Jack’s Blog

In math, it’s known that if you start with a false premise, you can prove anything, e.g. if you allow that 1+1=3, it can be proven that this computer doesn’t exist.  Such is the case with fan behavior and the reaction and justification of it by those doing it and those who could, but aren’t doing anything about it.  For years, the claim has been, “Hey, the fans buy tickets, they have the right to express themselves.”  Not true!

That’s akin to saying that because I pay my accountant, I can direct profanity-laden tirades at him because he told me I owe the IRS money. (Don’t worry, Tom, I’d never do it, but can’t we come up with a few more legitimate deductions to ease my burden?)  Many of the things fans come up with, verbally and written, are extremely clever - as long as they don’t cross the line of human decency.

When I was at Washington State University in the early 70’s, the fans of the Cougars came up with signs for each game.  They were funny, not hurtful, possibly offensive to the most sensitive, but not against the law nor as personally demeaning (and occasionally downright threatening) as many of the over-the-top sickos of today.  Banners such as “Burst the Trojans” when SC came to town or “Lick the Beavers” for Oregon State or even, “Huck the Fuskies” when the “hated” University of Washington Huskies would arrive in the Palouse.  Consider that the Huskies coach, Marv Harshman left WSU to move across state to coach at UW.  Imagine a coach doing that in this era?  Oh yeah, Rick Pitino did, but at least he made an intermediate stop to coach the NBA Celtics in between UK and UL.

The behavior displayed by today’s sports fans borders not only on criminal but what may be even worse, when taking into account that the macho world of athletics is involved, cowardly.  It’s called “strength in numbers”  because if these fans, spewing the venom they do at games (not to mention the objects - beer, food, in one known case, batteries!) were ever to meet face-to-face, one-on-one in an alley with the athletes toward whom they’re directing the abuse, the overwhelming majority would have to change their pants if the athlete so much as glared at them.  There’s a story in my book, Life’s A Joke, in which I was the object of fan ridicule at UCLA when I was as an assistant coach at USC.  Admittedly, my reaction was immature, but to this day, it stills brings a smile to my face when I think about my retort. 

None of this is new to the sports scene.  I remember when a very good high school basketball player, a homegrown product of a very proud state, decided to go to an out-of-state nearby rival school (who happened to need an assistant coach and hired none other than the prospect’s dad).  Upon his return to his home state university for a game, he was serenaded with choruses of “Hey, Jeff, did they buy your mom, too?”  I understand there’s nothing quite like a lover scorned, but that was beyond necessary.  The worst case ever in the history of competitive sports I can remember (Kevin Love’s game at his father’s alma mater, Oregon, included) was when Arizona’s Steve Kerr played at fierce in-state rival Arizona State after his father, the president at the American University of Beirut was murdered by terrorists and the ASU student section subjected him to chants of “PLO, PLO.”  Higher education at its finest.

I’m certainly not dismissing what was said toward Love at MacArthur Court as “kids being kids” but the real crime in the Love case was the death threats he received just prior to the game.  Who’s to say, in this crazy, upside-down world we currently inhabit that someone out there (and I mean “out there“) decided that a mere threat wasn’t enough?  Is that what it’s going to take to get the NCAA and the institutions it represents to clamp down on this?  Let’s hope somebody does something before a real tragedy strikes.  Some people may say I’m overreacting, but up until a few years ago, who’d have ever thought what took place on the campuses at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois would have happened?

If the blog entry ended here, it would be nothing more than another person venting about the near-ultimate in poor sportsmanship.  How about some measures to improve the situation?  First, if they can be identified, throw the bums out and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.  Make certain the media gets names and pictures of the offenders.  Next, with all the modern technology, videotaping the crowds would be a first step and if people can be ID’d (there are always those who love to point out others - in this case, why not make use of them?), take disciplinary action against them.  If they’re students - depending on the severity of the crime, revoke their privilege of going to athletic contests, expel them from school or decide on any punishment in between - leave it up to a panel appointed by the school’s president (or one of the Deans or VP’s).  If the fools are non-students (from big-time boosters to the general ticket-buying public - take away season tickets with no refund, sever ties with the university and/or begin criminal proceedings, once again depending on the severity.  This applies to improper behavior toward referees as well (especially toward the refs because they’re on an island out there - even if the calls they make border on criminal themselves, but that’s another topic for another blog at another time).

