THE TRUE TEST OF TRUST & TEAMWORK

With 1.7 seconds left on the clock and down by three, the Spurs season would be decided by their next shot attempt.  Greg Popovich drew up a play for a 3-pointer, and surprisingly, it wasn’t for one of the experienced “Big 3” that had hoisted four championship trophies in the past seven years, but instead for undrafted rookie Gary Neal.

Say what?

“It’s kind of a great feeling; Coach Pop draws the play up and you see you’re going to get the shot and nobody looks around and questions it or anything like that,” Neal said.  “It was great walking out of the huddle and your teammates are happy with you getting the shot and expecting you to make it.”

“I think it was a very good call by Pop,” Manu Ginobili said.  “It was the kind of play that's designed for him to take a shot like that because he’s the one with the quickest release.”

As a sidenote, Ginobili said after the game "It was mid-September and I was working out and he showed up one day.   They told me that this was the new shooter we had.  I’m not lying when I say that I saw him miss the first 20 shots he took.” 

Says a lot about the Spurs chemistry and trust in each other by giving him the final shot without any objections from the team.

(Thanks Andrew McNeil of ESPN)

DO YOU MAKE TOO MANY EXCUSES?

Came across another great nugget about "excuses" on the PGC Blog that every player should read...

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Excuses are for mediocre players.  Forget them.  There are thousands of excuses available to all losers.  To have a good excuse is to have what every other loser in the history of the world has had.

Don’t make the ridiculous mistake of thinking that your particular brand of excuse is somehow more valid than the last 20 million that have been uttered.  You can hope your mother will believe you and maybe your girlfriend - or at least they may sympathize and keep their mouths shut if they don’t, but everyone else knows an excuse when he hears it.

Your particular excuse is just as stupid as everyone else’s.  There.  Now you know it.  Now you are free to accomplish things, and to work, and to concentrate.

Forget about excuses. They are enormous wastes of time and words.

"A successful person is not one who has found the right set of circumstances, but rather, one who has Developed the right set of attitudes."
- Dick DeVenzio

(Thanks PGC)

THERE IS AN "I" IN TEAM

Don't buy into the myth... there IS an "I" in team - it's personal accountability... our choices impact our teammates.

SPORTS SCIENCE - THE TRIANGLE OFFENSE

Great explanation of the Triangle Offense used by the Lakers and why it has been so successful.

PHIL JACKSON... SHAMAN OR COACH?

I'm NOT a Lakers fan... but I have been intrigued by their troubles on the court this season, given the abundance of talent they have to work with.

Came across an article in the LA Times this morning that mentioned a few of the things Phil Jackson recently did to help prepare the team for the playoffs.  Now I realize that most athletes become somewhat superstitious on a winning streak (whether they admit it or not), so should I be surprised with what I read this morning???

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 The feeling around the Lakers' practice facility has been more rigid leading up to Sunday's playoff opener against New Orleans, Jackson's cadence reflecting the importance of what lies ahead for a team that hasn't always seemed to be of championship timber.

He undertook his annual team exorcism last week, lighting a bundle of sage and taking it through the downstairs area of the Lakers' training facility — the trainer's room, the locker room, then onto the court and into the weight room.

It's his way of getting rid of bad spirits, of cleansing whatever ails the team during the regular season. He started it a bit earlier than usual, putting flame to incense after the Lakers sustained their first five-game losing streak since 2007. They won their final two regular-season games.

"The intensity is way higher from the players and coaches," forward said. "You can tell it's starting to turn a little bit."

The group meditation sessions haven't started in the playoffs yet, but they're on the way too, important chapters in Jackson's metaphorical book on postseason success.

He also instructed video coordinators Chris Bodaken and Patrick O'Keefe to insert clips of the movie “True Grit” into game video throughout the first round. Jackson told players to take particular note of the movie title, for obvious reasons.

None of this is new to Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw, who first started experiencing it all as a player under Jackson in the early 2000s.

"I remember that Phil's voice and his demeanor would change when we got to this point of the year," he said. "You just knew there was no messing around in practice and it was serious. I used to keep everything loose and joke and laugh in the regular season. I like to have fun, but even for me it was like, 'OK, leave that part of it alone.' Even to this day, I don't crack a smile or anything else because it's serious time."

