Making a Stand on the Road

Here is an article from the Kansas City Star about Kansas' win Wednesday night over Nebraska. It was a hard fought game with some chippy play coming from both sides. Nebraska guard Cookie Miller and Kansas guard Mario Little got into a jump ball situation that almost got out of hand with both players refusing to give in. Says Little:

“We aren’t gonna take nothing from nobody,” Collins said. “There’s going to be more games like this. Teams are going to come out and be overaggressive. We’re going to stand as one. We’re going to stand together.”

Little played 30 minutes — his previous high was 14 — and for the first time he understood what it meant to wear a Kansas jersey.

“Everybody’s got their own opinion about us,” Little said, “saying that we’re soft and all that. Guys are trying to out-tough us, trying to talk that talk, just trying to scare us. It’s just talk. We can get through it.

As the referees conferred over Little and Miller’s situation for several minutes, the Jayhawks huddled and regained their composure. The huddle felt different than it had minutes before.

“That just brought us closer as a team,” KU center Cole Aldrich said.

Coach Bill Self had an idea on how they pulled out a win. He has been saying that Little makes the Jayhawks more manly, and this was a man’s game. Little had four points, seven rebounds and two assists.

“Probably not his best game,” Self said, “but still I don’t think we win the game without him.”

Little wasn’t trying to prove anything by posturing to Miller. He was just being Mario.

“I’ve never played soft, I’ve never been soft,” Little said. “We just gotta install that in the rest of the guys.”

Defining Toughness: By Jay Bilas

In an earlier post this month I wrote about Jay Bilas' (pictured left) toughness list. This is an more expanded view from an article on ESPN.com. I don't think I've seen a better written definition of toughness:

I have heard the word "toughness" thrown around a lot lately. Reporters on television, radio and in print have opined about a team or player's "toughness" or quoted a coach talking about his team having to be "tougher" to win.

Then, in almost coordinated fashion, I would watch games and see player upon player thumping his chest after a routine play, angrily taunting an opponent after a blocked shot, getting into a shouting match with an opposing player, or squaring up nose-to-nose as if a fight might ensue. I see players jawing at each other, trying to "intimidate" other players. What a waste of time. That is nothing more than fake toughness, and it has no real value.

I often wonder: Do people really understand what coaches and experienced players mean when they emphasize "toughness" in basketball? Or is it just some buzzword that is thrown around haphazardly without clear definition or understanding? I thought it was the latter, and I wrote a short blog item about it a couple of weeks ago.

The response I received was overwhelming. Dozens of college basketball coaches called to tell me that they had put the article up in the locker room, put it in each player's locker, or had gone over it in detail with their teams.

Memphis coach John Calipari called to say that he had his players post the definition of toughness over their beds because he believed that true "toughness" was the one thing that his team needed to develop to reach its potential. I received messages from high school coaches who wanted to relay the definition of toughness to their players and wanted to talk about it further.
Well, I got the message that I should expound upon what I consider toughness to be. It may not be what you think.

Toughness is something I had to learn the hard way, and something I had no real idea of until I played college basketball. When I played my first game in college, I thought that toughness was physical and based on how much punishment I could dish out and how much I could take. I thought I was tough.

I found out pretty quickly that I wasn't, but I toughened up over time, and I got a pretty good understanding of toughness through playing in the ACC, for USA Basketball, in NBA training camps, and as a professional basketball player in Europe. I left my playing career a heck of a lot tougher than I started it, and my only regret is that I didn't truly "get it" much earlier in my playing career.

When I faced a tough opponent, I wasn't worried that I would get hit -- I was concerned that I would get sealed on ball reversal by a tough post man, or that I would get boxed out on every play, or that my assignment would sprint the floor on every possession and get something easy on me. The toughest guys I had to guard were the ones who made it tough on me.

Toughness has nothing to do with size, physical strength or athleticism. Some players may be born tough, but I believe that toughness is a skill, and it is a skill that can be developed and improved. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo always says, "Players play, but tough players win." He is right. Here are some of the ways true toughness is exhibited in basketball:

Set a good screen: The toughest players to guard are the players who set good screens. When you set a good screen, you are improving the chances for a teammate to get open, and you are greatly improving your chances of getting open. A good screen can force the defense to make a mistake. A lazy or bad screen is a waste of everyone's time and energy. To be a tough player, you need to be a "screener/scorer," a player who screens hard and immediately looks for an opportunity on offense. On the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, Bob Knight made Michael Jordan set a screen before he could get a shot. If it is good enough for Jordan, arguably the toughest player ever, it is good enough for you.

Set up your cut: The toughest players make hard cuts, and set up their cuts. Basketball is about deception. Take your defender one way, and then plant the foot opposite of the direction you want to go and cut hard. A hard cut may get you a basket, but it may also get a teammate a basket. If you do not make a hard cut, you will not get anyone open. Setting up your cut, making the proper read of the defense, and making a hard cut require alertness, good conditioning and good concentration. Davidson's Stephen Curry is hardly a physical muscle-man, but he is a tough player because he is in constant motion, he changes speeds, he sets up his cuts, and he cuts hard. Curry is hard to guard, and he is a tough player.

Talk on defense: The toughest players talk on defense, and communicate with their teammates. It is almost impossible to talk on defense and not be in a stance, down and ready, with a vision of man and ball. If you talk, you let your teammates know you are there, and make them and yourself better defenders. It also lets your opponent know that you are fully engaged.

Jump to the ball: When on defense, the tough defenders move as the ball moves. The toughest players move on the flight of the ball, not when it gets to its destination. And the toughest players jump to the ball and take away the ball side of the cut. Tough players don't let cutters cut across their face -- they make the cutter change his path.

Don't get screened: No coach can give a player the proper footwork to get through every screen. Tough players have a sense of urgency not to get screened and to get through screens so that the cutter cannot catch the ball where he wants to. A tough player makes the catch difficult.
Get your hands up: A pass discouraged is just as good as a pass denied. Tough players play with their hands up to take away vision, get deflections and to discourage a pass in order to allow a teammate to cover up. Cutters and post players will get open, if only for a count. If your hands are up, you can keep the passer from seeing a momentary opening.