Look, if someone wants to paint their face - or entire body - and feel and act like an idiot (especially if their teams loses - I’ve often wondered what’s going through their minds as they exit the arena), that’s their right - as long as they cheer for their team and limit their remarks to the opponents to witty and tasteful banter.  But as speaker Dr. Bertice Berry told the Clovis (CA) Unified School District employees at the opening of the school year rally in August of 2002:

“You’re not free to do what you want to do; you’re free to do what you’re supposed to do.” 

On 2/22, I wrote a blog entitled, Different Ways to Skin a Cat - or Win a Game, which happened to receive the greatest number of hits of nearly all the blogs I’ve written to date.  I thought a good follow-up to that one, since it drew the interest of such an inordinate number of readers, was to compose one regarding differing styles of coaches, aside from just the X’s and O’s of the game.  As with the varied ways coaches choose to attempt to win games strategically, the overall coaching philosophy of reaching players and bringing out the best they have to give crosses just as wide a spectrum. 

Early in my life of athletics, the most popular coaching style undoubtedly was the one based on fear and respect of authority figures.  Being a “Baby Boomer,” I am part of a generation who saw their fathers rush to serve their country in World War II and be enormously proud of it (mine included).  Speaking at coaching clinics, I often made mention that the difference between the players of my day and the players of today is that, if I ever went home and told my father the coach yelled at me, my dad would “dress me down” and wonder what I did to make the coach so upset (to the point that punishment may have followed), while when today’s player informs his father (or mother) the coach yelled at him (or her), the parent immediately starts searching for the lawyer’s number.

There are coaches of this breed in relatively recent years whose mantra was/is “Tear them down so we can build them back up.”  Those who experienced the most success employing this method are John Thompson, Bob Knight and Pat Summitt - each a Hall-of-Fame Coach, the last two of whom are the current leaders in career wins in the men’s and women’s game, respectively.  Each was known for their unquestioned authority and Pat, whom I got to know well during my seven years in Big Orange Country and whom I consider the best coach - men or women - I’ve ever witnessed (keep in mind, I coached with and against some of the nation’s best over 30 years), is still famous for her “Stare.”  Many a player and assistant of hers have told me you don’t want to be on the receiving end of IT (caps intended). 

A similar style is the coach whose number one key to success lies in the toughness of the team.  Examples of this type range from Billy Martin and Woody Hayes to Dick Harter (one of my former bosses and the most disciplined individual I’ve ever known) and Tom Izzo.  Every name mentioned truly believed/believes in the saying, “A team takes on the personailty of its coach” and consider that to be a bonafide compliment.

Maybe in a class by himself for winning the way he did was Vince Lombardi who religiously felt that all players should be treated equally and as one of his star players confirmed, “Coach Lombardi treated each of us the same - like dogs.”  Consider, also, that he might be believed to be the greatest football coach of all-time.

A final style (for this blog anyway) is that of the coach who gave his/her players the utmost respect as people, realizing the team was going to be only as good as the players on it performed.  Examples of this type of coach are: Dean Smith, Jeff Van Gundy (someone I got to know extremely well through a self-improvement clinic a few of us assistants formed - Jeff’s first year at the clinic, he was a graduate assistant at Providence and he continued to attend long after he became a head coach in the NBA -also, someone who has an absolute uncanny knack for understanding people), Tommy Lasorda, Jerry Tarkanian (another coach I worked under who excelled in people skills ) and Tony Dungy. 

The reader will notice there are more coaches mentioned in this group than the others but that’s in no way because I think it’s better.  The main answer to which is the best method lies in which style suits the coach’s personality.  I try not to use as wrap-up quotes those which many have heard time and again, but throughout a blog, if one is relevant, I’ll enter it into the text.  Therefore, “To thine own self be true” is a perfect fit for one to decide which type of coach to be.

The one trait that all these highly successful coaches had in common was that they all truly cared about their players.  In addition, there are two other areas I think must be mentioned.  One is that it’s difficult (although maybe not impossible), for a coach to be successful if his or her ego is out of control.  However, the other is a virtual lock for the unsuccessful coach (especially one in charge of adults) and that is you’re digging an awfully deep hole, one which you may never be able to extricate yourself from, if you choose to motivate by humiliating people.  Because, as Lord Chesterfield remarked:

“He makes people pleased with him by making them first pleased with themselves.” Â

Many pundits and cynical fans out there are gleefully talking about the University of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team fall from number one after less than three days - how the men were number one for as long as their women aren’t number one, how maybe Bruce Pearl will now finally rid the world of that orange sport coat and many other witticisms they find particularly amusing.

