Kobe's desire

Article from Sports Illustrated on Kobe Bryant:

Now it is 5:30 in the morning after Game 4, and Bryant is headed to the gym. Only hours earlier the Lakers pulled out a dramatic 99--91 win to take a 3--1 series lead, and with three more chances to finish the series, the players could finally relax. There are two nights off before Game 5, and it was time to celebrate a bit, and Kobe did. For all of four hours. Now, before he goes to sleep, it is time to get in some work.

At the urging of his trainer, Tim Grover, Bryant heads to the fitness center at the Ritz-Carlton, where a couple of early-bird businessmen are shocked to share their treadmill time with an 11-time All-Star. For an hour and a half Grover takes Bryant through a series of exercises: weights, stretching, muscle-activation routines. Grover's logic is that if Bryant gets his work in now, he can have a block of uninterrupted sleep and not disturb his rest pattern.

Bryant's work ethic is renowned, but this season he became even more obsessive. Unhappy with his physical stamina during the Finals a year ago, he asked Grover, with whom he'd worked during the off-season, to become, in essence, his personal trainer: travel with him, monitor his workouts. For Grover, who runs his business out of Chicago, and whose clients include Dwyane Wade (and, for many years, Michael Jordan), it was asking a lot. "There are only about three guys in the league I would have even considered doing this for," says Grover. "With Kobe, I knew he'd take it very seriously."

Grover's modifications were small but important. Bryant had never been an advocate of cold tubs; Grover had him taking ice baths frequently for muscle recovery. He focused on strengthening Bryant's ankles, wrists, hips—"areas that don't make you look better in your jersey but can become nagging injuries," Grover says. The result is that, despite having played for nearly three years straight due to his Olympic commitments, Bryant came into these Finals free of ankle braces, shoulder wraps and sleeves—although his right ring finger, dislocated earlier in the season, remained taped. He even wore low-top shoes. (Bryant believes they give him a greater range of motion, and Grover concurs.) When Bryant missed those free throws in Game 3, finishing 5 of 10 from the line, Grover had him show up early the next day and spend 40 minutes just shooting foul shots. "The superstars aren't superstars just by accident," says Grover. "Michael was Michael because of what he did on and off the court; it didn't just happen. Same with Kobe. It's because of the time and effort and the knowledge that he gains and his willingness to listen to people."

Lucas Glover's forward thinking proves crucial

2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover on creating a positive mindset:

Glover had just three top-10s in 2007, and last year he dropped to 108th on the money list. Frustrated and burned-out, Glover decided to shut it down after a September tournament.

"I was too hard on myself," Glover said. "And I just had a bad attitude when it wasn't going right. The patience issues and the bad attitude was because of expectations through the roof and not getting results, but practicing just as hard and not getting any better. That was the frustrating thing."

There was one stretch during the tournament were Glover went bogey, double bogey, bogey.

"Two years ago, if that would have happened ... no chance. I would not be sitting here," Glover said of the three-hole stretch when he went 4 over par. "No chance. But I've worked on it. My attitude's better. When something happens, I let it go. I doubled the first hole this week. Didn't slam a club. Didn't do anything."

Creating a winning attitude

Good article that Coach Musselman had on his website:

"If you do something enough, it becomes fundamental. It becomes habit, and when you get in the heat and walk out there in front of millions, (the Beatles) were not thinking, they were just reacting. Tiger Woods every time we see him hit a big shot. He's hit a thousand just like that with no one looking … it just becomes a reaction. He probably creates competitive reps as he is practicing, 'OK, down two strokes, got two holes left' … if you are doing things the right way, your fundamentals will hold up under fire. It's very important. Football is a fundamental game, a technique game. Look at a guy like (former Boston College quarterback) Matt Ryan when he beat us out here two years ago. I wasn't surprised. He rolled right, came back and hit that guy wide open on third and forever, might have been fourth, to hit that guy for a score. He just reacted. … People are so clueless when it comes to doing that. Greatness is achieved, it is not a given. Yeah, you are born with talent. Take Jerry Rice for example — he is the greatest wideout every to play the position. It is not even close. He was not the most talented. The reason he was great is his work ethic and commitment to little things. He worked on his mind, he took care of his body. He pushed himself further than anyone else was willing to go."

ON INSTILLING WORK ETHIC AND DRIVE:

"I can draw Xs and Os all day on that board; a lot of coaches come in and do great things on the board, but coaching and leadership is really about getting people to do things they don't want to do, getting them to places they can't take themselves. Motivating people to be great. … Coach (Bear) Bryant also talked about there are four kinds of players. You've got those players that have it and give it, like C.J. Spiller. You have players that have it but won't give it — you want to get rid of those guys. Then you have players that don't have it — and this is what the majority of your team is — but don't know they don't have it and give way beyond their ability. And then you have the guys that don't have it, and know they don't have it. You want to be nice to them because they will make great alums. … You've got to be able to motivate all those different guys. … I think that's what separates good coaches from bad coaches."

Bucks should follow the leaders: Skiles said team could learn from NBA champs

Here is an portion of an article from the Milwaukee Sentinel about how Bucks head coach Scott Skiles wants his team to learn from the Lakers:

To Skiles, watching the playoffs from the sideline offered a reminder of just how hard it is to win in the postseason, which is something he wants his players to keep in mind as the team's building process moves forward.

"You get away from it and start watching the playoff games and if you've been in the playoffs before and now you're not, you're watching them and you see what it takes to play at that level," Skiles said. "You see what it takes to win a series. It's just a constant reminder of how hard it is. It's hard.