Play the ball, see your man: Most defenders see the ball and hug their man, because they are afraid to get beat. A tough defender plays the ball and sees his man. There is a difference.
Get on the floor: In my first road game as a freshman, there was a loose ball that I thought I could pick up and take the other way for an easy one. While I was bending over at the waist, one of my opponents dived on the floor and got possession of the ball. My coach was livid. We lost possession of the ball because I wasn't tough enough to get on the floor for it. I tried like hell never to get out-toughed like that again.

Close out under control: It is too easy to fly at a shooter and think you are a tough defender. A tough defender closes out under control, takes away a straight line drive and takes away the shot. A tough player has a sense of urgency but has the discipline to do it the right way.
Post your man, not a spot: Most post players just blindly run to the low block and get into a shoving match for a spot on the floor. The toughest post players are posting their defensive man. A tough post player is always open, and working to get the ball to the proper angle to get a post feed. Tough post players seal on ball reversal and call for the ball, and they continue to post strong even if their teammates miss them.

Run the floor: Tough players sprint the floor, which drags the defense and opens up things for others. Tough players run hard and get "easy" baskets, even though there is nothing easy about them. Easy baskets are hard to get. Tough players don't take tough shots -- they work hard to make them easy.

Play so hard, your coach has to take you out: I was a really hard worker in high school and college. But I worked and trained exceptionally hard to make playing easier. I was wrong. I once read that Bob Knight had criticized a player of his by saying, "You just want to be comfortable out there!" Well, that was me, and when I read that, it clicked with me. I needed to work to increase my capacity for work, not to make it easier to play. I needed to work in order to be more productive in my time on the floor. Tough players play so hard that their coaches have to take them out to get rest so they can put them back in. The toughest players don't pace themselves.

Get to your teammate first: When your teammate lays his body on the line to dive on the floor or take a charge, the tough players get to him first to help him back up. If your teammate misses a free throw, tough players get to him right away. Tough players are also great teammates.

Take responsibility for your teammates: Tough players expect a lot from their teammates, but they also put them first. When the bus leaves at 9 a.m., tough players not only get themselves there, but they also make sure their teammates are up and get there, too. Tough players take responsibility for others in addition to themselves. They make sure their teammates eat first, and they give credit to their teammates before taking it themselves.

Take a charge: Tough players are in a stance, playing the ball, and alert in coming over from the weak side and taking a charge. Tough players understand the difference between being in the right spot and being in the right spot with the intention of stopping somebody. Some players will look puzzled and say, "But I was in the right spot." Tough players know that they have to get to the right spot with the sense of urgency to stop someone.

Get in a stance: Tough players don't play straight up and down and put themselves in the position of having to get ready to get ready. Tough players are down in a stance on both ends of the floor, with feet staggered and ready to move. Tough players are the aggressor, and the aggressor is in a stance.

Finish plays: Tough players don't just get fouled, they get fouled and complete the play. They don't give up on a play or assume that a teammate will do it. A tough player plays through to the end of the play and works to finish every play.

Work on your pass: A tough player doesn't have his passes deflected. A tough player gets down, pivots, pass-fakes, and works to get the proper angle to pass away from the defense and deliver the ball.

Throw yourself into your team's defense: A tough player fills his tank on the defensive end, not on offense. A tough player is not deterred by a missed shot. A tough player values his performance first by how well he defended.

Take and give criticism the right way: Tough players can take criticism without feeling the need to answer back or give excuses. They are open to getting better and expect to be challenged and hear tough things. You will never again in your life have the opportunity you have now at the college level: a coaching staff that is totally and completely dedicated to making you and your team better. Tough players listen and are not afraid to say what other teammates may not want to hear, but need to hear.

Show strength in your body language: Tough players project confidence and security with their body language. They do not hang their heads, do not react negatively to a mistake of a teammate, and do not whine and complain to officials. Tough players project strength, and do not cause their teammates to worry about them. Tough players do their jobs, and their body language communicates that to their teammates -- and to their opponents.

Catch and face: Teams that press and trap are banking on the receiver's falling apart and making a mistake. When pressed, tough players set up their cuts, cut hard to an open area and present themselves as a receiver to the passer. Tough players catch, face the defense, and make the right read and play, and they do it with poise. Tough players do not just catch and dribble; they catch and face.

Don't get split: If you trap, a tough player gets shoulder-to-shoulder with his teammate and does not allow the handler to split the trap and gain an advantage on the back side of the trap.

Be alert: Tough players are not "cool." Tough players are alert and active, and tough players communicate with teammates so that they are alert, too. Tough players echo commands until everyone is on the same page. They understand the best teams play five as one. Tough players are alert in transition and get back to protect the basket and the 3-point line. Tough players don't just run back to find their man, they run back to stop the ball and protect the basket.

Concentrate, and encourage your teammates to concentrate: Concentration is a skill, and tough players work hard to concentrate on every play. Tough players go as hard as they can for as long as they can.

It's not your shot; it's our shot: Tough players don't take bad shots, and they certainly don't worry about getting "my" shots. Tough players work for good shots and understand that it is not "my" shot, it is "our" shot. Tough players celebrate when "we" score.

Box out and go to the glass every time: Tough players are disciplined enough to lay a body on someone. They make first contact and go after the ball. And tough players do it on every possession, not just when they feel like it. They understand defense is not complete until they secure the ball.

Take responsibility for your actions: Tough players make no excuses. They take responsibility for their actions. Take James Johnson for example. With 17 seconds to go in Wake's game against Duke on Wednesday, Jon Scheyer missed a 3-pointer that bounced right to Johnson. But instead of aggressively pursuing the ball with a sense of urgency, Johnson stood there and waited for the ball to come to him. It never did. Scheyer grabbed it, called a timeout and the Blue Devils hit a game-tying shot on a possession they never should've had. Going after the loose ball is toughness -- and Johnson didn't show it on that play. But what happened next? He re-focused, slipped a screen for the winning basket, and after the game -- when he could've been basking only in the glow of victory -- manned up to the mistake that could've cost his team the win. "That was my responsibility -- I should have had that," Johnson said of the goof. No excuses.