Let them laugh all they want, but here’s what the Volunteers accomplished in the last few days: 1) they became number one in the land and got a taste of how that actually feels, 2) they did it in one of the most pressure-packed environments in the country, at Memphis (who also happened to be number one at the time), where there wasn’t a ticket to be found (at least not for a hundred times face value) and followed that up with a trip three days later to another venue (at Vanderbilt) of identical intensity (as well as a unique setting because of the layout of the old joint), 3) with what seemed like the entire world against them (at least in the building), they fell way behind early, but showed the courage and mental toughness to, when it would have been real easy to wither and say, “Well, at least we got there, it was fun, now let’s get ready for our next game,” fought back and took the lead, before succumbing to one of the nation’s top teams and 4) do it all in front of a couple of national TV audiences who (at least those of whom truly understand the game and all that it’s about) saw all of the above.

Number one in the nation was unchartered waters for the Vols.  I was an assistant there for seven years and we had some very good teams (one that went to the Sweet Sixteen and was a couple of baskets away from a spot in the Final Four (had we beaten Virginia in ‘81, we would have faced a BYU team - which we’d already defeated by 16 points earlier in the season - to make to the Promised Land of college basketball) and another which won the SEC regular season championship.

But, never, ever, in the long, illustrious history of UT men’s basketball - even when the late, great, remarkable Ray Mears was transforming the Vols and the rest of the SEC from a football only league (”We’ll all let Kentucky dominate in basketball as long as they keep being equally as bad in football”) to one of the best football and basketball conferences in the country - were the Big Orange numero uno.  

Now, not only can they lay claim to being top dog (albeit for a short while), they know what it takes to get there, how much fun it was and what it takes to stay.  The season’s not over yet.  But, however it ends, keep in mind the philosophy of a rather tenacious competitor in her own right, Martina Navratilova, who had the wisdom to observe:

“The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.”  Â

I got to see an early preview of the movie Semi Pro with Will Ferrell and what came to mind afterward was when Pete Carroll, a friend of Ferrell’s (who happens to be an SC grad), had him show up in USC’s football locker room dressed up as Ricky Bobby, a character from another of his movies.  It was shown on television and the look on the players’ faces when Will Ferrell ran in and started acting up was memorable.

Having served in the college ranks for three decades, I also got opportunities to meet “high profile” people along the way.  In my 9/17 blog, “Do You Really Know MJ?” I talked about having pictures in my classroom of Michael Jordan and me as well as former President Ronald Reagan and me.  However, of all the “famous” people I’ve ever had the good fortune to spend any amount of time with, the most remarkable was Walter Payton.

I met Walter at a Fresno State basketball game.  As with all of these events, there’s a story behind it.  During Jerry Tarkanian’s hey day at UNLV, one day his secretary told him there was a Walter Payton on the line wanting to talk to him.  Jerry, being in Vegas, had superstar personalities wanting to meet him all the time.  Case in point: Frank Sinatra was a personal friend of his.  But to Tark, a big-time football fan (his number one mentor was Clark Van Gelder, former football coach at Fresno State, most of his close friends at Fresno State were football players and his brother, Myron, was a football coach), Walter Payton was … Sweetness. 

“Put the call through,” Jerry told the secretary and he recalled how stunned he was when he heard this high-pitched voice on the other end saying, “Coach Tarkanian, this is Walter Payton and I’m a big fan of your Runnin’ Rebels.  I’m going to be in Las Vegas and would like to come to a game.”  Remember, back in that day, there were no tickets available for any Rebel games.

Of course, Jerry assured him, there would be tickets left for him and whomever at will call.  When Payton showed up, Tark had someone escort him to the locker room and had him speak to the UNLV players.  That’s how their friendship started.

Lo and behold, during one of our first seasons at Fresno, who should call and say he’s coming to town for a game but His Sweetness himself.  My seat was at the end of the bench (it was an NCAA violation for me to do any “coaching” during a game - more on that in an upcoming blog) so I was assigned to “hang out” with Walter.  Believe me, I’ve had worse gigs. 