"One thing we're continually trying to impress upon our guys is that this should be fun. Everybody would like to have a job where they enjoy it. But still there's a lot of (stuff) you've got to go through to be that type of team and it's hard. There's a lot of stuff you have to play through. The season is long. All the stuff everybody knows. It's very, very difficult and the more we can understand that (the better).

"When guys work out this summer and work on their games and conditioning, sure they should enjoy it and enjoy the game, but they should always have an eye toward how hard it's going to be if we are going to get where we want to go and how everything they are doing right now is pushing them toward that direction."

Learning how to practice

"Right now the primary focus is on those things you really can't measure. I've talked about that before — the team chemistry, the unity. I'm always pounding that. I'm always talking about how efficient they have or have not been on the practice field. ... I said this way back in the first minicamp (in April) that it was a lot about learning how to practice. I think they've got it now."

-Steve Spagnuolo
St. Louis Rams Head Coach

Accountability from the top

From Super Bowl champion coach Mike Tomlin:

"I better get better. That’s the nature of this thing. And getting better doesn’t necessarily mean a better outcome; I understand that. I’m always trying to be the best I can be. I’m as critical of myself as I am of anyone. I think that’s appropriate from a leadership standpoint.

New Lions coach Jim Schwartz

"A lot of people have said to me over the last six months, ’Hey, coach, this is a great opportunity for you.’ I’ve been consistent in saying it’s not an opportunity. It’s a responsibility. I think we have a responsibility in this town to get this thing turned around with the Lions.

"Again, I can’t keep from saying, there was a sign on our refrigerator when I was growing up that said, ’Tough times don’t last, tough people do.’ "

Mbah a Moute has plan mapped out

This is a crucial offseason for Milwaukee Bucks forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute as he continues to work on his game with the hope of furthering his development as a player in the National Basketball Association.

"It's a very important summer for him," said Bill Peterson, the Bucks' assistant coach of player development. "I think he could take a huge step up. You see a lot of rookies come in and do pretty good for awhile and the next year they nose-dive."

For the time being, though, the Bucks have the 6-foot-8, 230-pound Mbah a Moute on a four-point workout plan in which they would like him to:

• Work in the weight room to get his legs and upper body stronger.

• Improve his mid-range jump shot, catching-and-shooting as well as off-the-dribble. Mbah a Moute is shooting until he makes 400 shots per day. "He's not just shooting that many shots, he's making 400 every day," Peterson said. "So that takes a good amount of time to do that. He's getting his form down."

Said Mbah a Moute, "If I keep working on it, I'm trying to get to (making) 600 or 700 a day . . . mid-range and everywhere. I'm not trying to shoot threes or anything like that . . . just having the proper rotation on the ball and developing the proper technique."

• Work on taking contact on layups and finishing better around the rim. "He's one of those guys that is unique and finds a way to get open around there because he's slippery," Peterson said. "He's not going to explode on anybody so he has to learn to take the contact and finish."

• Develop a jump-hook and a better post game so he can take advantage of his length against smaller players.

Mbah a Moute said he was going through the individual workouts with the team in mind.

"To me, it's all about the team," he said. "The team didn't play well, the way we wanted to. You can make all the excuses you want about injuries and all that stuff. But even with the injuries we still had the eight spot (for the playoffs) for a while. I've always been like that. When the team doesn't play well, it really doesn't matter what you do individually. So I'm trying to come back next year and help the team win. That's my main goal.

"Whatever it takes defensively, I'll try to be a better defender. Now that I have a feel for it and I kind of know the guys in the league, hopefully this time around I'll be a better defender. Also, I need to be a threat on offense. Be able to knock down that 15-foot or 17-foot jumper and make good decisions on offense."

Said Peterson: "He's done a great job since he's been here. He's been really focused every day, getting something accomplished."

Game 5: Lakers 99 Orlando 86

Los Angeles showed their dominace last night along with their improved toughness and rebounding from last year to win the championship. I found this little piece on Phil Jackson teaching a young Kobe Bryant about leadership:

The young Kobe used to seem very much alone, especially in victory. But the Kobe Bryant who rules his sport today finds himself encircled by respect and gratitude. As the last seconds of the long seven years ticked away, he was embraced by teammates and coaches who appreciated all that he had done for them.

"There was a point when we sat together and watched tape,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson recalled of a film session they shared eight or nine years ago, after the young Kobe had been drawn into a needless one-on-one scoring duel against Vince Carter in Toronto.

"So I talked to him about leadership and his ability to be a leader, and he said, 'I'm ready to be a captain right now.' And I said, 'But no one is ready to follow you.' He was 22 at the time. He was a young guy.

"In those years that have ensued, he's learned how to become a leader in a way in which people want to follow him. And I think that's really important for him to have learned that, because he knew that he had to give to get back in return. He's become a giver rather than just a guy that's a demanding leader, and that's been great for him and great to watch.''

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Kobe's leadership and determination might have been best seen when failure came to him. During Game 3 Bryant missed 5 free throws in their 108-104 loss. Many people would feel sorry for themselves and do nothing about it. Kobe on the other hand, goes out 2 1/2 hours before Game 4 to shoot free throws and visualize the success that he was going to have. The result was a 16 for 16 performance from the line in Games 4 & 5

Zone offense principals

Here are some of Vanderbilt's head coach Kevin Stallings rules when attacking a zone defense:

1. Don't pass the ball in the direction you caught it from

2. Pass the ball in the opposite direction you dribble it

3. If you can get the top two guards on the same side of the floor you can kill the backside

4. Screen the ball for penetration purposes

5. Don't chase the ball

6. Get the ball to the high post

7. Get the ball moving

8. When you hit the high post float to the corner for 3

Running straight through the wall

Although Kobe Bryant won't admit he is tired after a long year with both the Olympics and the grueling NBA season, there is little doubt that his body is feeling fatigued. However, Bryant won't even yet tired enter his thought process:

"I'm aware of bouncing back after a tough loss," Bryant said Wednesday. "Hopefully we can do it again. As far as me hitting the wall, so what if I did? I didn't, but so what if I did?"

