Chris Collins- Growing Up in BB

Great article on Chirs Collins and his basketball family. This is from USA Today by Jason Wolf.

Chris Collins didn't know his dad had slipped into the gymnasium and was standing behind the bleachers, that big, familiar smile shielded from view as the Duke University basketball player gave advice to the kids at his former junior high.

He spoke of the importance of hard work, passion, perseverance and high character.

"You always wonder if your kids are listening," said Doug Collins, now coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, "and I almost got tears in my eyes. So much of what he was saying – he absorbed so many of the things that I had been speaking about through my entire lifetime while I was running my basketball camps."

It wasn't until years later when Chris, after dealing with the disappointment of a lifetime and becoming a coach and father himself, came to appreciate his dad's most profound lesson.

Family is the ultimate team, selflessness the most important key to success.

Butler Use of Stats

Article from SI.com on Butler's use of the area of statistical analytics.....  by Pete Thamel.   VERY GOOD STUFF!!!!

The formal basketball career of Drew Cannon ended in eighth grade as the sixth man of his junior high team. In college at Duke, Cannon's only hoops experience came from an intramural team called the Norse Forse.
When Cannon graduated with a degree in statistics last spring, he had modest expectations of finding a job right away. "We were hoping he would not be living in the basement," said Jim Cannon, his father. "That was our goal. And his."
Instead of toiling in the basement, Cannon spent the season on the Butler bench and will be with the team when the Bulldogs play Bucknell in the NCAA tournament on Thursday. Cannon's experience interning with recruiting analyst Dave Telep and his advanced writing about basketball analytics gained the attention of Butler coach Brad Stevens, who offered him a job as a graduate manager this summer.

Butler Basketball- Organizational Success

Outstanding article on developing a winning culture.....

Over the better part of the last decade, no team has captivated the attention of sports fans across the country like the Butler UniversityBulldogs. A living embodiment of the mythical Hoosiers, the small school in Indianapolis has risen to the echelons of college basketballs elite over the last several years using modest resources and a budget substantially less than those teams it defeats on a regular basis. Time and again the Bulldogs manage to win games they shouldn’t with a roster of players who received little recruiting interest from blue-blooded programs like Duke and Kentucky. All the while, behind the curtain stands their mysterious young coach, Brad Stevens, concocting his next delightful magic trick.

Brad Stevens comes from a long line of Butler coaches who have passed down a secret which holds the key to success when leading teams in sports or the business world. (Image credit: Getty Images)

While many have offered their own fleeting opinions as to why Butler has been so successful, the true answer has remained an enigma. To begin to unravel the mystery, one must dive deep into they culture of the school, athletics program, coaches and its players.

Bill Self- How Do You Do It?

This is an interesting article which asks Bill Self for his perspective on why Kansas is so successful. Bill Self believes there are three secrets to basketball success.

BY JOE POSNANSKI

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Bill James has spent his life asking questions. He’s most famous for his baseball questions, of course – How do teams score runs? What is the best way to measure defense? What was baseball really like in the 19th century? – but, in truth, he questions everything. Was Lizzie Borden guilty? Would politicians connect more with people if they were more honest? Is “The Wizard of Oz” the most referenced movie in American history? Why were there so many great playwrights in England during the Elizabethan Era?

Title Game Mess

The IHSA 2A boys championship game included the following:
- one player ejection
- one player taunting fans
- one coach throwing his medal after receiving it
- one team refusing to take their trophy
- one coach refusing to talk to the media

 From the Chicago Tribune....PEORIA — Seton Academy left the arena and declined to accept a second-place trophy after losing to Harrisburg 50-44 in the Class 2A boys basketball state final Saturday night.
"We told them to come out there (on the court), and if they were not out there by the time Harrisburg (was done) they would not receive their trophy, ever," Illinois High School Association executive director Marty Hickman said. "They chose not to come out. We've never had that happen before."

Jay Bilas- Book on Toughness

Jay Bilas has come out with a book on toughness. The following are exerpts....

Successful players and teams don't just assess themselves by records or statistics, but by a standard of excellence that goes beyond a final score.

Self-evaluation takes honesty, and the toughest teams and players do not con themselves. When I was playing for Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, he was often harder on us after a win than after a loss. He would identify areas of concern for our team and for individuals as "slippage" from our standards, and he was quick to point out that a lesser performance might have beaten our latest opponent, but it would not beat the best teams coming up in the future.

'Toughness: Developing True Strength On and Off the Court'

What does it take to succeed? Jay Bilas' new book looks at the true meaning of toughness. It isn't about bravado. It is about meeting challenges head-on and not shrinking from them.

Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

We weren't just playing against an opponent; we were playing to a standard. And it was a standard of excellence.

Coach K expected us to give championship effort in every minute of every game, and in every drill in every practice. Even if we were ahead by thirty points and just mopping up, there was no such thing as "garbage time" for Coach K. Every minute of playing time was earned, and it was to be valued. And if we were down, Coach K expected his players to fight to the last possession and play through the buzzer to the highest standard.

IBCA All-State

Jessica Lieber was selected to the 3rd team for the IBCA All-State team.

Some of the players we played against or from the area....

First Team
Sarah Livingston- Morton
Jaqui Grant- Maine South

Second Team
Olivia Elger- Richwoods
Ashton Williams- Springfield