Shouldering the responsibility. That's toughness.

Look your coaches and teammates in the eye: Tough players never drop their heads. They always look coaches and teammates in the eye, because if they are talking, it is important to them and to you.

Move on to the next play: Tough players don't waste time celebrating a good play or lamenting a bad one. They understand that basketball is too fast a game to waste time and opportunities with celebratory gestures or angry reactions. Tough players move on to the next play. They know that the most important play in any game is the next one.

Be hard to play against, and easy to play with: Tough players make their teammates' jobs easier, and their opponents' jobs tougher.

Make every game important: Tough players don't categorize opponents and games. They know that if they are playing, it is important. Tough players understand that if they want to play in championship games, they must treat every game as a championship game.

Make getting better every day your goal: Tough players come to work every day to get better, and keep their horizons short. They meet victory and defeat the same way: They get up the next day and go to work to be better than they were the day before. Tough players hate losing but are not shaken or deterred by a loss. Tough players enjoy winning but are never satisfied. For tough players, a championship or a trophy is not a goal; it is a destination. The goal is to get better every day.

When I was playing, the players I respected most were not the best or most talented players. The players I respected most were the toughest players. I don't remember anything about the players who talked a good game or blocked a shot and acted like a fool. I remember the players who were tough to play against.

Anybody can talk. Not anybody can be tough.

Tough teams work close to the rim

"You must collapse the defense (post entry, penetration, offensive rebounding) versus good teams. You can't win just by shooting three's. Those that play closest to the rim, win games.

-Mike Dunlap

Steve Nash with Charlie Rose

Wake Forest, Duke built on defense

Big game tonight in the ACC as #1 Duke is set to take on #6 Wake Forest. According to this article in the Charlotte Observer, both teams success can be traced back to their defenses, which are two different, successful styles:

“Two very, very different styles,” said Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg, the only ACC coach who has faced both teams this season. “Both extremely effective.”

Wake Forest is the ACC's leader in field goal percentage defense (.368) and 3-point percentage defense (.284). Duke has held all five of its ACC opponents to fewer than 59 points, including a 44-point effort Saturday by Maryland that was the Terrapins' lowest output since 1985.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski likes to create havoc by pressuring the ball and denying passing lanes. Point guards have wilted under the pressure applied by sophomore Nolan Smith, a superb defender who's in his first season as a starter.

Opposing coaches say Duke is switching screens more than in the past, which disrupts offenses by preventing dribblers from getting into the lane. But Krzyzewski said Duke's principles are the same ones he has coached during his entire 29-season tenure with the Blue Devils.

The Deacons haven't been using their style nearly as long. Dino Gaudio, who's in his second season after taking over as head coach after Skip Prosser's death, has installed the “Pack Line Defense” made famous by former Wisconsin and Washington State coach Dick Bennett.

Gaudio said his players are much more comfortable with the defense in its second season than they were in 2007-08. The defense also fits Wake Forest's personnel.

It calls for intense man-to-man pressure on the ball with the remaining perimeter defenders available to help stop the dribbler because they're sagging off their men to an imaginary arc that's two feet inside the 3-point arc.

The idea is to keep the ball on the perimeter and force opponents to shoot over the likes of 6-foot-9 Al-Farouq Aminu and 6-9 James Johnson.

“They're so long, and they're so active in their gaps,” said Greenberg, whose team lost at Duke on Jan.4 but handed Wake Forest its only loss a week ago. “They close out and recover so quickly.”

Georgetown Offense

Words of Wisdom

"A mature team is willing to make the sacrifices it takes to win. It's willing to play a certain way. Unselfishness, diving after loose balls, taking charges, getting defensive stops at critical points in a game. The inexperienced teams are the ones that live and die by the jump shot. They tend to place way too much emphasis on the offensive end and not nearly enough on the tough things that it takes to win games"

-Dana Altman

Defense Wrests

No longer intent on just scoring, Gonzaga is dialing in on D—and better equipped for a deep run in March:

Good article from Sports Illustrated on Gonzaga's willingness to get it done on the defensive end this year, which has not happened in quite a while:

FORMER GONZAGA All-America Adam Morrison, who led the nation in scoring in 2005--06, used to wear a T-shirt that his coach, Mark Few, wasn't crazy about. It read IF IT WASN'T FOR OFFENSE I'D PLAY DEFENSE. Like many jokes, it contained an element of bitter truth.
The Zags went 29--4 that season and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. They were a scoring juggernaut, ranking first in the nation in offensive efficiency (1.15), a measure of points scored per possession that stats guru Ken Pomeroy calls the best indicator of offensive success. But that team also ranked 223rd in defensive efficiency (1.04), which may help explain its third-round loss to UCLA. This season Gonzaga is again riding high—it was 6--0 at week's end and ranked No. 4 in the latest AP poll—but with an altered identity.

The Zags' goal every year is to allow fewer than 0.90 points per defensive possession. "We've never been below that in the past 10 years," says Jerry Krause, the Zags' 71-year-old director of basketball operations and resident efficiency charter. (He's not related to the former Chicago Bulls G.M. of the same name.) The goal is not an arbitrary benchmark. Since Pomeroy began tracking efficiency in 2004, every national champion's defense has been sub-0.90. Against Indiana last Saturday the Zags allowed just 0.78 points per possession in a 70--54 win, and on the season—which already includes wins over Oklahoma State, Maryland and Tennessee—they were averaging 0.82, eighth best in the nation, while the offense was ranked 63rd, at 1.08.