"What does it mean if you did?" asked reporter Ken Berger.

"It means nothing because I'll run straight through it."

Being a good teammate

Orlando point guard Anthony Johnson had played in 80 of the Magic's 82 regular season games along with 19 playoff games this season. However, with Jameer Nelson coming back from injury and Rafer Alston already the starter, Johnson has been told that the chances of him entering the game in the NBA Finals was slim to none.

"Playing most of the way and not being able to finish it off has been very difficult," Johnson says. "Especially being a competitor and a contributing factor to us being here.

"At the same time, we're three wins away from achieving a championship. I'm just allowing that to be our focus right now and trying to put aside" — he takes a deep breath — "the fact that I'm not playing. Trying to be a supportive teammate, a good teammate."

Game 3: Orlando 108 Los Angeles 104

Good game last night as the Magic take Game 3 108-104. Orlando point guard Rafer Alston had a solid contribution, finishing with 20 points after struggling the first two games of the series. Here is a good story on how his coach and teammates lifted his spirits:

That was quite the story Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told afterward about how he motivated Rafer Alston.

A short story, and a tall tale, too.

"I thought for two days about what to say to him, and I said, 'Play your game.' You can write that down. That's a quote. It took me two days to come up with that."

If you want to believe that was the only motivational thing Van Gundy said to his point guard, go ahead. But you'd be fooling yourself just as much as Van Gundy was trying to fool everyone who was watching and listening to his postgame news conference.

In reality, Van Gundy was all over Alston on the team bus after Game 2, and all over him again at practice Tuesday morning, repeatedly imploring Alston to be aggressive all over the court -- a litany of motivational talks that ESPN colleague Rachel Nichols first reported during her pregame "SportsCenter" report.

The microphone Van Gundy was wearing during Game 3 even picked him up telling Alston during the third quarter: "Solid and simple. Settle down, play your game."

That's exactly what Alston did, making his first five shots (including a 4-for-4 first quarter) and going 8-of-12 overall (1-of-1 from the 3-point line). Alston finished with 20 points to help lead the Magic past the Lakers 108-104, cutting Orlando's deficit in the NBA Finals to 2-1.

Van Gundy, who at Tuesday's shootaround had ruled out using Jameer Nelson as a starter during this series, wasn't the only one in Alston's ear.

Friends back home in New York were texting him the same thoughts: to play smart, to knock off the knack for knuckleheadedness he had displayed so consistently over the better part of all four rounds of the NBA playoffs.

Alston even told himself to stop jacking up 3-point shots as though he were Ray Allen, and his

Magic teammates -- even one guy who didn't play a minute Tuesday night and another who hasn't played in months -- got in on the motivational act.

"My teammates, everybody was telling me to be the guy that they brought in," Alston said. "I took that very seriously, and that's what I wanted to do.

"Rashard [Lewis], Dwight [Howard], Adonal [Foyle], and then tonight, it was surprising, even J.J. [Redick] pulled me aside and said, 'Come on now, play your game, get back to being Rafer.' And some of them wanted some Skip tonight," Alston added, referencing his New York playground nickname, Skip To My Lou. "I gave them a little of that. But these guys are the best. They encourage me, and they keep looking for me with the confidence that I can stick the shots."

What had been killing the Magic in this series was the play of their guards, both their inability to make shots and the difficulties they were having defending Kobe Bryant.

Alston's mojo had been thrown off-kilter in Game 1 when Van Gundy used Jameer Nelson for the entire second quarter in Nelson's first game in four months, and his confidence got beaten down further in Game 2 when Van Gundy went the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter with Hedo Turkoglu playing point forward and Redick and Courtney Lee getting the clutch-time minutes in the backcourt.

Alston was clearly frustrated and unhappy, and not only with himself.

"Stan and I have a great relationship," Alston said. "He's just trying to coach to win games, and I'm trying to play to help this team win games, help this team. Number one is don't take it personal. I think the first game, I just said it was a rhythm thing because I had never done that before, never played like that. Second game, I was able to find a flow but not hit shots. Tonight, I was able to make shots."

Playing through pain and not announcing it to everyone

Good article about toughness from Mets middle infielder Alex Cora, who has been battling an injured thumb all year. His offensive stats would suggest that he is not very important to his team's success. However it is just the opposite. His toughness is rubbing off on his teammates:

Excuses were not tolerated in Boston, where Cora won a World Series title in 2007, and he expects the same fortitude from his new teammates on the Mets. Whenever the Mets’ deluge of injuries is broached, Cora changes the subject, a verbal eye roll. He is on record saying that if people disagree with him they “don’t belong in this clubhouse,” a remark issued in Pittsburgh on June 1, the day before he was activated from the disabled list.

Cora spent the minimum 15 days on the D.L., the torn ligament in his right thumb having healed enough for him to take over for Jose Reyes, out indefinitely with hamstring troubles, at shortstop and in the leadoff spot. Wearing a splint every game, Cora packs his thumb in ice afterward, occasionally takes some anti-inflammatory medication, and he is good to go.

“I love that,” third baseman David Wright said. “That’s the true measure of a guy I have the ultimate respect for: a guy who plays hurt, doesn’t go about announcing it and just goes out there and does his job and does it well. I haven’t known him long, but Alex is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorites.”

Cora’s thumb has become a symbol for a team that, at various times, has been criticized for a lack of gumption. Manager Jerry Manuel said he would need Cora’s patience, solid defense and cerebral approach every day.