In the locker room, I went to the bathroom prior to going out to my seat and as I started to leave, Walter said to me, “Jack, your fly is open.”  Naturally, I look down to check (I mean, what would you have done - ignore Walter Payton?) and when I did he lets out a laugh and says, “Gotcha!”  Talk about uncool.  What other superstar would stoop to something of that nature with some one he’d just met for a cheap laugh.  And that is exactly what made Walter Payton the kind of guy everyone who ever met him said he was - a regular guy - albeit one with an extraordinary amount of talent, charisma and class. 

When we got to the bench and the players were warming up, I knew I was in the presence of greatness (it’s not often you get to have that opportunity with someone who is so overwhelmingly dominant in his field) and anytime I find myself in such a situation, I probe to find out as much as I can about them and how they achieved their success.  One thing I distinctly remember talking about was whether he thought, when he was playing at Jackson State (MS) University, he’d get the chance to play in the NFL, that he said something along the lines of, “I felt if I kept playing the way I was, and knew I could, somebody would give me that opportunity.”

He said it so matter-of-factly, and with such humility, that I knew he was giving it to me straight and exactly as he felt at the time.  Possibly he took the advice of another who excelled in his field, Lee Iacocca, who said:

“There ain’t no free lunches in this country, so don’t go spending your whole life commiserating that you got raw deals.  You’ve got to say, ‘I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough, I can have it.’” Â

My sister-in-law and her husband are in town from Tennessee.  I had a ton of tests to grade all weekend and it’s late.  Plus, I’m stuck for a topic.

So, I’ll beg off my daily blog and leave you with a well-written and thought-provoking paragraph on “attitude” by Charles Swindoll (there will be no test, however - I’m tired of grading):

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude to me is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company, a church, a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90%  how I respond to it.  And so it is with you … we are in charge of our attitudes. 

  

In this day and age of superlatives and “Game of the Week, Year, Century,” it’s nearly impossible for any contest to live up to its billing.  This past Super Bowl may have qualified and, as far as college basketball is concerned, last night in Memphis, the #1 versus #2 battle between the Universities of Memphis and Tennessee held up their end of the bargain as well.  It was a truly strange feeling for a state other than North Carolina or Ohio (where #1 vs. #2 actually has happened a couple times in each state) or even basketball-crazed Indiana (where it’s never happened, but would be a pretty good guess to the trivia question). 

Although a totally different atmosphere from the Super Bowl existed - pro vs. college, neutral site vs. home court advantage, guys playing for pay vs. guys who someday hope to get paid (that much, anyway) to play - the games did share a few things in common: tickets being scalped for prices in the four figure range, television commentators overanalyzing the entire contest, Peyton Manning as a spectator, and his team winning on each occasion. Hey, maybe he’s a good luck charm as well as the best quarterback in professional football.  When he retires, he can hire himself out to the highest bidding team, a good way for him to supplement his pension - of course, shooting all those commercials probably is a lucrative enough means of income.

The game started at a frenetic scoring pace that no one could expect to continue - and it didn’t.  As one of my two great mentors (as well as a former boss), George Raveling, used to say, “Relax, the game will return to reality” and while the scoring part of that became true, the effort did not - if anything, it may have even increased - which was what made the game so entertaining, so “worth it” for everyone in attendance or watching on TV.  Even when the game got a little sloppy in the first half, the sloppiness was caused by over-hustle plays, guys moving a little faster or quicker than their talents allowed, causing a turnover that the opponent would turn back over due to a similar effort.

When the game ended with the Vols on top by four, the analysts did what they are paid to do.  Before the game, much was made about the Tigers poor free throw (they shot 8-17) and three point shooting (talk about returning to reality, Memphis made 7 of their first 11 three-pointers, but only one of their final 17!)  Since the Volunteers dominated in the rebounding category, much was made of that stat, too.  Yet, as all of these games are, it’s 20/20 hindsight when the game’s broken down after the final buzzer. 

Take, for example, with two minutes to go and Memphis holding a one point lead, the Tigers missed a three, got the offensive rebound, missed a short jumper, got the offensive board again, then missed a point-blank layup (each of which may have iced the game for the home squad) and then, quite possibly lost the game due to too much hustle.  Two of their guys rebounded the final miss from the floor and got tangled up on the way down which resulted in a traveling call.  Had one or the other grabbed the ball, UT would have been forced to foul because the shot clock would have been turned off and Memphis, had they made the free throws, may have won the game because of clutch foul shooting.