How did this sea change occur? Gonzaga now overwhelms opponents with an oversized lineup, which features 6'8" senior guard Micah Downs, a long-armed stopper on the perimeter ("I feel good when he's on somebody, because he can really move his feet," Few says), and 6'11" sophomore forward Austin Daye, an eraser in the paint. ("He has a ridiculous amount of blocks [15] for someone who [only] jumps three inches off the ground," says 6'5" guard Steven Gray, the Zags' valuable sixth man.)

Everyone contributes to the lockdown D, though. Senior point guard Jeremy Pargo and freshman backup Demetri Goodson extend the pressure on opposing ballhandlers, and 6'11", 260-pound center Josh Heytvelt anchors the middle. "We don't have a weak defender out there," says assistant coach Leon Rice.

The Zags keep the heat on by using a nine-man rotation and a variety of defenses, which include man-to-man, a 2--3 matchup zone and a multitude of presses. Together they've held opponents to just 34.4% shooting, fifth best in the country.

Heytvelt, a redshirt senior who arrived in 2004, said the old Zags "liked offense too much." They also haven't made it past the Sweet 16 since 1999. The new Zags are better equipped for tournament play, and their confidence was evident during a tight battle with Oklahoma State on Thanksgiving Day. As the Cowboys hit a barrage of threes to keep the game close, Krause leaned over and told Few, "Hang in there. We're going to win it with our defense."

San Antonio Spurs keep doing it their way

Nice article in the L.A. Times this weekend about the San Antonio Spurs and their overall success in the last 10 years. They are one of only four NBA teams to win four titles in nine years, with the others being the 60's Celtics, 80's Lakers, and 90's Bulls. Their success, according to this article, is based on persevering through the ups and down of any season:

Other teams get giddy when they win and disconsolate when they lose.Whatever happens, the Spurs do the same thing: They persevere.

"We've had several years when we started slowly," coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Spurs don't boast, feud, blame referees, say the word "disrespect," protest at being called a boring team that murders TV ratings.They don't say anything too colorful, or face the Wrath of Pop. If one ever ripped a teammate, Popovich might tear the S-A-N A-N-T-O-N-I-O off his warmups.

The article goes on to talk about the "Spurs Way", which is a set of prinicpals some of which including putting the team first and playing defense. As the article says:

Their entire philosophy comes from a quote from 19th Century social activist Jacob Riis, which Robinson (Former Spur David Robinson) found and is now posted in the dressing room in English, French, Spanish, Serbian and Turkish.

Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two. . . . It was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.
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Their overall philosophy is simple: Through the ups and downs of any season, if you stick to the fundamentals and the core principals of the team concept, things will work out for them.

Keep playing hard, keep playing smart, and keeping playing together!

Good Teammate

Matt Cassel talking about accepting a backup position after having a tremendous year with the Patriots:

“If the situation is what it is, then I would accept it and I would continue to do what I have done my entire career which is work hard, put my best foot forward and continue to work on the things that I need to and put out my best effort,” Cassel said.

“This is Tom’s team,” he said. “The Patriots have been Tom’s team. He’s built that franchise up with his own two hands. He’s the guy, and he was the MVP the year before. I realize that. He’s been such a mentor for me that I would say, ‘No, there is no quarterback competition.’ But I’ve learned so many things from Tom, and hopefully it’ll help me in my career.”

Trying to find and identity

The young Memphis Grizzlies are off to a 11-30 start and just had their head coach fired last night. Here is what center Marc Gasol has to say:

"We don't have an identity. We don't have one. We run around like chickens with our heads cut off. Youth can be a good thing, but we use it as an excuse. We're always making excuses. We make excuses to the referees and to our teammates. We make excuses in practice. That's all some people want to do is make excuses. You're never going to get anywhere like that."

Carlisle's Message to Mavs: Play Harder

This past Wednesday the Dallas Mavericks continued their woes on the road losing by 34 at Milwaukee. This loss was much different though and hurt more afterwards because as this article puts it from the Dallas Morning News they were guilty of the most demeaning crime in sports- not playing hard:

"Hard play is the biggest key to winning in this league, other than having enough talent," Carlisle said. "I love the talent on our team, but we don't have the kind of talent to win on talent alone. That's a fact. And most teams in the league are in the same position. We got to fight every night for wins. It's just never easy."

When the Mavericks go nonchalant, like they did at Milwaukee, they get wiped out.

"We let up a little after that first quarter and thought everything's going to be easy," Dirk Nowitzki said. "Teams are too good in this league. We let them get their rhythm. All of a sudden, everybody started shooting the ball well for them. It was bad. It seemed like we never did get two stops in a row.

"Nothing in this league is going to come easy. You give up 80 percent shooting in two quarters, it's just embarrassing."

At least the Mavericks aren't in denial about that. Their next step is to come to grips with the fact that they haven't left everything on the floor in certain games. Good teams cut down on the number of times they don't show up. Great teams almost never fall into the no-show category.

"It's always going to be a major part of regular-season basketball," Carlisle said. "In the playoffs, everybody plays hard. And there's no coach that isn't preaching it and talking about the importance of it."

Seeking Consistent Teamwork

The Creighton Bluejays had a nice win at Evansville Tuesday night after getting hammered at Wichita State the game before. Creighton has been up and down the majority of the year and is still trying to find consistency in terms of playing together

"It's just a matter of doing it, and I don't know why we come out one game ready to play and don't the next," said Creighton center Kenny Laswon. "I don't understand it. I'ts all about coming together as a team and playing with 100 percent effort. When that happens, you'll see stats fluctuate a little bit.

We know the feeling of playing as a team and going out there and fighting and getting a 'W'. It feels good. Then we go back to our same, bad , old habits. Hopefully, that doesn't happen. Again."

Said forward Casey Harriman: "That was Creighton. At least the team that plays Creighton basketball. It just makes you feel like you wish you could go back and have a re-do against Wichita. We know we can play so well."

Said forward Justin Carter: "Focus, rebounding and getting stops is what it's all about for us. That's what we didn't do against Wichita, and that's what we foucsed on today."

