Sharing the Ball

Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles has put an emphasis on ball movement during training camp:

"We put a lot of emphasis on moving the ball," Skiles said. "If you get into a playoff series against a really good ballclub, and in the regular season as well, you've got to move the ball, strong to weak. The guys right now are good at it. They're really playing unselfishly, looking for the open man and hitting the open man."

Carlos Delfino, who was accquired by the Bucks during the offseason, has always been known as a great passer:

"When you share the ball and you're pushing the ball without dribbling, it creates a great up-tempo game. We have many guys who can do that, and for me, it's great basketball.

We understand sharing the ball makes the team grow. As long as we continue to understand that, we have a chance to be a very good passing team. "

"Push the ball, not dribble. It's nice to watch. It's faster and everybody is involved on the plays. When you catch or make a good pass, it creates a good atmosphere. You're talking about creating shots for everyone."

The more the ball moves, the harder it is for the defense to rotate

Article in the Charlotte Observer on how Boris Diaw's passing is rubbing off on his teammates. In a “me-first” league, Diaw is a “you-first” player. He will pass up a relatively open 15-footer to find a teammate with a no-look hook pass for a layup. “We had 32 assists out of 44 baskets made,” Diaw said. “That's really good.”

Said Coach Larry Brown of Diaw: “He can play every position. He thinks pass-first. He sees things you can't teach. … He hasn't seen a pass he doesn't like. And it's gotten contagious with all those guys.”

Said Diaw: “We had a couple of plays tonight where we had four passes – just swinging the ball. It was like ‘The (defensive) help is coming, the help is coming,' but at some point it just can't come anymore. And then somebody is wide open for a 3 or a layup. That would be it for me.”

For the Boston Celtics, they know that an inability to 'pop the ball around' cost them a game at Milwaukee recently:

“I talked about that at halftime (Sunday) because it was evident just watching Milwaukee,” Ray Allen said. “They moved the ball and didn’t care who got the shot, and it forced our defense to shift a lot. When we pass the ball, we get good shots and we make the defense work. At halftime, we had more turnovers than assists, and I sat in the locker room and said, ‘Fellas, this is our negative trait when we lose games. We have more turnovers than we have assists.’ When we have 25-30 assists, that’s when we win games.

Glue Guy- Stanley Burrell

From the 2008 all glue team, Stanley Burrell. A big reason Xavier reached the Elite 8 last season:

Three years ago, Stanley Burrell, a 6-foot-3 guard at Xavier, scored 12.7 points per game, making him just the third freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring. As a sophomore, Burrell raised that average to 14.4. Last season, it was 12.4. Now, however, Burrell is scoring just 9.9 points per game for the Musketeers, the fewest of his career. So he's having an off year, right?

Wrong. Burrell is having a great year -- and for all the right reasons. He has curtailed his penchant for careless passes. He has kept his emotions in check while still infusing his team with energy and leadership. He has honed his instincts for figuring out just what his team needs from him and then delivering it. Most of all, he has made himself into arguably the finest perimeter defensive player in the country. Earlier this month, he ended the conference season as the runaway choice as the Atlantic 10's defensive player of the year.

Heading into the regular-season's final weekend , Xavier was ranked eighth in the AP poll, its highest ever ranking this late in the season. The Musketeers have already set a new school mark for wins. With five players averaging double-figure scoring, the Musketeers have been an exemplar of teamwork and balance, and Burrell has stood out for his willingness to do whatever it takes to help his team win -- even if it means scoring less.

In other words, he has been the ultimate Glue Guy.

Burrell is a fitting standard bearer to carry the torch of the All-Glue captaincy. His role as defensive stopper has not come easily. According to Xavier coach Sean Miller, during his first three years Burrell took only one charge. So far this season, Burrell has 10. Miller did not explicitly ask Burrell to take on this role. Burrell simply sensed it needed to happen.

