John Beilein at Michigan has the Wolverines in the NCAA tournament in his second season.  Chicago Tribune has the piece via the AP’s Larry Lage

Beilein became one of seven coaches to earn NCAA tournament bids with four teams after doing so at West Virginia, Richmond and Canisius.

It’s safe to say the guy who has never been an assistant coach can coach.

“Coach Beilein deserves 90 percent of the credit because he did a great job in getting us to believe,” standout forward DeShawn Sims said. “Believing has been lost in Ann Arbor since the last time we went to the tournament.
“Once you teach people to believe, it’s easy from there.”

Earlier this week, new Bucs defensive coordinator Jim Bates talked about what he looks for “in a player besides the talent.”

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How much passion does he have to play the game? You can take some great athletes and if they don’t have the passion to play at the highest level it won’t work out. Some of them are great athletes, but if they don’t have a passion to play at the highest level, some of them hit The Peter Principle and can’t play at this level because they can’t adjust and something may be missing.

But once they can play the technique, they have passion, they’re a team player then the guy has a good chance of improving with our coaches and becoming a good football player.

The mental part is also important. If a guy can’t think it will be tough. Some guys get it and some guys are rep guys that need the reps to learn. That is coaching. Our job is to give him the best edge to being successful. The players are looking for help in becoming a better player. That is our job as coaches.

In the words of Muhammad Ali:

“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road – long before I dance under those lights.”

At 19-4, winners of six of their last seven, Mizzou has already won three more games than all of last season. According to this story in today’s St. Louis paper, increased intensity in practice is one reason for the Tigers’ turnaround.

“Coach [Mike Anderson] (pictured above) is a strong believer that road games are pretty much won by toughness,” said junior guard Zaire Taylor. “He always says, ‘When you go on the road, we need men,’ and that is pretty much the mentality we’ve been taking in practices.

The reason we’ve won our last two games is because of our practices. Ever since we lost at Kansas State, our practices have been like wars. We’ve been taking (hard work) that we’ve been bringing in practices and we’re bringing that same energy into games. The practices have taken a step up.

When I go home from practice now, I feel more bruised than I do after games. The competitive atmosphere is real high. You wouldn’t know we are teammates by the way we get after each other.”

Good excerpt from the book “First In, Last Out” by John Salka, a New York City fire battalion chief.

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Trust comes from consistency. You have to work beforehand to develop it, but even then, what I’ve discovered is that you don’t create trust. Trust comes from your people, not you. When your people see you at the head of the column, being the first one in, facing each danger alongside them, you simply create the conditions that make trust possible. You can’t make trust, you can only make trust possible. That’s because trust is people’s response to you when you act in ways that show them you’ll benefit from following your lead.

Saw where Georgia ended an 11-game losing skid with a win over Florida yesterday.

According to this note from the Atlanta paper, UGA football coach “Mark Richt deserves at least some credit for inspiring the Bulldogs. At the behest of interim coach Pete Herrmann Richt came and spoke to the team before their Friday afternoon practice.”

“I called Mark and asked him if he’d come over,” Herrmann said. “He’s as respected a person as we have on this campus and I wanted him to, you know, say a few words about what he loves. He loves Georgia. He loves the coaches here at Georgia, he loves the athletes, and he talked about that. And he talked about playing it all the way through.”

During his talk with the team, Coach Richt wrote “GATA” on the board. Translation: “Get after their [butts].”

Said one Georgia player, “He said we have to play for us and that’s what we did.”

Jay Bilas (ESPN College Basketball) made a statement to the players we were working with at one of our summer workouts. That statement has stuck with me, and I use it often with our players to this day. He told the guys, “Don’t just try to get through the workout; try to get from the workout.” This is so true now that the season is getting into the late stages. Not only do the players need to get something out of each skill development session they have, but they must also get something from practice every day as well. The ability of a team or a player to get something from every practice session is what will separate a lot of them from the rest of the pack as the battle for tournament and playoff spots wages on. Human nature says that when fatigue sets in we often will try to just get through this practice or through this skill workout. What successful teams do is understand the need and the importance of each, and that they have to get something from these sessions. The more they get from these sessions the better the chances are for successful results. So as you talk to your team, it’s important to make sure they know that they have a choice each time they walk onto the floor, into the weight room, or even into a film session. They can do what the average teams do and just try to get through the session. Or they can make a championship decision and get something from each session. It takes a little bit higher level of concentration and focus to get something from each session, but it pays much greater rewards in the long run! A simple decision, if you ask me. On a side note, I think this philosophy can apply to coaches and in the corporate setting as well. So often I hear people trying to just get through the day. Yet when I think about the characteristics of successful people, I often find that they seem to get more from their day than others. We all have to make sure that we are not just going to work but that we are getting something from our day — not just getting through our day. Pretty simple…….through or from. Which mindset will make you more productive? Which mindset will make you feel better about your day today?