Staying, working paid for Wilson

The Arizona Republic has a great article on Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson. Wilson has been with the Cardinals for eight seasons, many of those being tough year in terms of the win-loss column. Wilson stuck with it though, mainly because he has a will to get better and make his teammates better everyday:

He could have gone the way of so many others who have worn the team's colors and left at the first opportunity for another color - the green of cold cash.

He stayed. He worked. And after eight years of hammering, he helped break one of the harder rocks in professional sports.

"It's pride, man," he said quietly, just outside the club's locker room after Sunday's win. "I'm a prideful guy. The job wasn't done. A lot of players, it's about the money and going to another team because they think the grass is greener on the other side. But you never know.

"I wanted to make sure I left my mark on this team, left a mark on this whole organization."

"I told him when we was up on the podium, 'You finally made it. I'm proud of you and I love you, man, because I know just how hard you worked for it.' " defensive end Antonio Smith said.

"He worked hard each and every year to make himself better and to make this team better.

"I'm telling you right now, I don't think that man has an off-season. I've never seen him stop striving to be better or stop working out, setting the example. It's like a natural routine for him.

"But he believes in his team. Each and every year he believes in making the team better even if it means sacrificing areas of his game. He has been that type of player who will do anything to help this team win.

"And you see where we are. Super Bowl!"

Jay Bilas' definition of toughness

Former Duke basketball player and ESPN commentator Jay Bilas offers his insight as to what toughness means:

*Going after rebounds with both hands.

• Stepping to the line and knocking down pressure free throws, especially when tired.

• Talking on defense and letting your teammates know that you are there in case they get beat.

• Bump and stand up a cutter.

• Close out to a shooter under control.

• Sticking with your team's defensive principles, and doing it under pressure.

• Having a sense of urgency to stop the other team from scoring, not just your man.

• Getting on the floor for a loose ball.

• Taking a charge.

• Getting down in a stance and staying there.

• Finishing plays.

• Setting up your man and making hard cuts.

• Getting your teammates together and keeping them together on the road.

• Not allowing yourself to get screened.

• Moving on to the next play, and displaying positive body language to give confidence to your teammates.

• Sprinting in transition, both on offense and back on defense.

• Filling your tank on the defensive end, and not the offensive end.

• Putting a body on somebody.

• Jumping to the ball, and taking away the ball side of the cut.

• Catching and facing the defense against pressure, not catching and dribbling.

• Blocking out on Free Throw situations every time.

• Taking good shots, and having the judgment to pass up challenged ones.

Toughness isn't just about being physical. It is far more than that. It is mental and physical discipline under pressure, to do the right thing every time.

Find out what someone wants and give it to them

Bobcats guard Raja Bell has made a career out of figuring out what coaches need, and delivering it. This article talks about the need early in his to find his niche:

"Coach (Larry Brown, who signed Bell to a 10-day contract as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 and is Bell's current coach with the Bobcats) was going to play anyone who could lock someone down,” Bell said. “I was on a 10-day (contract) and just looking for another 10-day. If that's how I was going to eat, then that's what I was going to do.''

It speaks to Bell's savvy and willingness to please that he gave himself over so fully to defense. He'd constantly give up his body fighting through screens or taking charges.

"I want to try to get back to the promise land"

Recently Pistons all-star guard Richard Hamilton was taken out of the starting lineup and has been given a role off the bench. It is nothing that Hamilton did to not start, it is what he can give to the Pistons off the bench. Coach Michael Curry wants to get away from his three guard lineup and get bigger to start the game.

Here is an article on the transition. Says Hamilton:

"I been here for a long time, and ever since I got here playing with Chauncey (Billups) and (Tayshaun Prince), we all had to sacrifice some for the one goal, and that is to win a championship," he said. "Sometimes, you got to sacrifice. Bottom line, I want to get back to the promised land."

Here is what Coach Curry had to say:

"It allows us to have the two bigs on the floor for the majority of the game where we are better defensively and rebounding wise," Curry said. "We also sometimes struggle to score at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters, and with being able to feature (Hamilton) at that time, we should be able to (score)."

"I wasn't worried about if Rip (Hamilton) wanted to come off the bench or Allen wanted to come off the bench. We just made a decision on what gives us the chance to be at our best," Curry said.

Characterisitcs of a Good Teammate

From Northern State Head Coach Don Meyer:

1. Honest

2. Good Role Model

3. Caring

4. Committed

5. Good Listener

6. Hold People Accountable

7. Treat People with Respect

8. Give People Encouragement

9. Positive, Enthusiastic

10. Appreciate People

Toughness, Body Language, Leadership

I've posted a couple of articles before on Chester Frazier and the Illinois basketball team. Here is an excerpt from an article after a tough road loss at Big Ten power Michigan State:, where Frazier had an emotional talk with his team:

“Chester watched that tape and took it to heart,” Weber said. “This is his team this year. He wants to make sure everyone gives maximum effort and stays together, and it wasn’t that we didn’t play hard. We won the play-hard chart by double digits. But we still have problems with the defensive end down the stretch, rebounding, block outs and putbacks. … It comes down to fighting through it and giving your best effort the entire game. That’s all I think he was alluding to.”

Frazier certainly showed the toughness that he preaches to the rest of the team. After being undercut and landing hard on his tailbone and back, he went to the locker room. When he returned, he headed straight to the scorer’s table to check into the game, seemingly without asking the coaches first.

But there were signs that other players were lacking confidence as facial expressions and body movements reflected frustration with the disappointing turn of events.

“It’s baffling to me,” Weber said. “At Purdue we had great body language, great focus, great poise. I told them, ‘This is why we do all of those competitive drills at the end of practice.’ We still are young and fragile. When guys don’t play well offensively, we seem to have a tendency to hang our heads.”

Weber said he already has started thinking about who will bring Frazier’s toughness once the senior guard is gone.