(Thanks Mike Bresnahan)

THE REAL RUDY

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two hours before the Lakers played the Kings Wednesday night, a man and his 13-year-old daughter walked up to Kobe Bryant.

Bryant had already been on the court for two hours and normally doesn't take a break from his pregame shooting routine for pictures and autographs, but he had just heard the girl finish a stirring practice rendition of the national anthem and happily obliged as the man thanked him and introduced himself and his daughter.

"I'm Rudy Ruettiger and this is my daughter Jessica Ruettiger," he said. "She's singing the national anthem before the game."

"Rudy?" Bryant said as a smile came over his face. "The movie?"

"Yeah," Ruettiger said.

"That movie changed my life," Bryant said.

Suddenly the roles were reversed and Bryant was the star-struck fan who wanted a picture.

Bryant was a sophomore at Lower Merion High School when he first saw the movie "Rudy" in 1993. He would see it at least a handful of times in theaters and by his estimation, "a hundred" times on tape. Bryant said the film motivated him to work harder than he ever had before and continues to inspire him to be the first one at the practice facility and the last to leave.

"When I saw it I told myself if I can play as hard as Rudy with the talent I have, anything's possible," Bryant said. "I've met a lot of people in my life but that one there, man, that one [messed] me up."

Ruettiger and Bryant spoke about adversity and the importance of giving back and inspiring those who might look up to them as role models.

"We talked about struggles and I said it's not how hard you take a hit, it's how hard you get back up," Ruettiger said. "When you hit a certain status in life you want to help people. It meant so much to hear him say that the movie changed his life. It blew my mind. I couldn't believe it. What do you say to a guy like Kobe who is so excited to meet you?"

As Ruettiger walked away with Jessica and his son Danny, Bryant turned to a Lakers staffer who had just walked onto the court and pointed to Ruettiger.

"You want to meet the person who's had the biggest influence on my life?" Bryant said. "That's Rudy. The real Rudy Ruettiger."

(Thanks Arash Markazi, reporter and columnist for ESPNLosAngeles.com.)

CHAMPIONS EMBRACE ADVERSITY

"Desiring fair treatment is the province of the mediocre. Champions don’t want to be treated like everyone else. Champions don’t want to be put on an equal plane with others, they welcome the opportunity to show what they are made of under all sorts of conditions. They don’t worry what has happened to anyone else. They are eager to demonstrate what they can do." - Dick DeVenzio

(Thanks Sefu Bernard)

PLAYOFFS ARE HERE

A Spurs fan, a Mavs fan, and a Lakers fan are climbing a mountain and arguing about who loves his team more.The Mavs fan insists he is the most loyal. ''This is for the Mavericks!'' he yells and jumps off the mountain. Not to be outdone, the Spurs fan is next to profess his love for his team. He yells "This is for the Spurs!" and pushes the Lakers fan off the mountain.

UNDERSTANDING SHOT SELECTION

"When it comes to shot selection, you must differentiate between a bad shot and a missed shot.  A missed shot can still be a good shot."

- Sefu Bernard

TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO BUILD TEAMWORK

On a recent flight I sat next to a woman with wisdom.  And, of course, wisdom is what we learn after we know it all.  That’s who and what she was: A wise person who could teach others simply by how she lived. 

As we chatted, she shared that when she first moved to a certain big city with her husband and three young children, not one neighbor came to greet them.  The weeks went by, they unloaded boxes and hung pictures and drapes, but nobody welcomed them to the neighborhood.  So one day she told her kids, “Let’s bake cookies for all!” —and they did.  Then, loading up their little red Radio Flyer wagon, they spent a Saturday morning delivering fresh, still-warm homemade cookies and big smiles to their new neighbors, up and down the street.

Upon hearing her story, I commented, “Um, gee, that’s really something.  Your family was the new family in the neighborhood and yet you took cookies to people!?”  Her response was wise.  Leaning toward me with a hint of mischief in her eyes, she nearly whispered, “Sometimes you just gotta teach people how to live.”

(Thanks John G. Mille, Authorr)

BE LIKE BRAD...