“I respond to Cora as though he is one of our core players,” Manuel said. “I ask him every day how he feels. Are you getting any swelling? Are you having any issues with this? That’s how important I think he is for us.”

Cora hurt his thumb when he slid headfirst into second base on May 17; the injury was initially called a sprain. The next day in Los Angeles, Cora was examined and had a magnetic resonance imaging exam that revealed the tear. The results surprised him, he said, because he had planned to play that night. He even went to Dodger Stadium and tested his thumb, seeing if he could throw without discomfort.

“I guarantee you that if I hadn’t gotten an M.R.I., I wouldn’t have gone on the D.L.,” said Cora, who will have surgery after the season. “Mentally, I was ready to go. I just thought it was jammed. No big deal.”

Doctors told him to wear a splint for 10 days, and if the pain had not subsided by then, he would have to have surgery that would have sidelined him for about two months. After about four days, Cora said he knew he would return soon, and a three-day rehabilitation assignment with Class AAA Buffalo confirmed it. Now, he says he hardly notices the splint, which he fits beneath his batting glove, and his teammates said it was impossible to tell he was wearing one from his performance.

He has fielded every ground ball, made every throw and turned every double play with no regard for his thumb. In the top of the seventh inning Sunday, he singled, stole second and scored on a single by Wright. In the bottom half, he made a fully extended diving stab of Josh Bard’s grounder, landing on his right hand. The other day, Cora instinctively barehanded a ball.

“I was so into the game that I didn’t even feel it,” he said.

Bard, who played with Cora in Cleveland and in Boston, said: “Sometimes a guy like Alex, who’s been a backup for a while, gets a little bit slighted on his talent, but he is a tremendous infielder. To me, the more you’re around guys that have lasted in this game, if you can play, you play. And that’s how Alex has always been.”

That reputation was forged with the Dodgers, for whom Cora played at least 109 games in five straight seasons, from 2000 to 2004. It was polished in a six-month stop in Cleveland, where he started to realize that “the guys on the bench in the big leagues are there only because somebody decided they’re not starters,” and during his memorable time in Boston, where he mentored players like Pedroia and Lowrie and added valuable middle-infield depth.

“When you come from an organization that is used to winning and you see the obstacles that they had to endure, it teaches you,” said the first-base coach, Luis Alicea, who held that position with Boston in 2007 and 2008. “In his sense, he’s trying to show that he’s done this before, he’s been here before, don’t panic.”

Determination is just one quality cited when baseball people describe why Cora, like his older brother, Joey, the Chicago White Sox bench coach, may someday make an excellent major league manager. At 33, Cora does not plan to embark on that phase of his career for a while. But, he was asked, if he were the manager and a player told him that he would play despite a torn thumb ligament, how would he respond? Cora shrugged.

“To me, that’s normal,” Cora said. “That’s just how you should play.”

If you are going to be the leader, you better be the hardest worker

Good article in the USA Today on new Chiefs QB Matt Cassel. Lots of good leadership qualities listed here:

This weekend's mandatory minicamp brought all the Chiefs players on the field with their new quarterback for the first time. The realization is sinking in that his time is finally at hand.

"Slowly but surely," he said Saturday with a grin. "We're building chemistry, we're building rapport and everybody's working hard."

Although coach Todd Haley refuses to name a starter at any position, there is no question in anyone's mind who the No. 1 quarterback will be.

"He's running the team," said wide receiver Bobby Engram. "And I'm very impressed. He's a very sharp guy. He's watching film, he's drawing up plays, he's coaching everybody up. He's shown early on that we're going to be able to rely on him."

Haley, the offensive coordinator the past two years at Arizona, is not known as an easy man to please. But when asked about his new quarterback, he seems almost to gush.

"He's the leader for every workout group. It's hard to outwork this guy," he said.

"When he's done working out, he's upstairs bugging us. He's making drawings, coming up with ideas, wanting to talk football, all the time on top of working out real hard. He's lost some weight, has his body in shape. We want our quarterback to be one of the hardest workers on the team. I think he's clearly shown me that."

Even with his naturally upbeat outlook on life, there were times when Cassel did get discouraged. But now he believes even that is going to work to his advantage in Kansas City.

"You get toughened up," he said. "There's going to be a lot of adversity that comes up during the season, whether we lose a game, whether it's a tough play or an interception or something like that. You have to be able to overcome it and be mentally tough.

"You continue to be mentally tough and you continue to push through and know there's a bright spot at the end of the tunnel."

Summer workouts lay foundation for championship season

From the Orlando Sentinel on the Gators offseason work:

From the gym dead lifts to the deadly heat of summer, team leaders such as Tebow and linebacker Brandon Spikes must provide the piercing daily reminders that a championship repeat starts with the grunt work.

The summer is a time of mental preparation for the grind of two-a-days in August while sculpting the bodies of players who either need to bulk up or slim down.

This veteran team — complete with almost an entire two-deep on defense returning — won't be surprised about the difficult workouts. But accountability is the most popular theme these days as strength coach Mickey Marotti punishes piles on players for starting early on sprints or skimping on bench reps.

Tebow is thinking beyond meticulous coaches by working overtime.

"We'll go out there and press in the summer, without coaches there, and just work," Tebow said. "The most important thing is keeping that edge, wanting to win, fight and dominate teams. I think we'll keep that with the senior leadership we have."

More mental training helps suppress the chances of injuries, Meyer said, but it's not about doing long division. Players must concentrate on moving on from the celebration of a title.

"That was good, great, No. 1, two championships [in three years] — that's over," Marotti said. "Just because there are 11 starters coming back, that doesn't mean anything. They still have to perform."

Having leadership helps. Marotti said Tebow and Spikes have been vocal through the first month of training. The seniors can impart wisdom when Marotti gets tired of hearing his own voice.

