Duke's Talk System

Here are some portions in an article from ESPN The Magazine about the communication system that Duke has out on the floor & the importance of talking in their program:

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Eye contact -- they're big on that. Coach K does it too, from the first time he meets a recruit. Squaring up, he promises always to tell the kid the way it is, about his game, about his life, no matter what. And he demands that every one of his players at Duke do the same: Find the eyes; tell the truth.

It's disorienting and, frankly, a bit weird. But if Mike Krzyzewski says the point is to promote an open dialogue, you can't really argue, even if it can freak out a newbie. Let's be honest: If anyone outside of the team's practice facility were to address a player with such unflinching eye-to-eye contact, he'd likely be asking, "Do you know how fast you were going?"

But disconcerting or not, that's how Blue Devils interact off the court. On it, though, blinded by screens, pivots and defenders' waving hands, they can't rely on eye contact. So they resort to a mode of communication that is equally unrelenting: a steady stream of old-school chatter.

In games, practices and open gyms, the Dukies' yelping -- "Ball, ball!," "You're good there," "I got it," "Shoot it" -- is no different from what spews from your standard-issue pickup hooper. It's just way more intense. It draws attention to oncoming screens, but also affirms every pass and shot, encourages every defensive gamble. It announces their solidarity. "When you talk all the time, you will recognize a voice in a chaotic situation," Krzyzewski says. "It builds strength."

To a Devil, hostile invective, intrusive whistles and sneaker squeaks are white noise; teammates' chirps are the real sound track of the game. To opponents, that sound track is like a death knell. "The chatter empowers them," says Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg. "Combine it with their talent, and it's pretty imposing."

Krzyzewski calls this grating-to-others blah-blah-blahing the lifeblood of his program, one of its building blocks: offense, defense, talk. And of his four title teams, 2010's may have been the one most dependent on it. "Last year they talked better than anyone we played," says North Carolina's Roy Williams. "They also talked more consistently than any Duke team in the seven years I've been back in the ACC." All that verbosity was evidence of a veteran squad finally buying Krzyzewski's well-worn creed; "The beauty in our sport comes when five are playing as one, and five can't play as one unless they're talking to one another"

"You're teaching them a language," Krzyzewski says. "You just can't say, 'All you guys need to talk.' You have to teach them how."

"The coaches' thing is, if you're not talking, you're into yourself," Smith says. "Talking gets you thinking about the game." Problem is, extroversion isn't generally an instinctive response to screwing up. "Guys aren't good talkers inherently," Krzyzewski says. "By talking, you open up your inside to the team." Few All-Americas want to draw attention to an ego-shredding error, but Coach K will tell you that's when teammates need to hear you the most. "What talk does is return you to the moment," he says. "It clears your head."

Communication on the Floor

Here is a piece on Team USA and their desire to communicate more on the floor. From NBA.com:

"In the last two ball games, you knew you were going to win and you wanted to really fast forward into the medal round," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after practice. "And what happens is you stop talking to one another on the court. And then you're not as animated. It's still a game of being connected, and you're connected primarily when you're talking to one another."

Communication on defense is always critical. But it takes on extra importance in international play, where the best teams run offenses with five players and the ball constantly in motion. A defense that does not talk will quickly be a defense that is lost.

"These teams are well-coached and they run all their sets all the way through," Kevin Durant said. "They have a lot of shooters that stretch the floor, so if you don't talk, you can get burned."

Defensive communication goes well beyond calling out screens. All five players must be talking and working together, so that the roll man is picked up quickly and the shooters aren't left alone. Rotations must be quick, and being a step slow will cost you two or three points.

Of course, the importance of communication is not limited to the defensive end of the floor. The U.S. offense has been stagnant at times, in part because they weren't talking as they brought the ball up the floor.

"We've been coming down, just dribbling the ball, and waiting to call a set instead of running some motion," Krzyzewski said, noting that early offense was another point of emphasis on Saturday.

Many of these American players aren't used to being vocal though. Along with a lack of international and big-game experience, that's one of the challenges of bringing a young team to the World Championship.

"It's different roles and situations that you're put in when you play USA Basketball," Tyson Chandler said. "So we've got to get guys out of their comfort zone."

"I know for myself, I was a little nervous when I first got here to talk it up," Durant admitted. "But as time goes on, these guys make it easier."

Krzyzewski puts a positive spin on the lack of communication, saying that it's also a result of players focused on doing the right thing individually.

"It's not meant like 'I don't want to talk,'" the coach said. "It's like 'I am talking, and I'm talking to myself. Here's what I'm supposed to be doing.' And we need to get them outside of themselves. And they will do that. They'll be a very enthusiastic, hungry group when we play Angola." (Who they beat by 56 points)

Coach K on Getting Better

Thanks to DECA guru Coach Penas for sending out this Coach K quote!

"I'm on to the next thing, and the next thing is getting better as a basketball coach," Krzyzewski said Monday during his annual midsummer news conference. "You've got to get better each year, so the opportunity to coach the United States gives me an opportunity to get better. I'll coach this summer more than anybody in the United States.

"As long as I take my breaks and stay fresh, I think that's a good thing," he added. "You would want the guy defending you [in a courtroom] to get better in law. You would want the guy or woman treating you in health to keep up to date, and I think as long as you're in any profession, you should get better, because it's constantly changing."

Coach K on Jim Rome

Heard a great interview on Jim Rome's radio show yesterday with Coach K. Here are some notes from the interview about Team USA & Duke Basketball:

*When asked if he was tired from doing both Team USA and Duke Basketball

-You can’t get tired out when your are invigorated into something. All of us were invigorated. All of the players said it was the best thing to happen to them.