Should that scenario have gone down and Memphis had won, the post-game analysis might have changed to: “Just as John Calipari said prior to the game, he wasn’t worried about his guys at the free throw line because, late in the game, they’d knock ‘em down.  And talk about coaching genius, how about his telling his players, after he’d watched the video of last year’s contest between the two schools when Chris Lofton torched his Tigers from three, to ‘body up’ on Lofton because it bothered his shot?  Lofton made zero three pointers in the game.  Rebounding was the key and all those offensive rebounds in the last two minutes just showed Coach Cal’s ‘Refuse to Lose’ saying from his UMass days is still alive and well.  And how about Derrick Rose? Is he not the best freshman in this nation? He absolutely took control of this big game and was unstoppable.”  Forget the fact that Michael Beasly had 44 points, including 15-15 from the free throw line and 13 rebounds in a loss at Baylor a couple of hours before- and has been nothing short of fabulous all season.

It’s hype and it’s what the college basketball fans thrive on.  Now they know why Tennessee beat Memphis and where to place the blame.  Had one play (the offensive rebound at the end of the game of any other of a possible, what, ten, twenty plays) gone in the opposite direction, we’d all be just as wise, only full of completely different knowledge - just as long as we can be full of something.

Why change it?  As my other mentor, the late, great John Savage, was fond of saying:

“Sometimes it’s good to be wrong so others may be right.”Â

Kelvin Sampson is out as basketball coach at Indiana University and both sides seemed to have made an attempt to make it as amicable a parting as it could be considering the circumstances. 

What followed the annonucement was a predictable show of human nature, somewhat touching, yet as wrong as it could have been.  After the decision and statement was made, approximately half of the Hoosier basketball players were no-shows at practice (although they all did attend a walk-through later in the day).  In an apparent show of solidarity, these guys wanted to let their feelings be known toward their recently loved and dethroned coach.  I’m just not sure they went about it the right way.

If the players went to the library (some might need GPS systems) to look up Lech Walesa and all he stood for, I’d applaud their action.  Or, rather than practicing, if they had stayed in their rooms and put in an extra couple hours catching up on their studies which certainly take a hit during a basketball season when so much class time is missed due to travel, bravo for them.  If attendance was taken at the athletics academic center and they were listed as having been tutored instead of going to Assembly Hall, good for them.  But if it was a “we’re a family and you took our leader away from us” type of stand where they just bonded and pouted together, sorry guys, you don’t deserve an iota of sympathy.  Check my 2/13 blog for the real answer why they did what they did.  Hint: it has to do with the impact the coach can have on his or her players.

Student-athletes go to college to prepare themselves for the “real” world.  Chalk up this latest mess at IU to one of life’s learning lessons: It ain’t always a bed of roses - whether you’re one of the best teams in the nation and have a legimate shot at the Big Ten Championship or not.  The Rolling Stones sang many times (and made a whole lot of money singing it): “You can’t always get what you want … but sometimes you get what you need.” 

In this case, it was what everyone needed.  Was Kelvin Sampson denied his due process?  Technically that could be true, as he’s scheduled to get a hearing this summer so he can tell his side of the situation.  But, with what he was found guilty of at Oklahoma under his watch (and his actually committing a number of the violations) , coupled with fact that these allegations are identical to those misdeeds, made an immediate decision “in the best interests of the university” the natural step to take. 

Not to be overlooked are a few of other items of note: 1) it’s Indiana U, where there hasn’t been an NCAA rules blemish in over 40 years, 2) it’s the same school that imposed a “zero tolerance policy” on a former coach whose actions the “higher ups” also felt brought unwanted publicity to a proud institution, 3) the media was not going to let this ordeal run its course until Sampson’s hearing in June, August or whenever because it’s too big a story and you have all those “I never could play a lick, but now I write and talk about sports, putting me in the same arena and giving me national publicity and face-time on television as the real athletes so I’ll do whatever I have to do to scoop the rest of my clan” guys and 4) there are other major rules violations included in the allegations.

When DJ White was asked if the players might boycott Saturday’s (today’s) game against Northwestern, he response was, “I can’t say no.”  Although it’s very early in their lives, they all can learn from the famous author Louis L’Amour, who said:

“A man shares his days with hunger, thirst and cold, with the good times and the bad, and the first part of being a man is to understand that.”     Â

In the February 18 issue of Sports Illustrated, there’s an article on Fresno’s favorite son, Vance Walberg, and the AASAA, now renamed “Dribble-Drive Motion” offense he designed.  Vance achieved such monumental success in Fresno, first at Clovis West High School, then at Fresno City College, that a type of cult following developed.