"It's kind of every strength coach at this level's dream to have guys like that," Marotti said. "I told one of my assistants the other day; I tapped him and said 'This is how it's supposed to be.' I didn't say a word. They were coaching them up themselves."I don't have to have the face juice of jumping up and down and getting on somebody to get them motivated."

Game 1: Lakers 100 Magic 75

A couple of quotes from last night's Lakers victory:

Lamar Odom on team chemistry: "As our camaraderie off the court picks up, we start to push each other more on the court."

Kobe Bryant: "I just want it so bad," Bryant said. "That's all. I just want it really bad. You just put everything you have into the game and your emotions kind of flow out of you."

"It's a great opportunity. Last year was a great opportunity to get it done too, and we just weren't tough enough to get it done. I think this year we're a tough team, as we proved the first three rounds. This round's going to be about execution, defensive execution. Offensively, we can score with the best of them."

Special Teams in Basketball

Here is an article from Tom Izzo called "Special Teams for Championship Teams"



As the head coach at Michigan State University, I have never hidden my fondness for the gridiron. Football and its strategies have always played a big part in my coaching philosophy. My best friend since childhood is Steve Mariucci (former 49ers and Lions head coach) and I find nothing more enjoyable than watching a "Green and White" victory on a fall Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Therefore, it seems only appropriate that one of the areas that I feel has led to the success of our championship program is and area emphasized by all great football teams. Hall of Fame coaches , from Vince Lombardi to Mike Ditka, have all stressed the importance and impact that "Special Teams" have on the outcome of battles waged on the football field. In the Michigan State basketball program, we firmly believe that our "Special Teams" have been a key ingredient in our four consecutive Big Ten titles, three consecutive Final Four appearances, and the 2000 National Championship.



Knowing that so many games are decided by six points or less, and that the majority of NCAA Tournament games are decided by even less, we decided to focus on five areas that would make up our "Special Teams." It is our goal to have our "Special Teams" produce fifteen to twenty points per game. If we can achieve this goal, close games can become very comfortable wins and, more importantly, devastating losses can be turned into exciting victories.



The Five Areas of Our "Special Teams" are:



1. Jump ball situations

2. BOB's

3. SOB's

4. Free throw situations

5. After time-out plays.



Jump Ball- Get the Game Started Right


We want to set the tone and tempo of the game from the opening tip. Our scouting report will cover if we can control the tip or, if we lose the tip, which direction our opponent tends to tip the ball. For example, if we feel that we cannot win the tip and our opponent consistently tips the ball to the backcourt, then we will set up a play to steal the tip and run a set action in order to get a high percentage shot immediately. Our mindset is to begin every game in the "attack mode" and score our first basket before the defense has time to set up. You would be surprised at how many times a defense can be caught off guard on the very first possession of the game. If you can control the tip, I would suggest coming up with two different quick hitters your team can run and feels confident in. We end every game-day shoot around executing our tip play, always concluding the practice on a made basket. It's great for a team's confidence to know that they have a plan to start every game with a quick lead.



Baseline Out of Bounds- Attack When They Relax


We take great pride in scoring on what we call our "BLOBS" (baseline out-of-bounds). You will be pleasantly surprised at how many baskets you will score if your team develops the mentality that they have a great offensive advantage when taking the ball out along the baseline. We work on our BLOBS every day, spending ten minutes of practice time. We execute our BLOBS at game speed, calling out which option we want the shot coming from. We will also scrimmage live on BLOBS, with each team getting five opportunities to score. Again, we constantly emphasize how important this aspect of the game is to our team's success. In many cases we will put in special plays for each opponent. If our opponent had a difficult time guarding a BLOB in their previous game, we may "steel" that play and put it in for that specific game. One thing we always do in this situation is review that play on game day and inform our players that we will run that BLOB on the first out-of-bounds opportunity.

Sideline Out of Bounds- Get an Open Three

Many teams' main objective in their sideline out-of-bounds is tto get the ball into play safely. Again we differ in this philosophy because we want to use every potential scoring opportunity to attack the defense in a situation that they might not spend a lot of practice time on. At Michigan State, we try to run our variety of SLOBS to get a quick, open three-point shot. Many teams defend SLOBS by flattening their defense and we have found great success in screening this defensive set and bringing our shooters to an open area for a high-percentage three-point shot. SLOBS are a great time to catch the defense relaxing and reward your offensive executions with a great-looking shot from the three-point line.

Free Throw Situations- Truning a Miss into Points

A main emphasis in our championship program has been on dominating our offensive backboards. In many games, our best offense has been the missed shot. Obviously, it would be great if our team never missed a free throw, but since even the best teams only shoot 75 percent from the free throw line, we decided to also emphasize attacking the offensive glass during a free throw situation. I'm sure every coach can recall a game that was won or lost on an offensive put back off a missed free throw. Although there are many different techniques or actions you could use to attack the glass on free throw situations, the most important point is that you get your players to go to the boards and go hard. Just like the chart we use to determine the percentage of how often we go to the offensive boards in our offensive sets, we also use the same chart for our free throw situations.

After Time-Out Plays- Execution and Discipline

There may be nothing more frustrating for a coach than to call or diagram a play during a time-out only to have it improperly executed on the floor. To combat this problem and to increase the focus and execution of our after-time-out plays, we will periodically call time-out during practice to diagram and set up a play. We will do this at any time during practice, during a drill, after sprints, or even when the team is shooting free throws. The players grow accustomed to increasing their concentration and executing a play during this important time.

Getting rid of the shortcuts

"The reason we won is because...he got them to stop the short-cutting, and the lazy habits, and the sloppiness."

