Adversity Action Steps: Win Anyway

The core mentality of your organization is crucial when it comes to handling adversity. Although by definition you don't really know when adversity is going to hit, you can be prepared for it. The mentality within your team is a big part of that preparation.

At RIC we started using the term "Win Anyway" to establish our "no excuses" mentality. Tough road trip - Win Anyway. Bad officiating - Win Anyway. The heat doesn't work in the gym - Win Anyway. The phrase created a mindset that expected bad stuff to happen, but we were always prepared for it.

There are no accommodations in the standings or on the bottom line for misfortune. Every team suffers through struggles and bad breaks. When the final standings are set, however, no one cares. At all. One team is in first place cutting down the nets, and everyone else is watching them. Nobody asks in that moment how they got there.

It's important to look forward and stop talking about how you got there. You may have gotten a bad break, but dissecting that in the moment doesn't help you move forward. Stop talking about what happened and start focusing on what you are going to do about it.

Jack Clark, the great Rugby coach at Cal, defines mental toughness as "the ability to move on to the next most important thing." That approach should be intentional in your organization. Your team should always be looking forward to what is next, not what just happened. And it's a mentality you can create before adversity hits, through your daily approach.

Built-in disadvantages, obstacles and adversity can become launching pads for your success. They can create a toughness and a resilience that runs through your organization at all times, not just when things get tough. Embrace that level of toughness with a "Win Anyway" mentality, and when adversity hits it will be just another chance to prove yourself as a team.

Color Blind

I've had numerous conversations with white people late me who tell me they are "color blind" or they were "raised not to see color." This excerpt from Michael Eric Dyson's book "Tears We Cannot Stop" makes a great point regarding that approach.

"The civil rights movement that inspired King, that he inspired in turn, has been appropriated too, and often in troubling ways. We end up with a greatly compromised view of the black freedom struggle. In the narrative of American history, especially the kind told in our nation's textbooks, the movement didn't seek racial justices as much as it sought a race-neutral society. American history hugs color blindness. If you can't see race, you certainly can't see racial responsibility. You can simply remain blind to your own advantages. When some of you say "I don't see color," you are either well-intending naifs or willful race evaders. In either case, you don't help the cause. The failure to see color only benefits white America. A world without color is a world without racial debt.

One of the greatest privileges of whiteness is not to see color, not to see race, and not to pay a price for ignoring it, except, of course, when you are called on it. But even then, that price pales, quite literally, in comparison to the high price black folk pay for being black."

Pick up the book. Dyson's approach will make you better, because it will make you think.

Adversity Action Steps: Separate From The Results

Continuing with a plan for handling adversity

4. Separate From The Results

Does your team understand and believe in your why? Simon Sinek wrote a book ("It Starts With Why") based on the premise that people "don't believe in what you do, they believe in why you do it." The book is just okay, but the premise is a strong one. People buy-in to why you are doing things.

It's a popular narrative today to "explain the why" because of the digital age we live in. Everyone has quicker and better access to information than they ever have, so they want to know why you are doing what you are doing. As a leader, you have to assess how this works in your organization. In a team sport the "why" isn't always at the forefront. You are here to help the team and we are trying to win games, that's why. But even for the most committed athletes, buying in to positive results likely isn't enough.

Jim Steen, the longtime legendary swimming coach at Kenyon University (he's won more national titles in any sport than anyone in the history of the NCAA) used a great quote with his teams:

"Find a place within yourself where success and failure do not matter, a place where you can compete without compromise."

Compete without compromise. That always resonated with me. Getting to a place where nothing gets in the way of how you compete. That's a pretty special place for a team or an individual. But it's a hard place to get to, especially when you factor in the results.

When adversity hits it's crucial to be able to separate from the results. Negative results can have a powerful impact on the way we operate every day, and that is a place where mediocre to bad teams remain. It's really hard to focus simply on what you are doing every day and finding a way to evaluate your approach without thinking about - or achieving - the desired results. You have to understand the why, and that why needs to be something more than a win or a trophy.

If your team really believes in what you are doing every day - the way you operate, and the impact it will have - you'll be able to stick together through adversity. When I took over at the University of Maine we had the worst team in the league by far, and we knew it would be at least two years before we started seeing results. After our second year, when most of our young talent transferred to higher levels, we continued to struggle to win. It was essential that we showed our kids why we were doing things the way we were, and the impact it would have on them moving forward if they bought into it. It was about character development and a winning approach - things that would translate to success for the rest of their lives. We dealt with adversity just about every day in the form of consistent, negative results. It wasn't easy, but I was very proud of the culture we built and the way we operated despite our lack of success on the scoreboard.

A long-term commitment to the process over results will help your group overcome challenges. Get your team to understand that the journey is the reward. The time spent investing in doing something great is extremely valuable, regardless of whether they win or lose. And it will lead to great success moving forward.

Compete without compromise. Results are just the product of your process. That type of approach will help a great deal when adversity hits.

Adversity Action Steps: Count On Your Culture

Step 3 of my adversity action plan:

3. Count On Your Culture

Your long-term culture is the backbone of your organization. Whether you pay attention to it or not, your team has a culture. How much you do to define it and cultivate it is up to you, but your approach will have a significant impact on your long-term success.

When adversity hits, the culture of your team will be your strength. It is what you can count on. If you have a group that believes in your day-to-day approach, they will stick together and seek out ways to get better. They won't let the negative take over their mentality if your organizational ethos is something worth fighting for.

Having a defined set of values and a mission that everyone is connected to is important. I did some leadership development seminars with a military supply company this spring, and part of their mission was too "better the lives of military families around the world." I thought that was a really powerful mission. We talked about the adversity that hit this spring with the pandemic and how it impacted their organization. Their sales team still had to work and find a way to provide for military families. But helping out military families through difficult times was an impactful way to keep their team together and fight through the challenges. That mission statement made a difference.

If your team really believes in a defined mission it will really help you when things don't go their way. When JFK went to visit NASA as the President in the '60s after charging NASA with putting a man on the moon, he introduced himself to a janitor he met. He asked the janitor what he did at NASA and his response was "I'm helping put a man on the moon sir." Everyone in the organization believed in the same mission. When you face tough times, that can be really helpful.

