Like most sports watched on television, basketball games are usually accompanied by an endless chatter of announcers and color commentary. Some of this kind of talk can be helpful in discerning the finer points of a game, especially if it is provided by former players or coaches. But even then, what some fans want to know is what is said in those fearful stimuli. A coach can tell what is going on and often makes the difference when the team returns to the ground. Although we can’t hear the exact words being said, we can get a hint of how coaches think by reading some great basketball coaching books.
From Mike Krzyzewski Among active coaches, Duke University’s K coach is among the most respected and safe. Coach K has consistently led competitive teams in the ACC and helped facilitate national basketball interests. Winning a national title is not easy but back to back titles for Coach K and the Dukies is almost unheard of. His stature in basketball means that when he talks, basketball players and basketball junkies all listen.
Coach K teaches many aspects of the game, but the one piece of advice you can hear in anyone living with him is probably something connected to team work and coordination. His attitude about team play shines clearly in this great basketball coaching position: “The basketball net is like five fingers on your hand. If you can put everything together, you have a fist. That’s how I want you to play. . The team concept of Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils’ success in basketball and he gave beyond
By John Wooden Known enthusiastically by basketball fans everywhere as the “Houdini of the Hardwood”, John Wooden would be among the first to state that there is no magic in basketball; just lots of work. As the head coach at UCLA for 7 consecutive National Championships, John Wooden established himself as nothing less than a basketball guru.
Wood’s philosophy in basketball is extensive. But in the end, he seems to agree with Coach K about the importance of the team writer. Said Lignea: “A player who makes a great team is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in a group for a good group, that’s the salad of work.” While Wood certainly worked with many young men who went on to distinguish themselves as professional athletes, when they joined Wood, many of the great basketball coaches heard about sports as a team.
A Bobby Knight. College basketball debate coach of the day time Bob Knight knows basketball. He was criticized for his hot temper, but never for his inability to coach. With many players and coaches, Bobby Knight’s skills as well as coaching are second to none. Undoubtedly, in the practice sessions, the rider works on offensive sets and defensive nights, but more than anywhere else in the mix, he should also discuss toughness.
A great basketball coaching quote is Bobby Knight’s: “Mental toughness is equal to physical toughness.” There is no doubt that every Bobby Knight team has always been trained to balance excessive physical toughness, but it is also clear that Knight is really worth the mental tenacity in the players, because in the end what he believes wins ball games
By Billy Donovan Not as long in the business as men like Coach K or Bobby Knight, Billy Donovan has acquired the celebrity status in the last six years at the University of Florida. With a group of young players in 2006, Donovan not only made a nice run to the title, he brought it home. Donovan has his own ideas about what wins games. and how many teams have been developed.
According to Donovan, himself a former assistant at Providence College: “Win systems! Believe in your system and sell it to your players.” Donovan seems to have done both. When teams get together with Billy Donovan they already know what they are going to hear because they know and believe in the system he has taught. Timeouts aren’t likely to keep the Florida players down.
Rick Patino. This coach has seen it all. Providence College, University of Kentucky, Boston Celtics and Louisville. There have been many successes along the way but Patino, ever the perfectionist, sometimes also builds on his failures. The lesson that Patino seems to bring to the conference team is sometimes about learning from what happened or didn’t happen. “Failure is good. It sucks. Everything I learned coaching, I learned from mistakes.”
If you’re playing well for Patino there are apparently mistakes, just get ahead of your mistakes. Probably making the same mistake and not playing too well, but learning from your mistakes is something that Patino obviously values.
It is likely that basketball or any other sport will have too many sound bites to live directly from the team. He could certainly limit or minimize what the coaches could say. Still, by checking in on some of these great basketball coaching quotes, you can begin to divine what might happen when the season is out.