"As a freshman, he was lost on defense," Miller says. "He didn't feel comfortable taking charges. He'd just get out of the way. Toward the end of last year, I asked our team who was going to be our defensive stopper next year, and he just took it personally. Now, he's defending at the highest level I've been around for a perimeter guy."

There are an awful lot of prominent players who have mysteriously lost their shooting touch while being guarded by Burrell this season: Dayton's Brian Roberts (12-for-32 shooting combined in three games), Indiana's Eric Gordon (4-for-12), Tennessee's Chris Lofton (3-for-12), Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn (3-for-11), LaSalle's Darnell Harris (2-for-9) and Virginia's Sean Singletary (5-for-12). After holding Rhode Island guard Jimmy Baron to two points on 0-for-7 shooting on Feb. 18 (he came into the game averaging 15.3), Burrell said, "I'm coming out to try my best and throw a shutout every night."

"I just want to do whatever it takes to help the team," Burrell said in November. "If it's guarding a guy one night and really trying to shut him down, or just coming out and being aggressive and looking for my shot or coming out the next night looking for my teammates."

Burrell is such a tireless worker outside of practice that Miller has had to ask him to dial back his individual work so he wouldn't wear himself out. Yet, he continues to wear his emotions on his sleeve. That was apparent last week when he ripped the league's coaches for not putting a single Xavier player on the league's all-conference first team, even though the Musketeers won the A 10 by three games. "This league is pathetic," Burrell told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "You've got the best team and nobody on the first team all-conference team? It's ridiculous. ... Those guys decided to be here and play team ball. And they get left out for that? For being unselfish? It's not right, man. I don't care what I got. That defensive player of the year? That's my team award."

Glue Guy- Travis Walton

This guy is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I posted an article a week ago on Michigan State guard Travis Walton. Walton is an all-glue guy member and is what every coach dreams of out of a player. I found this article from the Grand Rapids Press after Michigan State defeated Purdue on Sunday:

EAST LANSING -- With its first Big Ten championship since 2001 already secured, a true sense of urgency wasn't necessary Sunday by Michigan State in its regular-season finale against Purdue:

The Spartans were the top seed in this week's Big Ten tournament even before beating the cold-shooting Boilermakers, 62-51.

Unless they do a complete flop in Indianapolis, they will be no worse than a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

But simply going through the motions Sunday wasn't captain Travis Walton's style. Never has been. No matter the circumstances, which is why Walton offered some terse, fire-up-the-troops comments at halftime.

"Trav brought it all (today), and it was the players' commitment at halftime that was bigger than any speech I gave," MSU coach Tom Izzo said. "That was all because of Trav and his speech.

"I always say a player-coach team is a lot better than a coach-coach team. Walton is the only guy I know who cannot score a lot of points and be a difference maker in a game. He was a difference maker in our locker room this time."

For lack of a better description, Walton has become Tom Izzo Jr. during his four years in East Lansing. When he speaks, which is rare in public, he commands complete attention from his teammates. When he plays his patented lockdown defense, the other Spartans pick up their defense.

Walton helped MSU force the Boilermakers into 6-for-32 field-goal shooting in the final 20 minutes for a miserable 18.8-percentage.

"Sometimes, when the coaches are getting on everybody, Trav will say the same thing to us. But it's how he relays it," sophomore guard Durrell Summers said. "That's the sign of a true, legitimate team leader.

"We were sluggish in the first half. That's when Travis said 'enough was enough' at halftime. That's when he reminded us that we're all hungry for more. That we have bigger goals ahead of us."

Walton scored just two points against Purdue. But it's all the little things he did -- three steals, three rebounds and two assists -- that to add to his leadership qualities and defensive skills, that make him a complete package.

It is his dedication to winning, which is a similar trait that made Mateen Cleaves special as a Spartan.

"You need somebody that puts winning above everything, and is tough enough to deal with it," Izzo said. "And you need a coach on the floor. That's all Trav."

At halftime, Walton told his teammates their first-half play was unacceptable.