It's important that your team knows you are playing an infinite game. What you are doing doesn't end with wins and losses. There is tremendous character development in your approach that goes beyond the results. When your team realizes the impact what you do is going to have on them long-term, the belief is that much stronger. And when the team starts to struggle they will stick together.

Handling adversity doesn't start the moment adversity hits. Check your program every day, and don't make any short-cuts when it comes to your culture. Is your group prepared to handle a tough situation? Prepare yourself every day with clear, concise values and a mission that everyone believes in. That belief will keep you in the right place when tough times hit.

Adversity Action Steps: Have A Plan

Continuing with my action plan for handling adversity:

2. Have A Plan

When things don't go your way or adversity strikes, it's usually going to be emotional. It's not going to feel good. You have to start by handling the emotions. As we talked about in step 1, evaluate the situation honestly and see reality for what it is. Give yourself a chance to let the emotion go, and wherever possible try not to make emotional decisions. You can easily end up making a bad situation worse. Take your time to address the emotion of the situation, and then very it so you can make a plan.

Your team needs to know you have a plan to get them out of this situation, and you have to give it to them in detail. So take the time to write it out, discuss it with your staff, and run it by others that you trust. Get plenty of feedback on your plan before you present it to your team.

It could be a 3-game losing streak. It could be a season-ending injury to one of your best players. It could be self-inflicted, like significant suspensions to good players for violating your standards. Regardless of what you are dealing with, your team needs to know you have a plan to move forward, and you have to be able to explain it to them in detail. So prepare that plan before you get in front of them.

There are two essential management elements to handling adversity - task management and people management. Task management is about the goal you are trying to achieve and the organization needed to get you there. The plan and the feedback on the plan are major elements of managing the task. What are we trying to do, and how are we going to do it? You need to answer those questions for your team as their leader. When it comes to task management, it's crucial that you focus on what you can do, and what you can control.

The people management element is just as important. This is about making sure your team is okay. It's about listening and providing candor. It's about encouraging your team to open up so you can understand how they are feeling about your situation. It's about connection, motivation, and encouragement. A major part of managing your people in an adverse situation is how you communicate. And a big part of how you communicate is your willingness to listen.

Organizing your plan when adversity strikes is extremely important. As the leader you have to provide direction. By focusing in on two major areas - task management and people management - you can organize your approach in a simple manner and give your team the confidence they need to bounce back.

Adversity Action Steps: Evaluate Honestly

I've had the opportunity to work with different teams and organizations on leadership development this spring and summer, and one question seems to come up with every group. How do you handle adversity?

Handling adversity is something we talk about as coaches and leaders constantly. We know how important it is, and we know that every team is going to face challenges. And every situation is different, so there is no specific blueprint. But to handle it, you have to do more than talking about it and reacting to what happens to you. You have to have an action plan.

I'm going to share my action plan for handling adversity that I've developed over the years.

1. Evaluate Honestly

The most important thing you can do is to start with the facts. A great friend and leader I know, Phil O'Brien of York Consulting, always says "See reality for what it is, and act accordingly." It sounds so simple and makes perfect sense, but it's harder to accomplish than you think. When adversity hits, it's almost always an emotional situation. There will be a lot of noise - most of it negative - and that can easily affect the way you think. You have to make a clear and intentional effort to deal with the facts.

Colin Powell used to say, "Tell me what you know, tell me what you don't know, then you can tell me what you think." Do not let opinions come into play until you are clear on the facts. Sometimes a conversation about just the facts will make your approach a little clearer.

Say a few of your kids get caught out after curfew the night before a game. You are getting ready for a big game, and now you've got to deal with a team issue. Maybe one of your assistants comes in and says "these guys clearly don't care about their teammates and winning isn't important to them. They need to be suspended." Well, while all that might be true, none of those are facts. That is emotion, and it doesn't necessarily solve the problem. The facts are that 3 of our players came in 30 minutes after curfew. The facts are where they were, and why they were late. The facts need to be compared to other curfew issues you have had in the past, and how they have been handled. You might be really angry because it's the night before a big game, but that emotion isn't helpful. Start with the facts.

It's also important to seek out people who will tell you the truth - both inside and outside your organization. Hopefully you encourage your assistants on staff to speak honestly and openly. Talk to your players, and encourage them to do the same. Speak to other coaches or administrators and get their thoughts on the issue because the lens is a little different from the outside looking in. Have conversations with people who will tell you the truth. That will help you deal in reality.

One thing to keep in mind is that the truth doesn't always feel good. You've got to get over that. If you start talking about things in a way to make you feel better, your decisions will be clouded by emotions. Somebody screwed up and it's going to have a negative impact on your program. It shouldn't feel good. That's okay. Making the right decision on how to move forward will.

When you start with a clear set of facts, it allows you to answer the most important question: What needs to be done? That is where you are trying to get to when adversity hits. What is the best thing to do to get past this as a program and get better? The only way to answer those questions properly when adversity hits is to start with the facts.

Talent And Leadership

I don't think talent has very much with anyone's ability to lead. I'm a firm believer that leadership is a skill, not a rank. But within the traditional model of leadership, talent certainly gives you the credibility to lead, a mistake we make all too often.

I've always felt that when a bad player speaks up and says something with an edge we call it an attitude problem, but when a talented player does the same thing we call it leadership. We have to be careful with how much freedom we give our most talented players to "lead" because we can lose credibility as a coach.

I've made the mistake plenty of times as a head coach, where I've reacted poorly to something a bad player says or does, and I realize I probably wouldn't have reacted the same way if one of my better players did the same thing. We tend to give our more talented players the benefit of the doubt. We say that they are trying to lead, they really want to win, or we call it competitiveness. We immediately go to their positive attributes and use them to rationalize whatever behavior they are displaying. It's a mistake, and one that can hurt your team in two ways - by allowing bad behavior from one of your players, and by suppressing any leadership you might get out of some of your other players.

I've thought about this a lot in response to everybody's thoughts about Michael Jordan in "The Last Dance." It's interesting to see everyone taking the best of what Michael put out there and using it as evidence of his "leadership style." The narrative comes across like this is how we should all lead.