Since Butler's unimagined run (again) through the land of the giants in the NCAA tourney, Brad Stevens has become the most talked about coach since Wooden.  Looking more like a player than a coach, what is it this young coach has figured out that the older seasoned coaches have missed?

I came across a great read by John Miller (via Sefu Bernard of PGC) that gives us some insight into his thinking. The entire article can be read here.

(Thanks Sefu Bernard)

THE NEXT NBA POINT GUARD PHENOM?

Aquille Carr is being touted as the next phenom point guard to hit the NBA... and he's only a Sophomore.



(Thanks SI.com)

10 DAYS TO PROVE IT

Zabian Dowdell arrived in Phoenix with 10 days' worth of clothes, two Bibles and a copy of a letter saved on a laptop.  He wrote the original letter to himself a decade ago, by hand in the bedroom where he grew up, 595 words with the title I Will Make It.

He was 16 then, a basketball player in a football town, worried that college recruiters would not notice him in Pahokee, Fla.  "Nothing will stop me from making it to the NBA," Dowdell wrote.  "I am on a mission."

After going undrafted in 2007, Dowdell rode the bench in France, dodged paper airplanes thrown from the stands in Italy and stayed up until 3 a.m. in Spain to watch NBA games on his computer, still seething at the fellow point guards drafted instead of him.  When his mother stumbled across his old letter while cleaning out his room, she typed and e-mailed it to him, sensing he could use his own motivation.  Dowdell recognized the defiant tone of his younger self and saved the e-mail, to read whenever his resolve was tested.

Last October, after the Suns cut him out of training camp for the second year in a row, Dowdell rejected a $750,000 contract in Europe and took $13,000 from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League because Tulsa offered something Europe did not: the possibility of a mid-season NBA call-up.

Finally, at age 26, after three seasons in Europe and two stints in the D-League, summers spent running on golf courses and shooting jumpers past midnight, Dowdell finally signed an NBA contract... a 10 day contract.  He took those 10 days and played his way into a regular season contract.

What is it that you want to do or want to accomplish?  Are you on a mission?

(Thanks Sports Illustrated)

WILL YOU BE READY?

Trailing Florida in the second half of the Southeast Regional final, Butler coach Brad Stevens did the most preposterous thing: he put Chrishawn Hopkins in the game.

The Indianapolis product had played seven minutes total in the previous two months. He had scored two points in that time. He had failed to even remove his warmups in 13 of Butler’s last 18 games.

So when Stevens turned and called, "Hop!" even Hop was a bit startled.

"That was a pretty tough situation to be in," he acknowledged.

But assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry gave him some brief encouragement -- "Just play, don’t be scared" -- and there went Chrishawn Hopkins to the scorer’s table. Nobody in America could have guessed he’d help save Butler’s season.

Down nine with just more than seven minutes to go, Hopkins drove to the basket and fired a pass to big man Matt Howard for a layup. On Butler’s next possession, Hopkins let fly a 3-pointer that swished.

"They tell us to shoot when we’re open and don’t hesitate," Hopkins said. "It felt good as I let it go."

Next thing anyone knew, Gators coach Billy Donovan was calling timeout. The Florida assistants were undoubtedly squinting at their scouting reports, wondering who No. 20 was. Their lead was cut to four and would never again be more than two possessions.

And the Bulldogs were swarming Hopkins to congratulate him on the biggest minute of his basketball career.

"It shows he’s always ready to go, which is one thing we emphasize," said sophomore center Andrew Smith. "You always need to step up and be ready when you’re asked."

(Thanks ESPN)

FRIDAY'S QUOTES

“You are doing one of three things during practices and games. You are getting better, staying the same, or getting worse.”
- Coach Rebecca Tillet

"Great Teams Have Great Teams"
- sign in Butlers Team Room

"It's amazing how much knowledge you can receive if you just LISTEN."
- Christopher Michael Jones

“If you tell me you desire to play at the collegiate level, yes...I have to hold you at a higher standard. My job is to prepare you.”
- Coach Stewart

"Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong."

“Soft, selfish or stupid. You can be one of these things, but you can’t be two [and remain on the team].”

- Jeff Van Gundy