*In the first practice Kobe Bryant talked to Coach K and said, “Coach I want to guard the best player and I promise I will destroy him.” In the first practice Kobe did not take one shot. He gets it.

*Kobe is passionate about his preparation. He had to adjust his practices. He thought they needed two a days to prepare. Players told him that they didn’t need it. Coach K then realized they were lifting & doing their own skill work in the morning, and then coming back at night and shooting. Kobe never left the gym.

*LeBron wanted to learn from the best. Although he is one of the best passers in the NBA, he wanted to learn the fundamentals from teammate Jason Kidd. He wanted to learn how to prepare better so he wanted Kobe. Coach K said the best thing about practice was how everyone wanted to learn from each other to get better.

*Jason Kidd was the most valuable player on the team. He understood legacy, he had been there before. He had his finger on the pulse of everyone there from the coaches to the players. He had the respect of everyone there. Coach K said they don't win a gold medal without him.

*Shane Battier is Coach K’s favorite. Usually a point guard knows what everyone’s position is. Battier knows this better than most point guards. Coach K likes to huddle up to say something motivational. During Battier’s senior year coach is ready to say something and Battier takes over the huddle before practice. He decides he can’t say anything better than Battier so he doesn’t talk. It says that way the rest of the year with Battier leading the huddles before and after practice, they win a championship.

The Gold Standard

Coach Bob Starkley of LSU had a great post today on Coach K's new book titled The Gold Standard. In this book, Coach K talks about the gameplan that it he used to form a tight-knit group in Team USA.

Gold Standards:

1.) No Excuses

-We have what it takes to win.

2.) Great Defense

-This is the key to winning the gold.

-We do the dirty work.

3.) Communication

-We look each other in the eye.

-We tell each other the truth.

4.) Trust

-We believe in each other.

5.) Collective Responsibility

-We are committed to each other.

-We win together.

6.) Care

-We have each other's back.

-We give aid to a teammate.

7.) Respect

-We respect each other and our opponents.

-We're always on time.

-We're always prepared

8.) Intelligence

-We take good shots.

-We're aware of team fouls.

-We know the scouting report.

9.) Poise

-We show no weaknesses

10.) Flexibility

-We can handle any situation

-We don't complain

11.) Unselfishness

-We're connected.

-We make the extra pass.

-Our value is not measured by playing time

12.) Aggressiveness

-We play hard every possession

13.) Enthusiasm

-This is fun.

14.) Performance

-We're hungry.

-We have no bad practices.

15.) Pride

-We are the best team in the world and we represent the best country.

Krzyzewski works his magic again

Despite an up and down season, Duke captured another ACC Tournament crown yesterday by defeating a tough Florida State team. The personal goal for Coach K this year was to live in the moment, to enjoy the process rather than taking it for granted. Said Krzyzewski:

“I think the kids would tell you, too, our whole staff, we've been really energized the whole time, really positive and enjoying it – enjoying it but working hard.”

Tough losses against North Carolina, Boston College, and a 27 point loss by Clemson really tested Coach K and his players.

“That's just who coach is, a competitor,” Duke forward Kyle Singler said. “Even when we were taking losses during conference play, it was all about getting better during the season. We wanted to play as well as we (could), but our main focus was on getting better and being at our best at the end of the season.”

Sense of Urgency

Big win for Duke on Sunday night as they beat Wake Forest 101-91. Coach K knew it was a huge game for his team calling it "as big of a game as we've had here in three years"

A master at mind games, Krzyzewski gave his team a message similar to the one he gave the U.S. Olympic team on its gold medal run.

“Instead of saying we had to win I told them we’re going to win it,” Krzyzewski said. “The anticipation of doing something should help you better than the expectation of having to do it.”

Coach K & Coach Knight

Thoughts from Coach K

Duke has been struggling mightly lately compared to where they were at the beginning of the season. With recent losses to Clemson, North Carolina, and Boston College, they have become vulnerable in certain aspects of the game lately. The strong defense that carried the team in December and January was nowhere to be found. Gerald Henderson bemoaned the Blue Devils' once-stout defense.

“They scored (almost) every possession they had for the last five minutes,” Henderson said after Duke lost 80-74 to Boston College. “I don't know how many points we gave up in the second half, but it was way too many.”

Here is what Coach Mike Krzyzewski says Duke can do better:

Don't let a failure to score on offense affect the defense, too. “Maybe if you're not shooting well or you're not hitting well, you can take that mind-set to the defensive end, and that may stop you from talking as well,” Krzyzewski said.

Re-establish a defensive attitude and pride. “I think what's missing a little bit for us is a sense of urgency to stop somebody,” Krzyzewski said.

Return to fundamentals. “It could be something as simple as your stance, how the team is talking to one another,” Krzyzewski said.

Don't Forget This Loss

If you watched the Duke/Clemson game last night you saw the blowout that Clemson put on Duke. Coach Krzyzewski was asked if team are sometimes better off forgetting about bad losses and moving forward:

“Our players shouldn’t forget this loss. This is as bad as you can play,” Krzyzewski said. “You can’t say, ‘Oh, that’s OK.’ Not if you’re wearing a Duke uniform.”

“You never forget this loss,” Krzyzewski said. “Going into another game, we can’t hang on to it but you can never forget a game like this one.”

Duke melted against Clemson’s defense, which wobbled them with their full-court pressure in the first half then continued to bother them in the front-court with straight-up man-to-man pressure in the second half.

Kyle Singler had five turnovers. Nolan Smith had four. The total was 16 but it felt like twice that many.

“They know how to turn you over and you have to be strong with the ball,” Duke’s Gerald Henderson said. “You have to make quick decisions and value the ball. We didn’t do any of that.”

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."