The most important element of MJ's leadership style was his talent. Being the best player in the league and arguably the greatest to ever play provided him with a lot of cover to do or say whatever he wanted. Most "leaders" don't have that luxury. It's not as if Michael had a leadership approach that was nuanced or developed. He was the best player by far, and a ridiculous competitor, and what he said and did is really all that mattered. That allowed him to get away with whatever he did that really wasn't acceptable, simply because he was Michael. Very few of us have that luxury.

What other leader would get away with any of that behavior? He was relentless in the way he made fun of the General Manger, and he did it in front of the team. He hammered his role playing teammates in practice. He punched one of them in the face (was it Will Perdue, I though it was Steve Kerr? Or was it both?). He clearly was a prick whenever he wanted to be, or when he didn't get his way. Would we accept that type of behavior out of all our leaders? We accepted it from MJ - as a matter of fact it seems like we praise it - because of his talent.

This isn't to take anything away from MJ's ability or accomplishments. I've said he's likely the greatest competitor I have ever seen, and honestly I have no problems with some edgy behavior that takes place amidst the intensity of competition. I have a ton of respect for how much Michael cared about winning, and his relentless approach to competing. He also got a ton out of his teammates and clearly was the driving force behind their six titles. However, I'm not sure we we should be celebrating his leadership approach without taking into account his elite talent, and the amount of credibility that bought him. He could do and say things that most of us never could, with any repercussions.

Being extremely talented doesn't make you a great leader. But it can help give you the credibility you need to lead, something I think we need to get over. I think MJ made his team and his teammates a lot better, the ultimate sign to me of a great leader.

But whether or not you feel Michael Jordan was a great leader, we can't overlook the fact that his talent had a great impact on his ability to lead. His "style" had a lot to do with being the best player.

Dealing With Outside Voices

I was recently on a Zoom call with educator Jeff Duncan-Andrade, a former basketball coach and now a professor of education at San Francisco State University. He has written two books on education, and focuses on the education of underprivileged kids in disadvantaged areas. He has a great approach to teaching and education, so if you ever get the chance to connect with him take advantage of it.

One of the coaches on the call asked about dealing with outside influences in players lives, specifically how to deal with someone who was giving a message to the player that the coach disagreed with. Duncan-Andrade gave a really detailed answer with a really intelligent approach.

The first thing he said was that he always made sure to invest a lot of time in the player and learn as much as he could about the relationship. He never wanted to take it for granted. So he would ask the player what advice he was getting from the coach or family member, and why he thought they were giving that advice. He'd always ask the question, "Why do you think they are telling you that?"

He said he'd almost always get the same answer. "Because they care about me. They want was is best for me." That, according to Duncan-Andrade, was the key.

He said "I never wanted to mess with a relationship like that." Especially when dealing with kids from difficult backgrounds, he said, he always wanted to celebrate any relationship where they felt they were cared about. He talked about how so many kids don't have a lot of people who genuinely care about them, so he didn't want to minimize that. The first thing he wanted the player to know is that he appreciated the fact that someone truly cared about them. He knew how important that was.

I thought it was a really interesting and intelligent approach. So often when one of our players is getting advice we don't like from someone outside of the program, it becomes a tug of war. We try and pull them away from that person and make sure they are listening to what we are telling them. It very often becomes adversarial.

Duncan-Andrade's point was that regardless of the information you disagree about, you aren't winning the battle trying to pull them away from someone who has cared about them all of their lives. You had better learn to embrace that relationship, and find a way to get on the same page about at least one thing - we both want what is best for you. We may disagree about the best way to get you there, but we are both trying to help you. The information you may disagree about isn't nearly as important as the relationship.

It's not something I often think about as a head coach, but it's time I started to do so. Usually in those spots I think about the disagreement, and how to best resolve it. I don't think about the relationship. If you don't respect that relationship, even though you disagree with the message, it's easy to lose the player for good.

Hiring My Staff

When I was close to getting the Maine job in 2014, I knew the most important thing I had to do was hire the right staff. They say when you get a job it's about two things - who you sign, and who you hire. That will dictate your ability to have success.

After 9 years as a Division III head coach I knew I wanted to get guys with Division I experience, and at Maine that was going to be a challenge. We had a total of $138,000 to spend on four positions for our staff, so finding the right guys would be challenging. Fortunately I had a good relationship with a couple of guys who were on D1 staffs at the time - Matt O'Brien and Zak Boisvert - and both of them were interested in joining me. I knew they were great coaches and I was lucky to get them.

That left me with limited money to hire someone for the "minority spot." While there is no rule in college basketball, it is pretty much an unwritten one - every staff needs to have one minority on it. The thinking is if you are going to be able to recruit and relate to players - the majority of whom are black - the players and their families are going to want to a minority on staff. And certainly other schools will use anything they can to help them in recruiting, and just by implying that your staff can't relate to players the right way can have a negative impact. I don't know the numbers regarding the 351 staffs in the country, but I'd be willing to bet 90% of them have at least one minority on staff.

I hit a home run when I hired Antone Gray as my last assistant at Maine. Antone played for me at Rhode Island College, had won a state championship in Rhode Island as a high school coach, and was the best leader and the smartest player I'd ever coached. He's a star in the business and I was thrilled to be able to add him. I was able to put together a great staff.

So what is wrong with hiring a minority for your staff? On the surface, nothing. It makes sense to have a diverse staff and there are plenty of great coaches from all different backgrounds capable of helping college basketball programs. Hiring Antone Gray for my staff wasn't a mistake, it was a great move.

What strikes me now when I think about it is the system. It's the way the system is set up, and we don't really think twice about it. I certainly didn't. I had interviewed for a number of D1 jobs before I got the Maine job, and every time I did I had conversations with people about potential staffs. And there were plenty of conversations about who I was going to hire in my minority spot or as my "black guy."

Shouldn't that seem very strange when you think about it? It really didn't to me, it was just accepted as the way you had to make up your staff. For as long as I've been in college basketball, coaches have talked about who they are going to hire as their black guy. Many coaches I know have had conversations about who they know that are good minority candidates for staffs, and I know some coaches have what they call "black books." They are go-to guys when someone in the business needs a good minority candidate. I can tell you that I have thought about it for years - getting to know and staying in touch with good, young black coaches that I meet, with an eye down the road in case I get a new job. Is that a bad thing? It's just part of the system.