“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

The 33 Elements of Toughnesss

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, a great player at Duke in the ’80s who also served as an assistant to Coach K in the early ’90s, says that when he’d come up against a “a tough opponent, I wasn’t worried that I would get hit — I was concerned that I would get sealed on ball reversal by a tough post man, or that I would get boxed out on every play, or that my assignment would sprint the floor on every possession and get something easy on me. The toughest guys I had to guard were the ones who made it tough on me.”

Toughness has nothing to do with size, physical strength or athleticism. Some players may be born tough, but I believe that toughness is a skill, and it is a skill that can be developed and improved. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo always says, “Players play, but tough players win.”

When I was playing, the players I respected most were not the best or most talented players. The players I respected most were the toughest players. I don’t remember anything about the players who talked a good game or blocked a shot and acted like a fool. I remember the players who were tough to play against.

Here are Jay’s 33 elements of toughness:

1. Set a good screen: The toughest players to guard are the players who set good screens. When you set a good screen, you are improving the chances for a teammate to get open, and you are greatly improving your chances of getting open. A good screen can force the defense to make a mistake. A lazy or bad screen is a waste of everyone’s time and energy.

2. Set up your cut: The toughest players make hard cuts, and set up their cuts. Basketball is about deception. Take your defender one way, and then plant the foot opposite of the direction you want to go and cut hard. A hard cut may get you a basket, but it may also get a teammate a basket. If you do not make a hard cut, you will not get anyone open. Setting up your cut, making the proper read of the defense, and making a hard cut require alertness, good conditioning and good concentration. Davidson’s Stephen Curry is hardly a physical muscle-man, but he is a tough player because he is in constant motion, he changes speeds, he sets up his cuts, and he cuts hard. Curry is hard to guard, and he is a tough player.

3. Talk on defense: The toughest players talk on defense, and communicate with their teammates. It is almost impossible to talk on defense and not be in a stance, down and ready, with a vision of man and ball. If you talk, you let your teammates know you are there, and make them and yourself better defenders. It also lets your opponent know that you are fully engaged.

4. Jump to the ball: When on defense, the tough defenders move as the ball moves. The toughest players move on the flight of the ball, not when it gets to its destination. And the toughest players jump to the ball and take away the ball side of the cut. Tough players don’t let cutters cut across their face — they make the cutter change his path.

5. Don’t get screened: No coach can give a player the proper footwork to get through every screen. Tough players have a sense of urgency not to get screened and to get through screens so that the cutter cannot catch the ball where he wants to. A tough player makes the catch difficult.

6. Get your hands up: A pass discouraged is just as good as a pass denied. Tough players play with their hands up to take away vision, get deflections and to discourage a pass in order to allow a teammate to cover up. Cutters and post players will get open, if only for a count. If your hands are up, you can keep the passer from seeing a momentary opening.

7. Play the ball, see your man: Most defenders see the ball and hug their man, because they are afraid to get beat. A tough defender plays the ball and sees his man. There is a difference.

8. Get on the floor: In my first road game as a freshman, there was a loose ball that I thought I could pick up and take the other way for an easy one. While I was bending over at the waist, one of my opponents dived on the floor and got possession of the ball. My coach was livid. We lost possession of the ball because I wasn’t tough enough to get on the floor for it. I tried like hell never to get out-toughed like that again.

9. Close out under control: It is too easy to fly at a shooter and think you are a tough defender. A tough defender closes out under control, takes away a straight line drive and takes away the shot. A tough player has a sense of urgency but has the discipline to do it the right way.

10. Post your man, not a spot: Most post players just blindly run to the low block and get into a shoving match for a spot on the floor. The toughest post players are posting their defensive man. A tough post player is always open, and working to get the ball to the proper angle to get a post feed. Tough post players seal on ball reversal and call for the ball, and they continue to post strong even if their teammates miss them.

11. Run the floor: Tough players sprint the floor, which drags the defense and opens up things for others. Tough players run hard and get “easy” baskets, even though there is nothing easy about them. Easy baskets are hard to get. Tough players don’t take tough shots — they work hard to make them easy.

12. Play so hard, your coach has to take you out: I was a really hard worker in high school and college. But I worked and trained exceptionally hard to make playing easier. I was wrong. I once read that Bob Knight had criticized a player of his by saying, “You just want to be comfortable out there!” Well, that was me, and when I read that, it clicked with me. I needed to work to increase my capacity for work, not to make it easier to play. I needed to work in order to be more productive in my time on the floor. Tough players play so hard that their coaches have to take them out to get rest so they can put them back in. The toughest players don’t pace themselves.

13. Get to your teammate first: When your teammate lays his body on the line to dive on the floor or take a charge, the tough players get to him first to help him back up. If your teammate misses a free throw, tough players get to him right away. Tough players are also great teammates.

14. Take responsibility for your teammates: Tough players expect a lot from their teammates, but they also put them first. When the bus leaves at 9 a.m., tough players not only get themselves there, but they also make sure their teammates are up and get there, too. Tough players take responsibility for others in addition to themselves. They make sure their teammates eat first, and they give credit to their teammates before taking it themselves.