"I just talked about how they were outscrapping us a little bit," Walton said. "It looked like the same thing down there I wasn't going to have that happen at home, and especially on our senior day," Walton said of MSU's 72-54 loss at Purdue on Feb. 17.

"Nobody wanted this final regular-season win as badly as me. Not even our other three seniors. For us to win the championship by four games was even bigger than three games. To tie the school record for most Big Ten wins (15) was too important to me. But we have more to get done."

Glue Guy- Garrett Temple

Another member on Seth Davis' all glue-team:

To opposing guards, however, Temple is simply a royal pain. With his size, his long, spindly arms, his lateral quickness and his intellect, he has fashioned himself into one of the most lethal perimeter defenders in America. Just ask Duke's J.J. Redick, who scored 11 points on 3-for-18 shooting while being guarded by Temple in the third round of the 2005 NCAA tournament, when Temple was a redshirt freshman starter on the Tigers' Final Four team. Temple has also shut down such big-time scorers as Texas A&M's Acie Law (four points) and Tennessee's Chris Lofton (two). Last week, as the Tigers scored their two most important wins of the season, he forced Florida's Nick Calathes and Kentucky's Jodie Meeks to shoot a combined 2-for-14 from three-point range as the Tigers won both games. No wonder he was named a defensive All-America last season by Collegeinsider.com.

Temple has been a four-year starter at LSU, but for the last three years he has played point guard. This year, new Tigers coach Trent Johnson switched him to small forward so 6-1 sophomore Bo Spencer could play the point, but Temple remains an invaluable floor general. He leads the team (and is ranked fifth in the SEC) in assists with 4.1 per game and he is first in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2-to-1). He is also fourth in the league in steals (1.86), he averages 4.5 rebounds and he's making 84.1 percent from the foul line. That should tell you Temple is capable of scoring more than his current average of 7.2 points a game, but since he plays with two of the highest-scoring players in the SEC in Marcus Thornton and Tasmin Mitchell, Temple knows his job is to get those guys open shots, not take a bunch of his own.

Temple is just as impressive off the court. In 2006, he was named a member of the SEC's academic honor roll, and last May he graduated from LSU with a degree in business administration. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in business. That has endeared him to LSU's first-year coach, Trent Johnson, who was hired away from Stanford partly to rebuild the program's academic standing. "I'm not the kind of person who pays lip service to academics," Johnson said. The new coach likes smart players, and he is smart enough to recognize a high-quality glue guy when he sees one.

"He has good leadership, and it's real. It's not phony," Johnson said. "He's at peace with who he is. He's a very secure person. When Garrett speaks or asks a question, he knows what he's talking about. That's good leadership."

Glue Guys

Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated comes out with an All-Glue Team every year in college basketball. These are the players that do all the litle things, many of which go unnoticed, that help their team succeed. This year he chose J.T. Tiller (pictured above-right) of Missouri as his captain of the team. I will be posting several of Davis' glue-guys over the next several days. These guys symbol all that is right with college basketball:

The Atlanta Celtics are one of the most glamorous programs on the amateur basketball circuit, which is why Mike Anderson, then UAB coach, watched them play many times during the summer of 2005. But instead of locking in on mega scorers, Anderson instead found his gaze drifting toward J.T. Tiller, a 6-foot-3 guard from Marietta, Ga., who was drawing scant interest from other high-major schools. "He was one of those kamikaze guys who did all the little things that add up to winning," Anderson recalls. "He played so hard and gave everything he had, and he had a huge impact on the game just from a defensive standpoint. Most guys don't get after it defensively during the summer, but this kid had no ego. He was all about winning."

Though Tiller is not technically Missouri's point guard, he is ranked in the top 10 of the Big 12 in both assists (3.6 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.33-to-1). Tiller is also arguably the league's best perimeter defender. He is ranked second in the conference in steals (1.89) and has shut down many of the Big 12's biggest scorers.

Every coach asks his players to do the subtle, unglamorous things that don't show up in a box score, but Tiller is one of those rare players who specializes in doing just that.