Well, that's the problem. When you look at the make-up of college basketball teams, you would think there'd be an incredible amount of minority assistants on staff throughout the country. There are plenty of great candidates out there. But somehow we have a system where we need to make sure we hire one minority on every staff, and we have conversations about who the good minorities in the business who might be able to help us down the road. Wouldn't you think it'd be harder for white guys like myself to get jobs on college basketball staffs than it is for minorities?

The system is screwed up. And I can't help but think that when we talk about systemic racism in our country, this is an example of it. Almost all of the decision makers in college athletics - Presidents, Athletic Directors, and head coaches - are white. Now I'm not saying they are racist, and they don't want to hire minorities. But somehow the system is set up so that there aren't enough great minority candidates, so we have an unofficial system in place where we make sure we hire one for every staff. And that system isn't in place to combat systemic racism, it's in place to combat negative recruiting. As a head coach it would take a lot of guts for me to get a job and hire an entirely white staff, regardless if they all happened to be the best fit for what I was looking for. Somehow the system in college basketball is one where we have to make sure we hire one minority on each staff, which tells me something is wrong.

Why is it that the first two people I hired for my staff at Maine were people who looked like me, people who grew up like me? They both grew up in middle to upper-middle class families, had parents with good jobs and could afford to go to great colleges. And I can say unequivocally that I hired the right people for the job. However, why is it that the right people for my staff both happened to be white guys from families with money? Not to mention the fact that I had gotten an opportunity to be a head coach as an upper middle class white guy.

Change isn't promising to look more closely at minority candidates and make sure you give them a fair shot. Change is investigating why there aren't as many minority candidates available to you, and doing something to impact that. And here's where I'm disappointed in myself. Until I started thinking about this recently, I never even thought twice about it. I hired the best staff I could, and the first two guys happened to be white guys. After that, I went about finding the best minority I could. That's how I put together my staff, and it was perfectly normal to me.

As long as that system and process are in place, we won't have real change. I'm not saying more minorities should be hired because of the color of their skin, or white people should have a harder time getting jobs. It's not that simple. But it should be strange to us when that is how we go about hiring coaches in college basketball, and we need to figure out why. We have to get to the bottom of why the system is the way it is.

What if the NCAA invested some money in graduate assistant spots, so that every staff could hire one extra person as a GA? And I'm not even saying that spot has to go to a minority. But there used to be coaching GAs on every staff - guys who could coach on the floor and recruit, and they were entry level positions. They were for young coaches trying to hustle their way into the business and prove their value. If we could create more entry level coaching positions - where graduate school, room and board were paid for - you would probably see more diversity at the entry-level positions on coaching staffs. Those are positions that people who may not have a lot of money can take for two years, prove their value, learn the business, and get a valuable masters degree.

Current entry level positions are very challenging for young coaches, especially those who don't have some financial help. After I hired my coaching staff at Maine I had one position left for a Director of Operations, but I didn't have any money. That was my plan, to hire the best 3 coaches I could with the money I had, and then find a volunteer for the Ops spot. Not an easy spot for someone to take. And who are the candidates going to be for a spot like that? People who come from some money, who can afford to work for nothing for a couple of years. That equation doesn't favor anyone for entry level positions who don't have financial support to make it work.

We can all do more. I know I can. Just remembering the way I hired my staff makes me think right now. There is no way that should be common practice in college basketball. We need to get to the root of the problem and figure out the tough solutions. I know I've been part of the problem, and I didn't even stop to realize it.

Race In Education

This will make you think.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/grutter-v-bollinger-michigan-law-diversity-racism.html

Kareem - Pushed To The Edge

We often like to condemn our superstars for not taking a stance on important issues (whaddup, MJ), and I don't think that's really fair. It's a personal choice, and not everyone has that in them.

But we should give credit to those who stand up and use their voice to deliver a powerful message. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has always done that.

Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. 

https://news.yahoo.com/op-ed-kareem-abdul-jabbar-022901673.html

Safe And Brave

I have a t-shirt with the names Yusef, Kevin, Antron, Korey and Raymond on it. Those are the names of the Central Park Five, five young black men who were falsely accused of rape in New York City in the late 80s. I bought it after I watched "When They See Us," a great film on Netflix that documents the entire story (If you haven't seen it, you absolutely should).

I pulled it out to wear it today, but then I thought twice about it. I was scheduled to do a TV interview and I wasn't sure if I should wear it on TV. How would it be perceived? Would people think I was just trying to grandstand a little bit because I was on TV by putting that particular shirt on today? Just to get some publicity and give the impression that I am concerned?

I know how I feel about it. I know I grew up with white privilege. I also went to high school in New York City, blocks away from where the attack took place, and I was in high school at the time it happened. I've been very conscious my entire life about race and have worked hard to learn different perspectives and support an anti-racist approach since I got out of college. Have I done enough? Nope, I haven't. I can do more. We all can. But my thoughts and actions are certainly genuine.

So why did I think twice about wearing that t-shirt?

“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better and that we are all part of the solution.”

That is what Drew Brees said to Yahoo Sports on Wednesday. The context of it, of course, is regarding Colin Kaepernick taking a knee at NFL games during the national anthem. I don't agree with Brees at all. I don't think a peaceful protest during the national anthem is disrespecting the flag. And I do belief that the very freedom that the flag represents allows you to do just that - peacefully make a statement to protest injustice. I applaud Colin Kaepernick for having the guts to do it. It cost him his career.Brees got hammered immediately for what he said, and issued an apology pretty quickly.

At Providence College we have had a number of webinars this week within our community on racism, allyship and inclusion. Very interesting stuff that creates a lot of thought and dialogue. On one of them, the first slide that we discussed had two words on it - "Safe and Brave". The host talked about how we were all in a safe place, and we had to be comfortable speaking freely. But it was also a difficult topic to discuss, and we had to be brave enough to speak up. Safe and brave.

While I agree completely on the importance of safety and bravery when it comes to this topic, I don't think we are really there. Just because we say we are in a safe place and we need to be brave to have the conversation, it doesn't mean we are there. I don't think in America, when it comes to talking about race, that we are in a safe place where people are comfortable being brave. And I think that is a big roadblock to progress. We need to discuss how we can create safety around the conversation, so that we can be brave.