15. Take a charge: Tough players are in a stance, playing the ball, and alert in coming over from the weak side and taking a charge. Tough players understand the difference between being in the right spot and being in the right spot with the intention of stopping somebody. Some players will look puzzled and say, “But I was in the right spot.” Tough players know that they have to get to the right spot with the sense of urgency to stop someone.

16. Get in a stance: Tough players don’t play straight up and down and put themselves in the position of having to get ready to get ready. Tough players are down in a stance on both ends of the floor, with feet staggered and ready to move. Tough players are the aggressor, and the aggressor is in a stance.

17. Finish plays: Tough players don’t just get fouled, they get fouled and complete the play. They don’t give up on a play or assume that a teammate will do it. A tough player plays through to the end of the play and works to finish every play.

18. Work on your pass: A tough player doesn’t have his passes deflected. A tough player gets down, pivots, pass-fakes, and works to get the proper angle to pass away from the defense and deliver the ball.

19. Throw yourself into your team’s defense: A tough player fills his tank on the defensive end, not on offense. A tough player is not deterred by a missed shot. A tough player values his performance first by how well he defended.

20. Take and give criticism the right way: Tough players can take criticism without feeling the need to answer back or give excuses. They are open to getting better and expect to be challenged and hear tough things. You will never again in your life have the opportunity you have now at the college level: a coaching staff that is totally and completely dedicated to making you and your team better. Tough players listen and are not afraid to say what other teammates may not want to hear, but need to hear.

21. Show strength in your body language: Tough players project confidence and security with their body language. They do not hang their heads, do not react negatively to a mistake of a teammate, and do not whine and complain to officials. Tough players project strength, and do not cause their teammates to worry about them. Tough players do their jobs, and their body language communicates that to their teammates — and to their opponents.

22. Catch and face: Teams that press and trap are banking on the receiver’s falling apart and making a mistake. When pressed, tough players set up their cuts, cut hard to an open area and present themselves as a receiver to the passer. Tough players catch, face the defense, and make the right read and play, and they do it with poise. Tough players do not just catch and dribble; they catch and face.

23. Don’t get split: If you trap, a tough player gets shoulder-to-shoulder with his teammate and does not allow the handler to split the trap and gain an advantage on the back side of the trap.

24. Be alert: Tough players are not “cool.” Tough players are alert and active, and tough players communicate with teammates so that they are alert, too. Tough players echo commands until everyone is on the same page. They understand the best teams play five as one. Tough players are alert in transition and get back to protect the basket and the 3-point line. Tough players don’t just run back to find their man, they run back to stop the ball and protect the basket.

25. Concentrate, and encourage your teammates to concentrate: Concentration is a skill, and tough players work hard to concentrate on every play. Tough players go as hard as they can for as long as they can.

26. It’s not your shot; it’s our shot: Tough players don’t take bad shots, and they certainly don’t worry about getting “my” shots. Tough players work for good shots and understand that it is not “my” shot, it is “our” shot. Tough players celebrate when “we” score.

27. Box out and go to the glass every time: Tough players are disciplined enough to lay a body on someone. They make first contact and go after the ball. And tough players do it on every possession, not just when they feel like it. They understand defense is not complete until they secure the ball.

28. Take responsibility for your actions: Tough players make no excuses. They take responsibility for their actions. Take James Johnson for example. With 17 seconds to go in Wake’s game against Duke on Wednesday, Jon Scheyer missed a 3-pointer that bounced right to Johnson.

But instead of aggressively pursuing the ball with a sense of urgency, Johnson stood there and waited for the ball to come to him. It never did. Scheyer grabbed it, called a timeout and the Blue Devils hit a game-tying shot on a possession they never should’ve had. Going after the loose ball is toughness — and Johnson didn’t show it on that play.

But what happened next? He re-focused, slipped a screen for the winning basket, and after the game — when he could’ve been basking only in the glow of victory — manned up to the mistake that could’ve cost his team the win. “That was my responsibility — I should have had that,” Johnson said of the goof. No excuses. Shouldering the responsibility. That’s toughness.

29. Look your coaches and teammates in the eye: Tough players never drop their heads. They always look coaches and teammates in the eye, because if they are talking, it is important to them and to you.

30. Move on to the next play: Tough players don’t waste time celebrating a good play or lamenting a bad one. They understand that basketball is too fast a game to waste time and opportunities with celebratory gestures or angry reactions. Tough players move on to the next play. They know that the most important play in any game is the next one.

31. Be hard to play against, and easy to play with: Tough players make their teammates’ jobs easier, and their opponents’ jobs tougher.

32. Make every game important: Tough players don’t categorize opponents and games. They know that if they are playing, it is important. Tough players understand that if they want to play in championship games, they must treat every game as a championship game.

33. Make getting better every day your goal: Tough players come to work every day to get better, and keep their horizons short. They meet victory and defeat the same way: They get up the next day and go to work to be better than they were the day before. Tough players hate losing but are not shaken or deterred by a loss. Tough players enjoy winning but are never satisfied. For tough players, a championship or a trophy is not a goal; it is a destination. The goal is to get better every day.