There are just so many intangibles he brings to the table," Anderson said. "He's the catalyst for a lot of things that take place, whether it's blocking a shot, deflecting a pass, getting loose balls, taking a charge, making a pass that leads to an assist. Then you throw in his character, he's a good student, he's become a good leader. He's just all about winning."

"I thought of myself as a defensive player coming out of high school. I thought that would be my way out," Tiller said. "Everybody else wanted to be the offensive threat, but I felt like for me to be seen I had to be the defensive guy stopping those offensive-minded people. I thought coaches would like that hard-nosed style."

As for the Tigers' postseason prospects, Tiller is trying not to look too far ahead, but he knows full well they will only go far if they stick together. That, he knows, is his responsibility. "I believe we can go far as long as we come with the right mindset," he said. "My role on this team is to be a leader on the court, be a high-energy guy and do whatever I have to do to propel this team to the next level. I'll take that role any day as long as we're winning."

Patience pays off for Notre Dame bench players

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In the search for motivational gambits, no copyrighted material is safe from a coach's grasp.

This includes vaguely co-opting deodorant slogans to manage angst over playing time, which is why Notre Dame implores its bench players never, ever to let them see you fret.

This, of course, is easier said than done.

"That's only natural — all the players want to play," Irish guard Jon Peoples said. "There's always some sort of frustration. At the same time you have to be happy for the guys out there and support them."

Still, despite the bench players' sporadic playing time, the Irish believe they have something in reserve. Peoples, Tyrone Nash and Luke Zeller have provided boosts recently as the team continues an NCAA tournament push Wednesday night against Rutgers.

The current contributions are the byproduct of staying engaged despite infrequent court time. But the role players endured. Why? Everyone said so.

"Kyle [McAlarney] pulls me aside sometimes and says, 'Ty, stay ready, because we're going to need you,' " Nash said. "That's one of your best players telling you that. If he's telling me to be ready, I'm going to make sure I'm ready.

"Luke Harangody, Zach Hillesland, Ryan Ayers, they stay in my ear: 'Be ready, Ty, because you never know when your name is going to be called.' "

Granted, career games like Peoples' 14-point, nine-assist effort Saturday at Providence are not the expectation. The bar is admittedly lower for a group that has scored 296 points combined — barely more than half of Harangody's total.

They, however, can caulk some holes. And as they do so, Irish coach Mike Brey cedes the credit to his regulars for making the reserves recognize their value.

"It's on the rest of the team to stay in their ear and keep them positive," Mc-Alarney said. "You need the team to convey that message: We need you."

Scola gives team gritty consistency every game

He leads the Rockets in floor burns. Also in energy, passion, rebounding and defense.

Luis Scola is easy to overlook because he’s surrounded by stars, because he does things that don’t always show up in the box score.

There he was again Tuesday night, throwing in 13 points, grabbing 18 boards and handing out two assists as the Rockets beat Chicago 107-100.

“He was so active,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said

“He rebounded consistently all night long. He has really had a solid year. You can’t give him enough credit, and it’s all effort.”

In a season when Adelman has been forced to change his lineup and rotation seemingly every other night, Scola has been amazingly consistent, doing the same things, performing with heart, giving the Rockets the ingredient all good teams must have.

“He has been our MVP of the first half,” Shane Battier said. “No ifs, ands or buts about it. He’s just so solid. I’d heard about him before he came here, that he was one of the best power forwards in the world. I’ve seen it.”

Some of the same things that can be said of Scola can be said of Battier. They bring the same effort every night and do things that don’t show up in the box score.

“Luis maybe doesn’t run the fastest or jump the highest,” Battier said. “He’s just a great basketball player. He has grown so much in confidence since his rookie season.”

“He does everything,” McGrady said. “He brings toughness and energy, rebounds and steals. He’s a great defensive player. Winning teams must have players like him.”

