrolling it, but everybody who's got a white jersey on, we're in it together.''

Improbable Rise

An amazing story on tragedy and triumph from 2 years ago on Harvard football player Matt Curtis. Coming from the depths of poverty & heartache to making something of himself, this is a great story. Here is what Harvard head coach Tim Murphy has to say about him:

“If you ever have a day when you question why you are in coaching, Matt Curtis will put an end to it because he represents everything that is good about college football. Football, more than any other sport, allows character and heart to transcend ability. And while Matt has tremendous talent, it pales in comparison to his work ethic, toughness and ability to overcome adversity.”

This is the Boston Globe story written by Jackie McMullan and here is the Harvard athletics website for another story.

UNC Practice

Dummy Offense- Boston Celtics Philosophy

There are 3 levels at which teams go about running their Dummy Offense:

*Running through the set: this is a team that actually goes through the proper patterns of the sets but with no purpose; they feel that getting the patterns down is all there is to it

*Execution: this is a team that understands it’s more than just getting the patterns down; it’s an emphasis on timing and spacing, putting passes on time and on target, cutting hard with game speed cuts, cutting with a purpose. It’s an emphasis on the details of the pattern and the fundamentals of the pattern that separates them from other teams

*Perfection: this is a step that only the very best understand. Only the best know it’s not just a warm up and that it’s execution with perfection — (1) on every rep….(2) from every player….(3) every time!

The Little Things

"As a player, I always had to pay attention to all the little things because those were the things that gave me an opportunity, gave me a chance," Curry said in an earlier interview with Booth Newspapers. "I've always been really big on the little things that go undetected in the whole scheme of the game. But they're very essential to getting a win."

-Michael Curry; former Pistons player and current head coach

Stephen Curry Feature - CBS NCAA March Madness (HD)

Little Things- They're the difference between good teams and great teams!

Courtesy of Coach Don Meyer

*A jump stop

*A loose ball

*A bad close out

*A one possession mental lapse

*A quiet bench

*A bad attitude or not necessarily bad but not as great as it could be

*One bad shot in warm-ups

*Not tagging the guy you came in for

*Tossing a towel

*Not accepting a hand when you have come out

*A missed lay-up (no backboard)

*An intentional vs. 1-1 foul

*Bad warm-up

*Talking to an official

*Not giving ball to referee properly

If you concentrate on the little things it takes to be great, then the offense and defense take care of themselves!