“I hope somebody starts getting that toughness,” he said. “With the new guys it will be hard as freshmen but a couple have tenacity to them. Can they do it as a freshman and be a leader? I don’t know. Jeff Jordan (Michael Jordan's son) has made some strides to do that. He’s going to have to get where he becomes better conditioned to go harder like Chester does if he’s going to play that role.” …

Staying with it

After going on a big losing streak, the Celtics have found their form as seen in their win over the Suns last night. Said Paul Pierce,

"I don't think this is a team that will get shaken or rattled when we go through a struggle," said Paul Pierce, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. "We stay together and we kept our heads up. I never really thought we lost our confidence. We're still the defending champions. It's just a matter of remembering who we are as a team."

Utah Jazz Offense

Some notes here from former Utah Jazz assistant Coach Chiesa and the philosophy of their offense during the days of Stockton/Malone:

Utah Jazz "Offensive Manhood"

1. Screening

2. Getting "and one" opportunities

3. Getting offensive rebounds

Stockton defines Jazz Manhood:

*Stockton screened Charles Barkley in a playoff game and Barkley nearly took his head off with a flagrant foul. Stockton's first words to the coaching staff were "don't you guy's even think about NOT running that play.....run it right now.....I'm going to get this guy."

Togetherness and Screening:

*When you take on contact you tell your teammates I'm with you. When your smalls will be physical and take on their bigs you pull guy's together.

*The better our screening, cutting, passing, the better our shooting percentage. Shooting is the last act.

Post Thoughts:
1. Do Not neglect to post the zone
2. Read the defense are they doubling down or sagging?
3. When the defense helps down, throw the ball out and Re-Post
4. Do Not let the defense dictate what shots you will take, get the ball inside
5. The Jazz want their posts to shoot against 1 1/2 defenders, NOT 2
6. Selfish post players will shoot every time against 2 defenders

Why Dont' You Get Paint Touches?
*Because of good defense.....cop-out. Coach Chiesa asks...."What about good offense?"

Post Rule:
*For every 2 jump shots you take, you must drop step middle on the next catch on the next catch.

Bringing Your 'A' Game

Good stuff from assistant Celtics coach Kevin Eastman:

Bringing your “A Game” is important not only to go to the next level but also to be successful in any endeavor. It can be what separates you from the rest. And it’s something YOU can control. If you can get into the habit of bringing your “A Game” every day, you are on your way to creating the single best habit you can ever hope to have — the ability to get the most out of your ability.

There isn’t a coach or corporate leader who would pass on a person who not only understands the importance of bringing his or her best every day but who also has the discipline to actually do it.

Bluejays say flying united is best route

Good article here about Creighton basketball coming together and playing for each other. After a rough defeat at home against Northern Iowa last Tuesday, Creighton was on the road this past Saturday and defeated Bradley.

"It's all about team," Creighton center Kenton Walker said after the win. "We just went out there and played hard for each other."

"Even when we were down, nobody got frustrated, even with themselves," center Kenny Lawson said. "It's understandable that you get frustrated with yourself when you make a mistake. But I never saw anyone get mad at themselves.

"When someone made a mistake, we stuck together. We supported each other, and it was just a good feeling."

"We just have to remember that the more we stick together, the better off we're going to be as a team," guard Cavel Witter said. "We just have to stay focused and stay together. That's all it comes down to."

It wasn't as if the two losses had turned a Creighton team that had won its previous nine games into a dissension-wracked group that was at each other's throats. Instead, the players said the lack of togetherness showed up in more subtle ways.

"It was like when someone would make a mistake, guys wouldn't say anything positive or they'd look the other way," Witter said. "Guys weren't picking each other up. Against Bradley, we stayed positive with each other the entire game. That was a huge key for us."

They'll Walk If You Let'em

From Sports Illustrated:

Philip Rivers drives a Ford pickup truck with a custom-made bumper sticker on the back window that reads, THEY'LL WALK IF YOU LET 'EM. It was a message that former Chargers linebacker Carlos Polk (former Husker) used to shout at the end of long practices on hot summer afternoons when he knew that some players might be tempted to loll through the final special teams drills.

Rivers became so taken with the saying that he logged on to makestickers.com early this season and had it printed up. Standing in the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot last Saturday night after the Chargers' 23--17 wild-card defeat of the Colts in overtime, Rivers said, "That bumper sticker has meant different things to me at different times. But right now it makes me think about when we were 4--8, and we could have walked the rest of the way. We didn't let each other walk."

The Chargers made that choice as a group on Nov. 30, after they'd lost to the Atlanta Falcons at home to fall to 4--8. When coach Norv Turner finished addressing the team, running back LaDainian Tomlinson stepped to the middle of the locker room. "We're not going to quit," he said. "We're not the Raiders."

Confronting Tough Times

After starting the year 27-2, the Boston Celtics have dropped 7 out of their last ten games. There is lots of frustration and lots of critics telling them what they are doing wrong. Last year was somewhat easy for the Celtics in that they hadn't really been through any adversity before they won a championship:

“This team hasn’t gone through anything,” Rivers explained. “We really haven’t. It’s been very easy for us, and sometimes you’ve got to go through something to get something. And this team hasn’t.

“Last year we didn’t have this at all, and I was extremely concerned going into the playoffs. Someone asked me my one concern and I said it was because we hadn’t been tested at all. We breezed through the season 66 and whatever (16). Well, we can’t say that this year because we have gone through something. And you find out a lot about your guys when you go through stretches like this - who wants to fight, who folds. So it’s good for everybody. It’s not that you want to go through it. I’d rather do (what we did) last year.”

“So maybe this will teach us something, too.”

“It’s frustrating,” said Paul Pierce [stats]. “This team has never had a four-game losing streak, so it’s definitely frustrating because you know what we’re capable of. You know what we can do. So that’s the only frustrating part about it.

“But we’re not a team that’s going to make excuses. We’ve just got to go out there and get the job done.”

And get it done as a group - not as individuals.

“I think Doc said it the best,” said Kevin Garnett. “Everybody’s trying to do it themselves and trying to find the solution vs. doing it together.”