“I just try to help where I can,” Scola said. “Sometimes if a teammate sees another teammate running hard it’ll maybe make them play harder. If the way I play helps, that’s great.”

-Houston Chronicle

Raw Emotion

Just a great picture of teammates getting excited after a walk-on player made a basket. I love it!

The Maturation of a Point Guard

Article this morning in the Detroit Free Press on the developing leadership of Michigan St. point guard Kalin Lucas, who coach Tom Izzo says could be one of the best he has every had. It is a great article about the coach and the point guard being on the same page. Here is a portion of it:

It was the spring of 2008 when Izzo caught the first glimpse that his young guard might be for real. Michigan State was playing rival Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. The game was tied. Thirty seconds were left. Lucas had the ball.

As he tried to pass, a defender slipped in, swiped it and raced to the other end for a lay-up. MSU lost by two. When the team reached the tunnel as it walked off the court, Lucas began howling:

"It's my fault. It's my fault." He collapsed as he stumbled into the locker room, sobbing.

"I had never seen that from Kalin," Izzo recalled. "Ever."

It was painful. It was enlightening. And he considered it Lucas' first defining moment.

Last week was the second.

MSU was playing Penn State at home. As in the Wisconsin game the year before, the Spartans had blown a big lead. Again, Lucas had the ball at the end. He was on the free-throw line. Twelve seconds were left. MSU trailed by a point.

Lucas missed a free throw to tie it. MSU lost. In the locker room, Lucas broke down, but not in the guttural way he had in Indy. This time he was seething. Partly because he'd missed a crucial shot down the stretch and partly because he hadn't kept a promise to himself he'd made in December, after MSU lost to North Carolina by 30.

The night after that thrashing, he and roommate -- and teammate -- Durrell Summers went to dinner and promised each other they would never be embarrassed again as long as they were at MSU.

Penn State had won by only four, but something didn't feel right about the way it went down. The team lost its way during a 6-minute stretch late in the first half. Championships teams didn't do that. Or if they did, they made plays at the end.

Lucas spent the rest of that day and evening in knots. Finally, about midnight, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to Izzo: "It will never happen again."

Izzo returned his text the next morning: "I want you to trust me."

The coach called it the second defining moment.

After the Carolina loss, the Spartans had ripped off 11 straight wins. Now it was time to respond again. Three days after the Penn State loss, MSU blitzed Minnesota by 29 points. The team did it without Lucas' jump shot.

"I don't have an answer for what happened," he said afterward.

But he didn't need one. A year ago, he might've sulked if he had a poor shooting night. Against Minnesota, however, he shrugged it off, helped shut down the Gophers' starting backcourt -- holding it to 2-for-13 shooting -- and kept feeding Summers, who dropped in threes from all over the court. His roommate scored 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting. And Lucas had helped make it happen.

Road Warriors

Coach Eric Musselman has a great blog post today about Missouri having a "man's mentality" on the road, which helped them beat Texas Wednesday night.

The Lakers had that same mentality last night (as much as it hurts me to say that) when they defeated the Celtics in Boston 110-109. Lakers center Paul Gasol said:

"I wish we would have come here last year with this kind of attitude. Nobody backed down. We were as physical as anybody."

From the L.A. Times:

For now, though, it was the Lakers acting like the heavies when it was least expected, with their physically imposing 21-year-old center watching on TV back home in Los Angeles.

This wasn't 131-92, that's for sure.

"We came in this building and got beat pretty badly," said Kobe Bryant, referring to the Lakers' Game 6 loss to the Celtics last June."I think we kind of took the challenge upon ourselves coming in here and seeing how much we've grown since then."

Buying In

"A game like this makes you trust in all those corny-sounding clichés. On paper you may not look as talented or as fast or as strong as your opponent, but if you get guys to buy into a system and fight to the bitter end, you can accomplish incredible things."

-Mike Vrabel, 3 time Super Bowl Champion after winning their first Super Bowl over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams

Steve Nash with Charlie Rose

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."

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

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."

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.’

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."

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.