Right now if you say the wrong thing regarding racism, it can cost you everything. It can literally cost you your career. Drew Brees is lucky, he's already a hall of fame quarterback with elite talent, so he's not going to lose his job. He's going to take a huge public relations hit and look bad, but he'll survive. And take a look again at what he said. "I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America." How many people actually agree with that? I understand context matters, and the inference with the question is that Colin Kaepernick is disrespecting the flag by kneeling - a premise I think is wrong. But one that many people seem to think is true, by the way. I don't agree. I'm not defending it. But doesn't he have a right to say it? And if he really believes it, don't we want to know it? Shouldn't we want to have a conversation about it?

I'd prefer to hear Drew Brees talk about his comments. Do you really feel that Colin Kaepernick is disrespecting the flag? Do you think police brutality, especially against minorities, is a problem? What is a better way to call attention to the issue? But we can't have that conversation because there is too much yelling and screaming. The reaction is loud, the apology comes quick, and then we don't really talk about it.

The truth is, we don't have a safe space in our country to have these conversations. So why would people step up and be brave? Of course we want change, we can't look at what happened to George Floyd and think any other way. But if we are going to get better, and actually create change, we have to be able to talk about it. If I say the wrong thing in the conversation, it could easily cost me my job. Is it worth it?

For most white people who don't feel the direct impact of racism, is it worth it to be brave and risk possibly significant ramifications for saying the wrong thing? Why did I think twice about what t-shirt I was going to wear today? I wanted to wear it because it helped express support, and show how sad and angry I am with the fact that we haven't really found a way to change. But I didn't, because I was concerned with how other people would react.

We need to have a conversation about safety around discussions about racism. We need to find an environment where we are all comfortable being brave. Their literally needs to be stated rules for forums, discussions and webinars on the topic making it clear that nothing that is said will leave that forum or will result in any disciplinary action. We need to be able to talk to people who have differing opinions, and hear them out without shouting them down. We need to recognize that we were all brought up differently, and the prism through which I viewed race may have been very different than my colleague in the office next to me.

We can say that we are safe, and we can say we need to be brave. But I don't see that environment right now. We need to talk about how to get there to start making real progress.

Tulsa Race Riots

How is it possible that I have never heard of one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in the history of our country?

On what was known as "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa, 36 blocks were burned, 1,200 houses destroyed, and over 300 people were killed. It happened 99 years ago and this is the first I've ever heard of it.

I have a long way to go to understand. If you want to get better today, learn more.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tulsa-1921-how-an-act-of-racial-violence-reverberates-across-generations/

Who Cleans Your Office?

Who cleans your office?

It always struck me as a little odd. Every morning I try and get a workout in and then sit down at my desk to get the day started. I usually have a banana and some yogurt for breakfast. And usually at some point between 10-11 AM, someone comes into my office, grabs my garbage, and cleans it out. Takes away the banana peel and my yogurt cup and spoon.

I mean, I could have done that, right? I could grab the bag of garbage at the end of the day, take it outside with me and drop it in the dumpster before I get in my car. That's essentially what we do at home, isn't it?

Do you know his or her name? Do you ever have a conversation with them? Ask them their name, where they are from, if they have a family? This is someone that I see every day, who works at the same college as I do. They usually come in and maybe say a quick hello, and try somewhat nervously to stay out of the way (you know, us basketball coaches, we have very important work to do). We work at the same college, but we have very different jobs. We don't engage in regular conversation about Villanova's ball screen coverage or Creighton's transition offense.

Do your players know who cleans up their locker room for them? Do they know their names? Somebody goes in there every night and vacuums, cleans the bathrooms, the showers, and mops the floor. I wonder how many of your players know the names of the people doing that.

My point is this - how often do we intentionally engage in conversation with people from different walks of life? And maybe the person cleaning your office isn't from a different walk of life - you might have grown up together. Maybe they have a friend you went to school with. I don't know. But think about others in your life - the person you buy your coffee from in the morning, the people who work in the cafeteria, the guy who drops off the mail, or the waitress at the local sandwich place. Maybe it's the VP of the college who you see in the staff cafeteria. Maybe it's the lacrosse coach. Do you get outside of your circle and really get to know people?

I don't think we have to wait until Election Day to help bring about change. What can we change in our day to day lives? Have conversations with people who might be different than you. Get to know people you normally wouldn't, because you don't socialize them or see them outside of their place of work. Learn about them. Ask them questions. Create a dialogue with others who might have a different background and therefore a different perspective. Ask them how the events of the world are affecting them.

Tell your players that once a day they should introduce themselves to someone they don't know. Have a conversation with them. Sit next to them in the cafeteria. We are preparing them to be leaders when they get out into the real world, right? Many of them can be more impactful change agents than we can at this point. Encourage that behavior, so everyone starts to learn a little more about the things that make us different.

Having conversations with people who may be from different backgrounds is one way to broaden our perspective. It can help bridge the gap between the differences we all have, and create better understanding. It's something small, for sure, but something we can all do immediately. I know it's something I can do a lot better. I want to understand people who are different than I am, to broaden my perspective. (By the way, Adam and Rui are the two guys who take care of my office).

Day to day, we can all help bridge the gap. Facebook posts, Zoom webinars and retweets are all great. But we can do more in our everyday life to help bring about change.

What Can I Do?

When I was in high school I was walking through my hometown of Larchmont, NY on a Friday night with a couple of my teammates, heading towards a friends house. We were pretty bored and obviously stupid walking down a dark street that didn't have street lights. We walked past a few houses that had some big painted stones lining their driveways, and we came up with a brilliant idea. What if we put a couple of these stones in the middle of the road, and watched as the cars who drove by had to swerve out of the way at the last minute? I really have no idea why that came up or how we thought it was a fun idea, but we did it, dragging a few of the bigger stones into the middle of the street. We hung around, watched as some cars had to slow down at the last minute and swerve out of the way, never once thinking that it might actually be really dumb and dangerous. We laughed like idiots. We kept on walking.

