Fuel For a Comeback

Rick Pitino has a new book out titled "Rebound Rules."

Found some excerpts online, including this one in which Coach Pitino describes how his University of Kentucky team came back from a 31-point deficit at LSU in 1994:

"One thing you must do in the face of adversity is to be honest with yourself.  Acknowledge the difficult spot you're in and commence digging out of it.  Don't point fingers, don't recriminate, and don't make excuses.  Stay positive and get to work.

The grand scheme at that very moment wasn't to emerge with a victory at night's end; looking that far ahead would have blurred our focus on the gradual progress that comprises every comeback.

The goal was to get within 20 points as quickly as possible.  To do that, we concentrated on three things: using our press to create turnovers, fouling the two shaky free throw shooters LSU had on the floor, and getting high-percentage shots.

All three worked, and the turnaround actually happened faster than expected.  In about five minutes of clock time, we'd shockingly chopped the deficit from 31 to 14.  Our frantic style of play helped -- speeding up the game and increasing the possessions for both teams gave us more chances to rally.

Stubbornly, we kept whittling away at LSU's lead, as the celebrating crowd turned more and more nervous.  Every timeout Tigers' coach Dale Brown called in an attempt to slow our momentum actually raised our spirits.  We knew we had them rattled; we knew we had a chance.

Walter McCarty dropped in a three-point shot with 19 seconds left and we took the lead, 96-95, and went on to win 99-95.  To this day, it remains the biggest comeback in college basketball history on the road.”

The game was certainly memorable, but it was no miracle.  It didn't take divine intervention to win that game; it took an unbreakable optimism, and a plan for coming back.

Comebacks begin with positive energy on the floor, on the bench, and in the team huddles.

They began with a belief that things would get better if we persevered through adversity, trusted each other and worked together.

They began with a conviction that consistent effort, even against long odds, inevitably would turn the tide.   They began with a reliance on the fundamentals that made us a successful team to begin with, and we didn't desert them in a crisis.

They began with a single good play, and a certainty that one good play would lead to another and another and another until the deficit was gone and the game was won.

When it comes to team dynamics on a basketball court -- maintaining a positive atmosphere is crucial.  Being relentlessly positive can be the only way to come back and defeat towering negativity.

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