-Magic assistant coach Brendan Malone on Coach Stan Van Gundy

Skill Development

"Basketball teams are made from October to March. Players are made from March to October"

-Skip Prosser

*While I'm sure Coach Prosser understands that teams can be developed all year long, the message from this quote is clear. It's time to get better!

Tom Crean Notes

Here are some clinic notes from Indiana head coach Tom Crean:

*Need to commit to player development. Developing skills is the most important thing a coach can do.

*"Just Coach the Team" - sign on his office wall.

*Assistant Coaches- Must be known for something: recruiting, scheduling, offense, defense, etc.

*Study leadership/football coaches/ Frank Beamer VA Tech special teams.

*Frank Beamer owns special teams and they are the best in the country. How do you score in all different situations? You must have a plan.

*Van Gundy- studied last 5 minutes of every game. Breaks down film to help his coaching.

*Cannot pick and choose ownership- will gett you beat!

-Can't pick what is passionate to them

-Assign roles, but everybody must be involved

-Agendas=jealousy and disloyal coaches

*If you are gone, you must re-connect with staff and players- keep in touch.

*Anything that happens in an organization comes back to the leadership of the organization- late to class, in the cafe, always treat people the right way.

*Dwayne Wade (Crean's former player at Marquette) shot cart- charted stretch of 15 shots where he could have used the backboard over 5 games. Shooting % whent up when he learned to use backboard.

*

Washington State Basketball

Concepts:

1.) Humility- know who we are

2.) Passion- do not be luke warm

3.) Unity- do not divide our house

4.) Servanthood- make teammates better

5.) Thankfulness- learn from each circumstance

Objectives:

1.) Set out defense

2.) Pressure the ball

3.) Help stop the ball & recover

4.) Finish the play defensively

5.) Run on certain rebounds

6.) Break the defense down with screens, cuts, passing, & dribbling

7.) Take good shots

8.) Shoot with legs, elbow, & reach

9.) Know your role in the offense

10.)Try to get to an offensive rebounding position

Cougar Defense:

*Get Back

*Set Our Defense

*Pressure the Ball

*Pack Off the Ball

*Block Out and Rebound

*Change the Game on Defense

Cougar Offense:

*Catch & Pass with Sureness

*Run Hard When We Run

*Break the Defense Down

*Take Good Shots

*Get Back or Get an Offensive Rebound

Cougar Characteristics:

*We Will Be Humble

*We Will Be Passionate

*We Will Be Unified

*We Will Be Servants

*We Will Be Thankful

President Obama's management/leadership style

1. No drama. "No backstabbing, damaging media leaks, or anything that would detract from the campaign. You do your job, get it done, and keep you head down."

2. Praise those who don't expect it. Recognize those who do the heavy lifting.

3. Make every person in a meeting participate. "Like a tough law professor, Obama will call on staffers who haven't spoken up. He assumes if you haven't said anything, you might disagree."

4. Establish a plan and stick to it. "He has a core belief in the strategy and he keeps everybody on board."

5. Give feedback that's clear, direct, and immediate. "If he's happy, you know it. If he prefers to do something different you know it. He's not shy about being clear."

6. Allow new ideas to come from the bottom up. As a leader, some of the best ideas you'll hear are from some of your more junior assistantst.

7. Genuinely listen to those who disagree with you. "He really questions advisors aggressively. He wants to see disagreements aired in front of him."

Mangini's blueprint

As he takes charge, Mangini is following a specific blueprint for success, starting with players who fit the mold of what he believes makes a successful football player.

"The words that I told you would go up in the draft room are up: smart, hardworking, competitive and selfless, and it's guys that football is really important to," Mangini said before the draft. "That, to me, is what defines anybody who you bring in.

"I don't want to watch the player on tape until I know about the player as a person. What is he going to be like in the locker room? ... How important is it in the locker room when things are going well and when things are going poorly? Those things win games."

Commitment to Defense

"Defense is not something you work on; it's something you commit to mentally. If you want to be the best player you can be, you have to be mentally crazy about basketball."

-Michael Pietrus, Orlando forward

Linebacker looks to regain starting role with Titans

Ryan Fowler wants his starting job back. He admits it's his fault for losing it.

Sure, he spent the final weeks of the 2007 season and another three months of that offseason recovering from two shoulder surgeries. Six hours a day of a slower-than-expected rehabilitation was enough to cause him to lose some of his zest for training. A report linking him to a steroids probe (he was never suspended) bothered him as well.

Still, last week Fowler said there was "plenty of time" to recover from last year's minicamps and training camp, where Stephen Tulloch moved ahead of him on the depth chart at middle linebacker and stayed there for all of the season.

"More than anything, I got a little too complacent," said Fowler, a sixth-year pro who started all 14 games he appeared in during the 2007 season, his first with the Titans.

"I thought that I could sort of coast through the offseason. Not to say I didn't train, but I probably didn't train with the same kind of passion that I had in the past."

Now, however, the passion is back.

"That's the kind of effort we want from all our players," Coach Jeff Fisher said.

Tulloch will make Fowler's task difficult. He did, after all, take advantage of his chance to start, finishing second only to outside linebacker Keith Bulluck in tackles for the Titans last season.

Fowler has regained much of the mass he lost last offseason and said he feels like he's in the best shape of his career. He said he's moving better this spring than he did in 2007, when he compiled 73 tackles as a starter.

"He's getting stronger, getting faster, getting more mobile," Titans strength and conditioning coach Steve Watterson said.

Fowler finished last season with 27 tackles, but linebackers coach Dave McGinnis said he was impressed at how Fowler handled his demotion.

"He still maintained a completely professional attitude," McGinnis said. "Worked extremely hard, anything he could do to help — he was on special teams, on extra linebacker packages, was very deep into the meetings. That to me is the sign of a consummate professional."