A little while later we noticed a police car driving up behind us slowly. We tried not to look at it, kept walking, "acting natural" in a way that I'm sure looked anything but. The cops pulled up next to us and shined their spotlight in our faces. The exchange went something like this.

"Hey, fellas, where you guys headed?"

"We're going to see one of our friends, officer. He lives a few blocks up the street."

"Do you guys live around here?"

"Yes, we do. Two of us do. We both live in Larchmont."

"I'm from the Bronx," my other teammate said.

"The Bronx. Really? What are you doing up here?" At this point, the officers got out of their car. The conversation was not as casual anymore, their tone a little more aggressive.

"I came to see my friends. We go to high school together."

At that point, after they heard one of us was from the Bronx, they asked us for ID. We showed them our ID, and then one of them asked us what high school we went to.

"Regis. In the city."

"Oh. You guys to go Regis?"

"Yes, sir."

Regis High School is a pretty well-known catholic school in Manhattan with a very good reputation for academics. Kids used to joke and say "Oh, you go to the smart school." Looking at the Friday night activities of myself and my friends, clearly not the case. But Regis carried with it a strong reputation.

As soon as the officers heard we went to Regis, the tone of the conversation changed. When they heard one of us was from the Bronx, they got more curious and wanted ID and more information. When they heard we went to Regis, they were much less concerned. We were now 3 white, Irish-catholic middle or upper-middle class white kids walking through our upper-middle class suburb of New York City. We didn't look like who they were looking for.

"Is everything alright officer," I asked, seizing the change in momentum and finishing off our "act natural" approach.

"Yes, everything is fine. Have you guys seen anyone around here who looks like they don't belong?" At that point, we clearly went from suspects to concerned citizens in the eyes of the two police officers.

"No sir, officer. We haven't seen anyone at all."

"Thank you gentlemen, have a good night."

Have you guys seen anyone around here who looks like they don't belong?

I've remembered that night for a few reasons. One, because I was scared as hell that we were going to get in real trouble with the police for doing something really stupid. But secondly, I'll never forget the way the tone of the conversation changed when we said "Regis." They looked at us differently. At that point we became white, suburban kids who were well-off who went to the "smart" school, who wouldn't be involved with anything as dumb as putting small boulders in the middle of a dark road. We couldn't possibly be the guys the police were looking for.

Yet, in fact, they were staring right at the guys they were looking for.

I didn't realize it at that moment, but as I got older I realized what that was: white privilege. I wasn't really smart enough or experienced at the time to know really what that meant, but I knew enough to know that telling them where we went to high school made a big difference in how we were perceived. I grew up with the benefit of white privilege.

When I first became a head coach, at Rhode Island College in 2005, I took over a pretty diverse team. One of the things I loved about RIC was the diversity within the school. It is an affordable state school located in a city, although the campus is not downtown. But it attracts a very diverse group of students, many of whom are first-generation college kids. It is a blue collar student body from all different backgrounds.

We had a lot of success over my 9 years at RIC, and as we got it rolling I realized we could attract some really high level players from different cities around the region who would feel comfortable on campus and in the dorms. Diversity was an asset to us. Aside from Providence, we had kids from Fall River, Massachusetts, New Haven, CT as well as New York City. But we also had kids from Greenfield, ME, Newport, RI and Plainfield, CT. We had a diverse group, but over time the majority of our best players were black kids who grew up in urban areas.

A funny thing happened as we continued to have success. I'd get more and more coaches who wanted to send me their talented players who didn't get the right scholarship offers, and what I'd hear a lot was "you know how to coach those types of kids." Hmmm. I would always chuckle to myself when I heard that, because I grew up in upper-middle class Larchmont, NY, a New York City suburb, a product of white privilege. But my immediate response was always "Well, if you mean talented, tough kids who are willing to sacrifice for their teammates, yes, absolutely. I love coaching those types of kids."

I knew exactly what they meant. They were talking about city kids, mostly black kids, and giving me credit for knowing how to "handle" them. I always responded that way because I wanted no part of anyone labeling my players as "those types" of kids. Nor did I want credit for knowing how to handle them. But I knew exactly how we were perceived, as an inner-city athletic team (read: black) that was well-coached and disciplined. As if the norm for "those types" of teams was the opposite.

The one thing I knew about coaching "those types" of kids was what I didn't know. I was smart enough not to try and say too much on topics I didn't know much about, and because of that I learned so much more from my players. I had no idea what most of them had gone through growing up, and I made sure I told them that. I tried to understand their background and the challenges they faced. I got to know them as people. But to say I knew where they were coming from would just have been false.

Where I grew up, you went to college, and your parents had money to pay for it. I was very lucky. Mine certainly did. I got to choose where I wanted to go to school (Hamilton College) and I didn't have to worry about cost. In fact, I remember joking with my mother when she cried on my graduation day, saying to her "Mom, c'mon, we knew this day was going to happen." Half of that was arrogance and the other half was insensitivity to the idea of how big a moment it really is when a parent sees a son or daughter walk across that stage into adulthood. White privilege, remember? My parents were hard-working, blue collar people from the Bronx who put themselves through college and worked extremely hard to set up a better life for my brother and I. There was no arrogance or entitlement in my house growing up. But I was comfortable knowing that getting a college degree was supposed to happen. My biggest concern that day was where we were going to watch Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals (yes, Hubert Davis got fouled).

So at RIC I reminded myself to regularly celebrate my players for showing up every day. Most of them faced real-life challenges - jobs to pay for school, younger siblings they helped raise, kids of their own - things that might have an impact on their ability to close out on a shooter during shell drill. I never acted like I knew what they were going through, because I didn't. I had no clue. But I made sure they knew I was there to help, and that I believed in the impact our culture could have on their future. I wanted to connect with them. Sure, the fact that I could talk about Tupac's "Me Against The World" with them probably helped. But learning about where they came from instead of telling them I knew where they were coming from created authentic relationships.

I knew what I didn't know. I had no idea what it was like to have to work to pay for school. Or to have to bring some money home for my Mom so she could help feed my brother and sister. I had no idea what it was like to have only one parent in my life. Or to walk into Target and have people watching me as I went up and down the aisles. Or to get uncomfortable every time a cop car drove down the block. Or to have people make assumptions about me because of the way I looked. When people made assumptions about me, they assumed I was doing the right thing. I didn't get the benefit of the doubt from others. There usually wasn't any doubt to begin with. White privilege.

