"I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." ~Abraham Lincoln

Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?" - Unknown

"Nothing will work unless you do." -John Wooden

"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player" -John Wooden

You can not repair or rebuild with words that which you damage or destroy by your actions. - George P. Burdell

Law of the Yukon: "Only the lead dog gets a change of scenery."

One day in 1923, legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, bent on imbuing his players with "a sense of rhythm essential in the timing of shift plays," surprised them with a curious announcement: each would be required to take... dancing lessons!

"Offense at Indiana is not equal opportunity. Those players who shoot best are going to shoot most. It is important that every player know his offensive limitations. It is also important that a player know who the best shooter is on the team. When a passer has the option of passing to two players, I expect him to get the ball to the best shooter. I continually stop practice and ask players who the best shooter is and I expect them to know. It is important that you get the ball to your best shooter." -- Bob Knight

"I'm looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm and passion." -- Mike Krzyzewski

"To me, the big thing in being a successful team is repetition of what you're doing, either by word of mouth, blackboard, or specifically by work on the field. You repeat, repeat, repeat as a unit." -- Vince Lombardi

It has been said that Knute Rockne would not run a play in a game until the team had run it 500 times in practice.

Repetition leads to habit which leads instinct. This is known as "the third law of learning." You must first develop the proper technique. Begin with knowledge, apply that to technique, and follow up with repetition. Only through repetition will good technique become habit. Only through even more repetition will habit become instinct. The difference between habit and instinct is that habit requires thinking. Instinctive play flows without concious thought. Instintive play is the level that we aspire to acheive and is what separates good players from great players. -- The Teacher, Marvin Harvey

"You are what you repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not by chance, but by habit." - Aristotle

The more your players have to think on the basketball court, the slower their feet get." -- Jerry Tarkanian (1990 UNLV team won the NCAA championship)

"Basketball is like a chess game in which a move has to be made every second." - George P. Burdell

What you see usually depends upon what you are looking for. - Jedi Storm

"The more you lose, the more positive you have to become. When you're winning, you can ride players harder because their self-esteem is high. If you are losing and you try to be tough, you're asking for dissension." -- Rick Pitino

"What to do with a mistake--recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it." -- Dean Smith

"Always have your players go and pick-up the guy who draws the charge." -- Dean Smith

"You should sub a player out when you see a player not going full-speed or playing selfish basketball." -- Dean Smith

"Everyone on the bench stands for the man coming out of the game." -- Dean Smith

"The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy." -- Jerry Tarkanian

"I never substitute just to substitute. I play my regulars. The only way a guy gets off the floor is if he [fouls out]." -- Abe Lemons

"The best way to build team chemistry is the way Rupp used to substitute, when they fouled out." -- Dean Smith

"When you sub, tell the player to give you three great minutes, and if you bust your butt, I'll give you an extra minute." -- Mike Krzyzewski

"Perhaps the toughest call for a coach is weighing what is best for an individual against what is best for the team. Keeping a player on the roster just because I liked him personally, or even because of his great contributions to the team in the past, when I felt some one else could do more for the team would be a disservice to the team's goals." -- Tom Landry

"I would never recruit a player who yells at his teammates, disrespected his high school coach, or scores 33 points a game and his team goes 10-10." -- Dean Smith

"A person really doesn't become whole, until he becomes a part of something that's bigger than himself." -- Jim Valvano

"Probably the most important aspect of individual defensive play is the 'close-out.' This approach to the ball should be made in a 'step-drag action' with advanced foot moving forward first and then the back foot in a boxer's type shuffling of the feet." -- Tex Winter

A bad attitude is a cancer on any team. One player's attitude will usually influence the attitudes of other players. A "winning attitude" has to exist prior to having a "winning team". Positive winning attitudes are the foundation of winning basketball. - George P. Burdell

"Think lucky and you will be lucky." -- Bobby Dodd, legendary Georgia Tech football coach.

"Only the Hunter Survives." -- GTR

"It ain't bragging if you can back it up." -- Dizzy Dean

Role Model: "Got it, Coach." Joe Hamilton (2000 Heisman Runner Up) was quarterbacking heavily favored Georgia Tech against ACC conference rival Clemson. Hamilton was getting tackled in the backfield on one possession after another. The quickness of the Clemson defense had caught Georgia Tech by surprise. Tech was down by 3 scores. Ralph Freidgen, offensive coordinator, signaled in for a time out. The quick conversation with Hamiliton was broadcast from the sidelines. Freidgen said, "This defense is way too quick for us. You need to have a count in your head. If you can't find a receiver after a 3-count, then either throw it away or tuck it and run." Hamilton replied with only three words: "GOT IT, COACH". Hamilton led the Tech offense on three consecutive scoring drives to win the game.

"Stupid is as stupid does." - Forrest Artest

Problems are opportunities and there are plenty of them around. - Arnold Glaslow.

It's not the driver with the fastest car that wins. It's the one who refuses to lose. - Earnheart

If our defense can stop their offense from scoring, and our offense can put some points on the board, then we have a fair chance of winning on Saturday. - Vince Dooley, in reply to a smirky reporter who asked him if Georgia was going to beat Vanderbilt.

Synergy is acheived when the total exceeds the sum of the individual parts. It is a powerful chemical-physical reaction much like fusion. Synergy is to championship basketball as fusion is to a star. - George P. Burdell

"Don't tell me about the pain.... Show me the baby!" -- Bill Parcells

"I see only my goal; the obstacles must give way." - Napoleon

You can accomplish anything that you are willing to commit to with the required amount effort and determination. Take what you want from life and pay for it. - Dr. Henry Fields

Role Model: Eighteen year-old Marine Sgt. Bruce "Mick" Stafford served in Vietnam and was awarded a purple heart after losing his pinky finger and part of his hand from an anti-personnel mine. He would sometimes hold up his hand and say "give me four!!" After Vietnam, he earned an engineeing degree and reached the highest technical rank in a leading high tech company. Stafford continued his military career in the Army Reserve as an artillery commander, reaching the rank of Captain. At age 45, while still working his engineering career, he enrolled in pre-med the University of Oklahoma. After completing pre-med, he was accepted into medical school at age 48. He retired from his military and engineering careers and completed medical school at age 52. Today he is practicing medicine in Choctaw, Oklahoma.

"Don't chase the snake that bit you. It only makes the venom rush to your heart." - Carl Tipton

Don't just react, but play ahead of the game. Anticipate what will happen. Influence what is going to happen next. Misdirect and then redirect. Then you are playing ahead of the game and also controlling the game. - The Teacher, Marvin Harvey. Example: When you see a down screen on a post defender, the other three offensive players should anticipate either an open roll to the basket by the screener or an open post player flashing to the elbow or free throw line. If you are just looking for the open player, then you are not playing ahead of the game.