Says Doc Rivers: Just because you’re playing hard is not an excuse for not playing smart. You know, you have to do both.’

NBA TV's New Kevin Garnett Commercial

Hard Work Paying Off

EAST LANSING, Mich. --

Kalin Lucas has practically lived in a gym at Michigan State recently, and he's found a home as a sensational scorer.

The lighting-quick guard continued his offensive surge, scoring 22 points to lead the Spartans (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 8 AP) to a 75-62 win over the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.

"Morning, noon and night, I've been coming in to get a lot of shots up," Lucas said. "I've just been shooting, shooting and shooting even before and after practice."

Spartans coach Tom Izzo is pleased the hard work has paid off.

"It's always fun when guys put something into it and get something out of it," Izzo said. "If he continues to grow, he's going to put himself in a good position and us, too."

Grant Hill on Shot Selection

Earlier this season, Suns forward Grant Hill was dealing with being a reserve for the first time in his career. His time on the floor was crunched, and he tried to jam the same amount of production into it.
He hurried his game and got away from his ability to play off his co-stars, especially when he was on the floor with other reserves.

"My role on this team is, 'Take what's given,' " Hill said.

Hill does that as well as anyone in the NBA at his position. Hill and Cleveland's LeBron James were the only swingmen who entered Friday's games ranked in the top 30 in field-goal percentage. Hill and James were tied for 23rd overall at 50.8 percent entering Friday, with only power forwards and centers ahead of them, except for Boston point guard Rajon Rondo (51.5).

Hill is a career 48.4 percent shooter and is shooting over 50 percent for a third consecutive season. He has become more selective after several injury-plagued seasons.

"It really forced me to become more efficient and changed my role right then and there," Hill said. "That's helped. Now I get a lot of good looks, either layups in transition or open looks. I just try to take high-percentage shots. Sometimes I feel like I pass up shots. Maybe I should take more."

"Some days you might get six, seven shots, and some days you might get 14, 15," Hill said. "We have so many weapons on this team. If you're an opposing player, who do you focus on? I may go seven minutes without shooting, but I can still be out there being productive - rebounds, defense, assists - and when the time comes, I'll get my opportunities."

"Shaq (O'Neal), Amaré (Stoudemire) and Steve (Nash) and the attention they bring allows him to get wide-open shots and easy shots," coach Terry Porter said. "He also has very good shot selection. Grant isn't a guy who's just going to jack a shot for the sake of jacking one. Most of his shots are high-percentage shots."

Know your role

"At the end of the day, that's what it is, basketball. It's not rocket science or anything else.If I have a chance to get Ray Allen a good shot, I'm going to [pass]. If I see Perkins and he has a better shot than I got, I'm going to [pass].

My job, and my biggest job, is to get Ray Allen, Rondo, these guards and Paul open on picks and stuff like that. If you have it down to what you're supposed to do, everyone knows their role and it's easy."

Q & A with Bill Self

On Senior Leadership (or just overall leadership from anyone!)

Q: How important are seniors to a team's success?

Bill Self: I believe a college basketball team is only as good as its seniors allow them to be. That doesn't necessarily mean points, rebounds, assists, that means creating an atmosphere where we have great practices everyday, creating an atmosphere where guys are unselfish, where winning come first, where sacrificing for the good of others is the prevailing term. Those are things that I believe seniors can provide from intangible standpoint that gives your team the best chance.

In our case this year, we got three seniors all of them have been in the program for at least four years one of them five. No matter how much those guys play in the games they've got to be a leader on the court and in the locker room each and every day and I really believe our players our young guys especially look to those guys for leadership and when they perform well, they usually follow.

Q: What kind of effect can a senior leader have on his teammates?

Self: Well I think everybody is some sort form of fashion is a leader. Some are really good leader some are really bad leaders. Just because a guy doesn't play hard or if a guy's selfish doesn't mean he's a leader. He could be leading the team down the wrong path. I think some of the intangibles that leaders have to have, especially upperclassmen in particular, are that they have to be coachable, they have to think we before me, they have to see the big picture, they have to understand it's a marathon and not a sprint, they have to know that being part of something bigger than themselves will reflect positively on them.

Guys gravitate to experience, to players who have been there before, especially when it gets down to crunch time. I'm a big believer that the older you get, the more you get it. The more you give the more it comes back to you. Where as sometimes young players want to take, and when you have a bunch of guys taking you're going to have bad chemistry. When you have a bunch of guys giving and not really caring who gets the credit, you're going to have great chemistry and that stems from great leaders.

Tebow doesn't let the haters affect him

It's hard not to root for this guy: ESPN Article

Consistent Leadership

Ohio State senior QB Todd Boeckman, who saw his playing time dwindle because of freshman standout Terrelle Pryor's playmaking abilities, has maintained a dignity about him that really identifies him as a great teammate. Here is an excerpt from an article about the Ohio State senior class:

Perhaps more than any other player, Todd Boeckman has served as a symbol for Ohio State's senior class.

He celebrated Big Ten titles and struggled in big games. He earned local and national recognition and endured the pain of subpar performances. He handled both the highs and the lows with class.

Despite losing the starting quarterback job to true freshman Terrelle Pryor in Week 4, Boeckman still joined fellow captains James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins and Brian Robiskie to meet the media after every game. He remained a leader in the locker room, on the practice field and on the sideline, even if he could no longer be one on Saturdays.

For those reasons, no player on the field at University of Phoenix Stadium had more support than Boeckman as he reclaimed a critical role in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against Texas. The senior helped Ohio State rally in the fourth quarter and was seconds away from a perfect end to his career when Texas scored the game-winning touchdown to win 24-21.

"To see him go in there, it proves the old adage that good things happen to good people," Ohio State tight end Rory Nicol said. "He stayed the course all year. Yeah, he was ticked off in his mind all year long. Who wouldn't be? He did the right thing, he did what was best for the team. He forgot himself."