Have you guys seen anyone around here who looks like they don't belong?

Heck, if you looked into the gym at RIC, I was the one who looked like he didn't belong. But I was the head coach. I had the power, the control. So it wasn't uncomfortable for me. I looked like what the people in charge were supposed to look like (insert your own height joke here).

So what can I do?

I can be better. I'm sure we all can.

One of the teams I coached at RIC had only 3 white players on it. All good players, all played key roles, two seniors and one freshmen. Everyone else on the team was black. The team got along very well and we were very talented. We would go on to win the Little East Championship and play in the NCAA Tournament. But I remember the dynamics of that team for a reason.

The joke on that team was that the 3 white kids were "the klan." When they sat together at a restaurant the guys would joke "there goes the klan right there." When they were on the same team in practice, they would joke "let's go, we got the klan right here." All of the players, black and white, were part of the joke, and laughed about it. They called themselves the klan, and everybody else did. Everyone had a laugh about it at some point.

It made me uncomfortable. Any reference to race or stereotypes that were joked about made me uncomfortable. Although everyone was laughing about it and it was "no big deal," some of them probably weren't comfortable with it. And if someone went to my AD and complained about it, obviously it would make the program look terrible. And it could cost me my job. I looked at it from that point of view. We couldn't have that. It might make people uncomfortable, and it can hurt our program and possibly my career.

But I should have been looking at it much differently. I should have thought about the social impact it could have, and the way it perpetuated stereotypes and ignorant thought. Coaches stay in a vacuum way too much. It wasn't a big issue within our team, right? Everyone laughed, everyone knew it was a joke. No big deal. But it does matter. Everything that influences or perpetuates the way we think matters. Hey, fellas, let's talk about this for a second. Do you guys understand what the Klu Klux Klan means in this country? The negative impact they have had on so many. Is it really something we are comfortable joking about? Let's talk about how that contributes to the way we think, and eventually the way we treat people. Perpetuating stereotypes continues a thought process that stifles conversation and leads to division. I could have done a lot better.

Do you have any friends who tell you a story that starts with, "While I was driving over here, this black guy cut me off..." or "I was walking out of the store, and this Chinese woman said to me...?" You've heard those stories. Do you ever stop them? "Hey, Jonesy, why did you say he was a black guy? What difference did that make?" Is that something that bothers you, or maybe it's not that big of a deal? Do you speak up?

It is a big deal. It speaks to the way we think, the way we normalize stereotypes. If that guy who cut him off was a white guy, would he have told you he was white? Or would he just have said he was a guy? I'm usually one who speaks up in that situation. That kind of stereotyping makes me cringe. Usually, that is, when it's comfortable enough for me to do so. If it's not comfortable, I let it go, even though it bothers me. If it's not someone I know that well, I stay quiet.

Claude M. Steele in his book "Whistling Vivaldi" explores the idea of "stereotype threat."

"Evidence consistently shows that contingencies tied to our social identities do make a difference in shaping our lives... and identity threats play an important role in some of society's most important social problems. These range from the racial, social class, and gender achievement gaps that persistently plague and distort our society to the equally persistent intergroup tensions that often trouble our social relations."

I can do better. We can all do better.

I'm not saying police brutality against black men wouldn't happen if I had done better, and in no way am I trying to trivialize any of the senseless deaths, assaults or arrests that happen way too often in our country. But I do think the way we think, what we tolerate and how we normalize stereotypes has an impact on all of us. It silently perpetuates negative group think. And I think we can all do something to help change that way of thinking. We can speak up. We can educate. We can start a conversation.

I've always felt a huge challenge with racism in this country - or any other difficult topic - is our inability or unwillingness to talk about it. It is really hard, I get it. It's an uncomfortable topic to begin with, and it's one where by definition we can't really show empathy. I can't put myself in your shoes if you grew up in the South Bronx, and you can't place yourself in the Larchmont Shore Club. There are cultural differences that we have to accept from the beginning. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to talk about it. We take the easy way out. It's not that big of a deal. It doesn't really affect me that much. It's easier to stay quiet, so that's wha we do.

I know I can do better.

We also live in a hot-take society where just about everything is recorded or posted somewhere. And if you say the wrong thing, it can cost you everything. So how do we have a conversation about it? Is it worth it to me personally? Say the wrong thing, you lose everything. So it's easier not to say anything. Why have the discussion if it can cost me everything, I'm not a racist. I know that. It's not worth the risk.

George Floyd. That's why. We can all do better.

I don't necessarily agree with your opinion, but I'm really interested in hearing more about it.

Have you ever said that previous sentence out loud, or something like it? Look at it again. Do you ever say, hey, I'm on the other side here generally, but I really want to know why you feel this way? Help me understand. I want to know more. How often do we do that? Listen to the other side, even if we disagree. If we were just willing to take that approach - without emotion or aggression - I feel like we could make small steps towards progress. We could get more comfortable talking to one another if we were more willing to listen.

It's such a sensitive topic, everyone has to be careful around it. Am I allowed to write this? White privilege, remember. Can I tweet my feelings after the killing of George Floyd, or am I better off keeping it to myself? On the night of Barack Obama's inauguration I cried. Am I allowed to say that? I don't tell people that. I saw Jesse Jackson crying on television during the celebration, and it made me cry. He was on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel with Dr. King, for heaven's sake. And there he was looking at our first black President. What a moment in the history of our country. I cried. But white privilege, remember. Am I allowed to cry? How would people look at that? I don't know the struggle. That can't be genuine. Why do I feel uncomfortable about it, when I know it's genuine? Probably because I'm letting society tell me how I should feel. And I need to be stronger.

To be completely honest, as I write this, I'm going to ask my wife to read it before I post it. I've never done that before. I've written probably 2,000 posts on this blog, and normally I just write it and post it. Sometimes I don't even read it myself (you've probably noticed). But I'm going to ask her to read this one, because I don't want to say the wrong thing. Not on this topic. Say the wrong thing on this topic and it changes your life. It's a challenge, one that keeps us from speaking freely and honestly about important issues.