But training camp performances go a long way toward determining the lineup, of course. Fowler said he understands that this time he must be ready if he is to change the minds of the coaches.

"This year I will be," he said. "I won't make the same mistake again."

From the Tennessean

Setting a theme for the season

Article from last year on how Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh is preparing the mindset of his team.

Coach Harbaugh passed out blue gas station-style work shirts to every member of the Stanford football team, complete with an embroidered name plate on the front-left chest. It's a fun way to engage his guys and get them focused on the season.

Here's what a couple of his players said about this season's theme:

"We're going to be more blue-collar. We want to keep coming into camp with a working mentality. We had a little success last year, but it wasn't what we wanted. We want to get to a bowl game."

"Coach Harbaugh gave us a long speech last night. He used a metaphor. He told us we're the outsiders, a little lower than USC, Oregon, and ASU. He said they're like the white-collar programs and we'll be like the blue-collar program. We're going to work hard and get mean."

Coach Harbaugh also talked to his guys about "building a wall."

"We need to go out there each day and feel like the wall we are building is getting built. It's like in olden times, in kingdoms, people lived in towns and they brought everybody inside their cities. They brought them from the farms and put them inside the city and built a wall around the city and that wasll has got to be high and it's go to be strong and can't there can't be any weak rocks. When people come to attack you, they are looking for the weaknesses, so we've got to go out every day in our technique and our alignment, everything we do, and put a few of those rocks in every single day in the right spot."

Lon Kruger's coaching philosophy

On his coaching style: "In college, I played for a coach who absolutely motivated out of fear. No one enjoyed going to practice. No one looked forward to it. Everyone was scared. He was a great coach. He got great results. I had a great relationship with him and learned a great deal from him, but that wasn't me. We're kind of the other extreme."

On positive coaching: Kruger has a 80-20 rule, about the ratio of positive reinforcement to constructive criticism, that he instructs his coaches to use. "Is that how I would like to be treated? What is it that I would want from my leader, my boss, my coach? It's not so much about what I say but what they hear. Sometimes we get confused. Motivate them in their best interest and they'll run through a wall for you."

Notes from Rick Majerus

Philosophy: "Be straightforward and honest with players"

*Does your best player get the most shots?

(Shot distribution/shot allocation)

*You must get to the free throw line more than your opponent. (And you must take advantage of it)

*To shoot better free throws: 1.) Only shoot two at a time (four max) Two sprints each miss. 2.) No talking, no drinks

*Free throw shooting is difficult because it requires relaxation and concentration at the same time. The only way to achieve this is through practice.

*Offense- spacing, spacing, and more spacing. Spacing is offense and offense is spacing.

*At St. Louis they work on 3 things daily:

1.) Conversion Defense

2.) Skill Development

3.) Shoot Free Throws

"Those to whom defense is not important will have the best seat in the game"

Cuts

1.) Make every cut to the basket hard

2.) Slow down in the target area, give a hand target

3.) Post up in paint if you're a post

4.) Cross screen to bring a big in

5.) Outlet to the three fast

6.) Economy of motion, don't waste movement that is unnecessary

Four things Majerus told his players to do during the summer:

1.) Deny so hard that you get backdoored every time.

2.) Pressure the ball so hard that the player has to dribble to dribble to his shot every time (then level off the dribble)

3.) Get a hand up on every shot.

4.) Blockout

South Carolina's Defensive Notes

Some notes from head caoch Darrin Horn of South Carolina:

*Two Defensive Keys:

1. What is our identity?

-It doesn't matter what it is necessarily, it just matters that you have one that you and your players firmly believe in. "What do we want to be about?" You have to ask yourself and it needs to be something that you and your players say "This is who we are. This is what we hang our hats on."

2. What are we willing to live with?

-Every defense has a fallback. We want to pressure you the length of the court and because of this, we will give up some easy layups. So, you must ask yourself "What are you willing to give up?"

*Two non-negotiables we have in our program:

1. Don't give up middle

2.Pressure (length and versatility are a must for us)

-At South Carolina they aren't very technical, it's more of a matter of "just get it done". Because

of this, as much of their drills is about creating a mentality than anything else.

-What we believe: play hard and play with trust that your teammate will be there to help you.

-The method we take in instilling our defensive philosophy is whole-part-whole. We'll show them everything, break it down and then build it back up.

-Every drill, everything we do defensively has to be loud. There needs to be a talking aspect to everything we do.

-The most important steps in conversion defense are the first 3. You must sprint these out.

Work ethic has LeBron shooting for an NBA title

From a couple of weeks ago about LeBron's work ethic

Arriving at the gym some mornings to see the lights already on and hear a bouncing basketball doesn’t surprise Mike Brown.

The Cavs head coach doesn’t bother peeking outside his office. He knows LeBron James is working up a sweat already at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

“He puts more time in than most anybody in the league, in my opinion,” Brown said. “That right there is a guy that understands if I’m going to be the greatest ever, I can’t take a day off, a play off.”

“He’s really increased his workload,” Cavs assistant coach Chris Jent said. “It was not every day in the summer and also during the course of the year. This year, it has been every day. Each and every time he walks into the gym, he puts forth a great effort.”

Most of James’ trips to the gym include Jent. The two have spent countless hours together honing James’ game, in particular his shooting.

Jent, a former standout shooter at Ohio State, is in his third season with the Cavs and has been impressed with the development of James’ work ethic. A hard worker to begin with, James has become “a workaholic” in the words of Brown.Jent credits James’ maturity and experience with USA Basketball the past three summers.