Chemistry right for Illini basketball

Read a couple of good articles on the resurgences of Illinois basketball after a rough 16-19 season in 07-08. "Last year we went home sad. It was a dysfunctional family,'' center Mike Tisdale said. So far this year the Illini are off to a 13-1 start including a victory this past Tuesday at No. 9 Purdue. Purdue's Keaton Grant sees a different team.

"Last year they were arguing on the court," he said. "This year they're playing more as a team. Last year you could see how spread apart they were. They were arguing on the court. Especially at Illinois they were arguing, and this year they came closer together.''

Team chemistry, according to players, has been the reason for the successful start to the season:

"We have a different attitude," senior guard Trent Meacham said. "People worked hard in the off-season and continued to improve."

The unselfish attitude starts with guard Chester Frazier (pictured above), who coach Bruce Weber says has accepted his role as a distributor on offense and a lock down defender.

"He has accepted what he is," Weber said. "He wants to do well. Last year, when things were not going well, he was always trying to make plays. He has accepted he's not the go-to guy, and he lets the game come to him."

Part of the ploy by Weber was hatched in the offseason when he decided the team's new uniforms would not have the players' names on the back. He felt the team was driven too much by individual achievement last year and wanted something to symbolize a different approach. Instead of the move coming off as cliché, Tisdale said the players — at first resistant — have embraced the message.

"People realized it was more important than being individuals,'' he said. "Coach has been pushing that. It's had a good impact on our mindset. He says it almost every day. That's why we're winning.''

Weber isn't necessarily taking it easy on players. He has talked openly about the harsh approach he has taken with sophomores Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis at times. But after the win over Purdue he praised McCamey for not pouting over bench time and Davis for not complaining when Weber lit into him during practice.

And they have grown up. Just ask sophomore guard Demetri McCamey, who made four free throws after missing three to seal the victory at Purdue."Last year I would have pouted," McCamey said.

15 Strong

Looked in the archives today and was studying the run of the 2006 Miami Heat team that won the World Championship. The year started off very rocky for the Heat with a 10-10 start and their coach Stan Van Gundy (currently head coach for the Orlando Magic) stepped down for personal reasons.

At this point this team loaded with veterans, many of whom had never won a championship (Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Antoine Walker, James Posey, Jason Williams) could have gone either way. Then Heat president Pat Riley, who assembled the team, decided he was going to step into the head coaching position.

Riley is one of the best coaches of all time, winning 5 NBA Championships in his career (4 with 'Showtime' and the Lakers in the 80's). Throughout the season he came up with the motto "15 Strong", which means that it takes all 15 players on the roster coming together as one in order to win the championship. Here is a little about this from after the Heat won the championship:

Champagne was flying from all directions as I walked into the craziest post-championship locker room celebration I've ever witnessed, and there in the center of the room was Miami Heat coach Pat Riley's motivational secret laid bare.

The contents of Riley's mystery bowl -- a structure that sat covered up on the floor of the Heat locker room throughout the playoffs adorned with "Do Not Touch" signs -- had been revealed, and all across the floor were scattered thousands upon thousands of small pieces of paper, each about the size of a baseball card, bearing the words "15 Strong" on one side.

On the other side of each card was a different message, depending on the player who put it there. Some of the cards had family pictures, others had drawings of the Larry O'Brien trophy, still others had pictures of players' families or of championship rings.

"The bowl was 120,000 of these, that's all," Riley said. "We took on a slogan, a motto or whatever you wish, but it was really about 15 guys being strong. There was a lot of conjecture throughout the course of the year about our team, its character, about certain players and how it wouldn't work, the chemistry. People don't know. People don't know how much these guys really wanted it."

They were also blessed to have a supporting cast that bought into the theory that they would have to play second fiddle, a dynamic that wouldn't have been possible if they hadn't bought into Riley's yearlong project of dumping all those "15 Strong" cards into that big mystery bowl.

"Every game we came closer and closer and put more and more stuff in," Gary Payton said. "We brought a wheelbarrow in to put stuff in because he gave us a story about trusting people and pushing a wheelbarrow across a tightrope. He's a great motivator. He did what he was supposed to do. He got us to play the way we were supposed to play, and we stuck together."

Riley is known as a motivational genius. When Payton talks about the 'wheelbarrow story' this is what he means:

The wheelbarrow tale that Riley told the team was believed to be this: In 1859 the Great Blondin, the man who invented the high-wire act, announced to the world that he intended to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. As the story goes, 5,000 people gathered to watch. Halfway across, Blondin suddenly stopped, steadied himself, backflipped into the air, landed squarely on the rope, and then continued safely to the other side. Just as he was about to begin yet another crossing, this time pushing a wheelbarrow, he turned to the crowd and shouted, "Who believes that I can cross pushing this wheelbarrow?" Every hand in the crowd went up. Blondin pointed at one man. "Do you believe that I can do it?" he asked. "Yes, I believe you can," said the man.

"Are you certain?" Blondin asked.

"Yes," said the man. "Absolutely certain?" "Yes, absolutely certain." "Thank you," said Blondin. "Then, sir, get into the wheelbarrow."

Another great Riley talk:

Riley once put a large bucket of ice water in front of him and told his team: "If you want to win a championship, you have to want it…"

Stopping in mid-sentence, Riley plunged his head into the water and kept it there for several seconds, which turned into a minute, which turned into even more than a minute. His players sat dumbfounded, watching, until Riley finally pulled his head out of the water and finished his sentence:

"…like it's your last breath."

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I think if you'll appreciate the commitment it takes to win a championship by looking at these articles and videos. The videos are a looking at the entire season for the Heat. It is amazing how this veteran team bought into the "15 strong" mantra and it paid off.

*It is worth watching all of these! You really get the full effect of the ups and downs that a champion goes through every single day.

The Run: Part I

The Run: Part II

The Run: Part III

The Run: Part IV

Good article on winning it all and the sacrifice that veterans make in winning the championship.

LaDainian Tomlinson - Work Ethic

Easy to root for this guy......