Since success supposedly breeds success, coaching is one of the all-time copy cat professions.  Think of how many football teams fell in love with versions of the West Coast Offense made so popular by the late Bill Walsh, yet how many were trying to perfect the power sweep when Vince Lombardi was winning championships with the Green Bay Packers.  Now football coaches are smitten by the wide open offense that helped (actually, made it possible for) Appalachian State to beat Michigan (see my 9/16 blog).

Basketball coaches are no different than their football counterparts, maybe even more so because all the players have to (or at least, are supposed to) play both offense and defense and all are allowed (by the rules, anyway) to touch the ball.  When I started in college coaching, John Wooden was in the middle of his never-to-be-duplicated run of championships, so everybody employed the 2-2-1 full court press and the high post offense.  When Bob Knight’s 1975-76 team went undefeated on the way to the National Championship, everybody ran the motion offense and played man-to-man defense.

I went to Western Carolina University in 1977 and it was really kind of funny watching two North Carolina high schools competing and seeing ten players crowding in at once at the scorer’s table because of the popularity of Dean Smith’s “Blue Team,” a cast of non-starters who’d go into each game, excite the crowd, inject energy with all-out hustle, while giving the starters a breather.  To see high schools teams both doing it at the exact same time was somewhat comical because it defeated the whole purpose of what Dean had intended. 

So, it was with an increasing amount of curiosity that I read the SI piece since I know Vance well and was happy to see him get some positive publicity, especially after what he’d gone through.  And positive it was.  I mentioned to Jerry Tarkanian (whose radio show I host on Wednesday evenings from 5-6 pm on Fox Sports Radio 1340 and 1400) that Vance’s agent couldn’t have done a more favorable article.  Coach Tark is a big Vance Walberg fan and was lauding his offense long before I heard anyone else mention it.  It was his defense everybody was emulating back then.

One part of the article briefly discussed Vance’s trials and tribulations regarding his troubling decision to resign at Pepperdine in mid-year.  By the way, Jerry was to tape an interview with Vance Thursday (yesterday) morning to give Vance a chance to tell his side of the story, which until now has just been a mystery of rumors, innuendos and statements that had many shaking their heads.  The full interview will run on The Jerry Tarkanian Show next Wednesday at 5 pm. 

Passion is a trait that is in abundance in coaching (it had better be - check the wrap-up quote on my 2/11 blog) and, reading the article, it is apparent very few coaches’ passion exceeds Vance Walberg’s, but that it also may have been his undoing.  In the article there’s a recollection of a conversation between Vance and Larry Brown - a coach who’s no stranger to passion - or winning.  Larry’s won an NCAA Championship, an Olympic Championship and an NBA Championship.  He recalls Coach Walberg telling him that Dean Smith’s and Hank Iba’s defensive principles were basically wrong, that “you can’t do it that way.”  Coaches Smith and Iba had pretty good runs in their day. 

During our last show, I asked Jerry Tarkanian about coaches using different defensives in different games based on their opponents.  Jerry, who won more than anyone when all levels (high school, junior college and Division I) are taken into account, said something quite prophetic (and, take it from me, Jerry Tarkanian is about the last person to be compared to a prophet).  He said, “I’ve never believed in having a lot of defenses because if you have too many defenses, you really have none, … BUT, you don’t want to be so stubborn, you lose the game.” 

So maybe passion versus stubornness and the balance that’s needed between the two is the key to coaching since coaches have been big winners playing (defensively) man-to-man (Bob Knight, Dick Bennett), zone (John Chaney, Jim Boeheim) or changing defenses from one to the other (Dean Smith, Roy Williams) and (offensively), running set plays (Tom Izzo), motion (Knight & Bennett) and continuity (Bo Ryan, Mark Few).  What most fans (and some other coaches) don’t realize, is that there have been big losers who’ve done each as well.  The mantra of the moment is “buying in” and, while that’s absolutely true, it’s a blog topic for another day. 

In the last John Maxwell book I read, there was a quote that bears repeating:

“The difference between winners and losers is winners know how much they still have to learn when they’re considered experts by others, while losers want to be considered experts before they’ve learned enough to know how little they know.”

There has been a flurry of activity in the NBA this past year and it all began with the Boston Celtics (who else?) obtaining Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.  Red Auerbach would be proud.  Many people were wary when these moves were made.  Will the egos mesh?  Are there enough balls to go around?  Who’s going to subjugate his role for the good of the team?