“(He was) seeing how everybody else was doing things, I think especially Kobe who always had the reputation of being a hard worker,” Jent said. “I think all of that stuff is contagious. ... He put that work in and he saw a result, and I think that made him even hungrier to work even harder.”

Brown said less than a week after last season’s disappointing Game 7 loss at Boston, James was back at Cleveland Clinic Courts working on his game. When Brown brought his son to the office one morning after that series loss, his son was stunned to see James in there just after the season ended.Brown remembers his son saying: “He’s not supposed to be here.”

That’s when Brown let his son in on a secret.

“Buddy, LeBron doesn’t just show up at the games with a Superman outfit on. He’s a great player. But he puts the time in.”

Some were surprised last Sunday to see James on the floor at The Palace of Auburn Hills in game mode two hours before tipoff. He went through an aggressive half-hour shooting session with Jent, even acting as if imaginary defenders were harassing him.

“When you see things like that, that’s LeBron,” Brown said. “That’s what he does.”

Later that afternoon, James returned to the floor to finish off the Pistons and complete a series in which he averaged 32.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

“LeBron is so focused right now and obviously so focused for that game that I think it’s easy for him to get into that mode,” Jent said.

Watching James go that hard in a pregame workout gives Jent a satisfying feeling.

“I just appreciate the fact that he’s doing it,” Jent said. “That was a big thing for us a couple years ago. You got to do it. You got to do it every day. So just to see him being in that routine and to see that focus, the way he’s locked in, yeah, it’s a pleasure to watch.

James’ hard work doesn’t just benefit his own game. It trickles down to the rest of the team.

Brown constantly talks about how James makes his job as head coach so much easier.

“He’s our biggest influence,” Jent said. “He allows us to coach the other guys because of his willingness to let us coach him. The way he brings it every day in practice and every day to the gym really raises the level. Whether it be in the weight room or on the floor or in the locker room, he’s been a great leader.”

If you want to be successful, you've got to do something else besides what you do best

Here is more about the Nuggets change to a defensive minded team, this time from the NY Times:

DENVER (AP) — When Anthony Carter first heard that Nuggets Coach George Karl was talking about a defense-first philosophy after two seasons of running up scores, he was a bit skeptical.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t think we would really do it because he’s said that before and then when we needed some scoring, the defensive guys went back to the bench,” Carter said, chuckling. “But I’m glad we stuck with it this year.”

The Denver Nuggets are in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1985. They will play the Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated the Houston Rockets on Sunday, 89-70, in Game 7 of their second-round series. Game 1 is Tuesday in Los Angeles.

The change in Karl’s thinking took place during a tumultuous off-season that started with the Nuggets’ fifth straight first-round playoff exit and continued with the departures of the defensive stalwarts Marcus Camby and Eduardo Najera and the assistant coaches Doug Moe and Mike Dunlap.

Before Camby and Najera were out the door, Karl’s right-hand man, Tim Grgurich, convinced him that he had to return to his roots.

Mark Warkentien, who was named the league’s executive of the year, did his part by signing two big bargains in Chris Andersen and Dahntay Jones. Then came the trade of Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, who has helped transform the Nuggets into contenders.

Kenyon Martin said he bought into Karl’s approach immediately.

“Just look at it, if you want to be successful in any sport, no matter if it’s individual or a team sport, you’ve got to do something else besides what you do best,” Martin said Saturday. “We always knew we could score. Shoot, we’re top three in the league in scoring for the last five years.

“But we’ve been in the bottom in defense all those years as well. So, you’ve got to fix it. How do you fix it? You get in the gym and work at it. And that’s what we did every day in training camp, and we got good at it.”

So, in the Nuggets’ summer league, “the whole game was defense,” Karl said.

“Everything went back to the old-school drills, the shell drills, all the rotation drills, all the old-school stuff we had done in Seattle,” Karl said. “We talked to everybody about it.

He rolled up his sleeves and went to work

Trainer Alan Stein on Villanova forward Dwayne Anderson:

“He worked brutally hard every off season and exercised great communication with the Nova coaching staff on not only his desire to earn playing time, but exactly what he needed to do to earn it. He basically worked as hard as he could to fix the areas he (and the Nova staff) found weak in his yearly evaluation. In other words, he didn’t make excuses or point the finger and he didn’t feel entitled to more playing time… he rolled up his sleeves each and every off season and put in serious work. He was focused and determined.”

Don Meyer on Toughness/Team Building

*Playing hard makes up for a multitude of mistakes

*The only thing you can guarantee in basketball is that you play hard.

*Do we play harder than everyone else?

*You don't play hard for 2 reasons- lazy(mentally), play too many minutes.

*Play to win- effort isn't enough, we need intensity and technique.

*Work fast enough to make a mistake, if you don't make a mistake you're not working fast enough.

*Get into the now- not last play or the next play- this play.

*Discipline- doing things right every time- seperates average and great players.

*A great team doens't have to have the coach telling them to talk.

*Winning or losing shouldn't make a team listen better or worse.

*Alabama Football Locker- Don't come back until you improved

*Breakout years often start with conditioning.

*Continue to overcome Human Nature- Human Nature says to do what is best for me rather than what is best for the team.

TOUGHNESS:

*Toughness- responding appropriately to the task at hand, it is being focused on the direct correlation between defense and toughness. You can't have a tough team without defense.

*Accepting a coach's criticism is toughness.

*Toughness- you have to be mentally tough to be physically tough and vice versa.

*Everyone is going to make loads of mistakes- fight through them.

*You need a blue collar team to win it- toughness, mental, and physical.

*A tough team talks loudly.

*Have you ever seen a great program that doesn't have great communication?

*Good teams have 1 or 2 guys that do the dirty jobs. Great teams have all of their guys do the dirty work.

*Scared teams and don't talk.