Well, they started out like world beaters and haven’t cooled off much since.  There are still skeptics, but whether Rajon Rondo was mature enough to be the on-the-floor leader, i.e. the guy who brings the ball up the floor, gets the team into the offense and guards the ball when it crosses midcourt, seems to be answered in the affirmative and could Kendrick Perkins perform adequately enough in the post to not be a detriment to the club has also been answered with a resounding yes.  Unexpected help has come from Glen “Big Baby” Davis (and believe me, when I saw him for the ten days he was a counselor at Michael Jordan’s Flight School, I would have given enormous odds against him even sticking with an NBA team), Leon Powe and Eddie House.  The Big Three have been nothing short of sensational with KG exactly what everyone, no one more than himself, thought he’d be, given the right supporting cast.

After that start, the gauntlet was thrown down.  Teams needed to make moves and not just “our seventh and eighth guy for one of your subs and a second round pick in 2010.”  Things started getting real serious when the Lakers dealt for Pau Gasol.  Whatever Kobe (who happens to be the best player in the game) said about Andrew Bynum is all but forgotten and, although no one will come out publicly and say it, fear was struck in the hearts of many a Western Conference team (Eastern Conference teams are worried enough about who comes out of the West to the point it doesn’t matter much who it is, the opponent will certainly be formidable).

Then the earth shook, literally, as Shaq landed in Phoenix.  “Ha,” people said.  “He ’s exactly what the Suns don’t need,” all the while remembering what happened the last time the Big “Whatever He Refers To Himself Now” was traded.  Phoenix had better hope Shaq remembers because look at what has happened to that franchise now (and it’s not like Dwayne Wade retired).

Only an owner with the cash, desperation to win it all and cojones of Mark Cuban would have sent the future all-star point guard, Devin Harris, packing to secure the services of Jason Kidd, a megastar, but also a guy who was playing at Cal when I was coaching at USC - and I left SoCal in 1995.  Although he hasn’t had the back surgeries I’ve had, he’s been through the ringer a time or two and, if he feels just a small percentage as bad as I do compared to how I did back then, … well, suffice to say I’m not sure how many good years I have left and all I’m doing is teaching and blogging.

How ironic would it be if the Spurs, Pistons, Jazz or Cavs (teams with a chance - heck, two of them were in the Finals last year) won it all?  Teams who pretty much kept their rosters intact.  And if the incredibly hot Hornets were to keep sizzling all the way through to the championship, the world might actually fall off its axis.

Why in the world would all these moves be made?  Possibly because:

“Expectations determine actions.  Actions determine results.” 

Stay tuned.    ¼/p>

One of the attributes I admire most in anyone is that of accountability.  People who stand up for what they say or did or didn’t do and are prepared to face the consequences - which usually end up being minimal to people with that rare kind of courage - mainly because there are so few of them who will take responsibility for their misdeeds.  In my 10/6 blog, my final quote was, “The biggest problem in the world today is that people are not held accountable for their actions.”  I believed it then and, with all I’ve seen unfold recently, I believe it even more now.

In today’s world, when people screw up, they blame someone else.  If there’s no one else to blame, they lie - and if that doesn’t work, they sue.  And, far too often, they win! Some system we have.

It’s not just the covering up or the double talk that is irritating, but the people who hold grudges after they’ve lost, been punished, fired or had something go against them.  The intense desire they possess to see whomever they feel “screwed” them to experience hard luck themselves or whomever succeeds them (should they have received a pink slip) fail miserably, is a quality I’ll never understand.  I guess it’s because I wonder how bad karma happening to the “wrongdoer” or successor makes what they did any better.  It can’t simply be a case of misery loving company because these people aren’t in the market for company, it’s more like they’re looking for revenge.

In an instance of an associate backstabbing his colleague, I can see the person who was wronged having hard feelings toward that individual, but usually the adage “what goes around, comes around” inevitably occurs.  Then again, there are some folks who simply “love to hate.”  To explain to these sorry souls that “two wrongs don’t make a right” wouldn’t have any more impact than telling them “three rights make a left” even though both sayings are true.

My advice, as if any of these people are interested in it, is move on and strive to become whatever it is you wanted someplace else or get into some new area where you certainly will be a success.  Just focus all the energy you’ve been toward your “enemies” and direct it to your current or new endeavor.  As R.J. Rehwinkels said:

“The only people you should try to get even with are those who have helped you.”