Does that fear influence my ability to be transparent about difficult topics in everyday life? I'm sure it does. But that's not on society. That's on me. I have to be better.

There is only one thing that's really keeping those things inside of me, making me uncomfortable having the discussion. And that's me. I can be stronger, I can be more open, I can think more clearly about why I feel the way I do. I can say something when guys in the locker room use offensive language. I can tell people I'm not comfortable when they tell a racist joke. I can openly encourage my friends and colleagues to attend more inclusion and diversity events. I can go to more of them myself. Is that going to save George Floyd's life. Nope. Probably not. But can we all make a small difference? Absolutely. And if we all do that, maybe we start moving towards real change. I believe that. I know I can be better.

I can also ask a lot more questions. I can listen with more concern. I can genuinely show interest in people who think differently than I do. If you are thinking right now about the rioting and looting, and not about the senseless killing of another black man, then let's talk. I can't defend the response, but all I can think about is the amount of anger and pain so many have due to systemic racism. They have experienced something that I can't even begin to fathom. What is happening now is not the cause, it's the response. Let's talk about the cause. Let's talk about how we see things differently.

If Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem really bothered you, let's talk. It seemed to offend so many people, and I never got it. He was peacefully protesting, reminding us that we have a problem in this country without hurting anyone. And it cost him his career, literally. Regardless of whether you consider yourself red or blue, those are facts. Can we agree on that? Let's talk. If we can't agree, let's talk. I want to understand more, rather than just pass off your opinion as wrong because it differs from mine. Listen to me, and I'll listen to you. No emotion, just honest discussion.

I don't necessarily agree with your opinion, but I'm really interested in hearing more about it.

We can all be better.

Are you one of those people who is bad with names? You know, the guy who says five minutes after you met someone, "I'm sorry, I'm really bad with names, what was your name again?" Maybe you can listen better. I know I can. It's really just about how much you care about what they are saying. Can you remember someone's name, you know, someone who just told you their name? If not, does it really matter to you what they may think? If not, listen better. It's a small example, but a good indicator. I know I can listen better. I'm sure we all can.

Facebook posts, twitter messages, nifty hashtags. I'm sorry, it all rings kind of hollow for me at this point. Action steps. What is the plan? What are the behaviors that are going to change in my every day life? I can't really #Stand with anyone anymore. I'm not #InsertYourCityHereStrong. I can do a lot more than express my sorrow and grief and go back to watching The Last Dance.

What was it that Margaret Mead said? “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world." I don't think she was talking about trending on twitter.

I can intentionally listen better. I can ask more questions. I can put myself in different situations and try to understand more people who aren't like me. I can encourage my players to not always sit in the cafeteria with their teammates, but to sit with someone they don't know, who doesn't look like them, and introduce themselves. I can say hello to more people. I can talk to my neighbors. I can attend events with speakers I've never heard of, on topics I don't know a lot about. I can try and understand my friends who don't feel the same way I do, without always trying to make my point.

I can read a book by an author I don't agree with. Watch movies like Parasite, that show me a world , and a culture I didn't even know existed. Find a documentary on Netflix about something that really isn't my thing instead of binging Ozark. I can appreciate the passion others have for what they believe in, even if I don't believe in it. I can make myself uncomfortable a lot more often, and get used to having uncomfortable conversations about simple things. Things I don't know much about. So, maybe, when the time comes to have an uncomfortable conversation about something that really matters, I don't walk away from it. I'm ready to talk, willing to listen.

I can learn to be stronger and clearer on my opinions about topics that are really difficult. Topics that really matter to the people I work with, the kids I coach, my family, everybody. I can be a bigger part of civil discourse on important issues, and encourage others to do the same. I can be vocal about what really matters in a respectful way. I can stand up in front of my team when they are using nicknames or telling jokes that aren't appropriate. And I can lead them on a discussion towards understanding why.

The more we seek out and understand different perspectives, the better equipped we will be to learn, to discuss, to educate and to initiate change.

Have you guys seen anyone around here who looks like they don't belong?

Maybe I don't belong in this discussion. That would be the easy way out. Feel sorrow for George Floyd, stay quiet. That would be comfortable. Nah, that can't be true. All of this matters too much, to all of us. I'm in a position where I can have some influence on others. We all are, aren't we? It's more than retweeting a Dr. King quote on twitter with a trendy hashtag. It's pretty clear what we are all doing, it's not enough.

I can be devastated about what I saw in Minneapolis this week and not be conflicted about how I'm supposed to respond, feeling a little guilty about white privilege. It's part of how I grew up and who I am, not something I should apologize for. But to acknowledge it and to move forward with a stronger commitment to help? Instead of staying safe and comfortable in a world that has been set up for me, since the day I was born, for me to be successful? I can do that.

I can never, ever forget the feeling I still get when I see the video of George Floyd, asking for his mother, hearing his voice struggle to say "I can't breathe." I can breathe. And if I ever told someone I couldn't, I'm pretty sure they'd take their knee off my neck.

I can do more than feel bad. Action steps. I can change my behavior, and I can impact the behavior of others around me. I can learn more. I can listen better. I can be smart and measured in my approach, yet still be impactful. I can avoid adding my emotion to emotional situations. I can understand the other side better.

I can do all of this. Right now, it's what I know I can do.

For starters, anyway.

John Stockton

If you ever needed a reason to like John Stockton even more... he throws teams out of his gym if they aren't playing hard enough in Sunday pick-up.

From Seth Davis' article in The Athletic about the culture Gonzaga has built.

The most exclusive game in town is the weekly Sunday morning run overseen by Stockton, a third-generation Zag who played from 1980 to ’84. The games take place at The Warehouse, a downtown rec center that Stockton owns. (One of the courts is a floor with a Utah Jazz logo that used to be in the old Delta Center.) If someone whom Stockton hasn’t invited tries to play, that person will be shown the door. Stockton is 57 now, but he’s still John Stockton. He has been known to chastise a high school kid if he isn’t going hard enough, and if the game isn’t being taken seriously he’ll kick everyone out. “He’s surly,” Raivio says with admiration. “He’ll give you an elbow, he’ll ride you. He still gets every call.”

Ralph Willard's Advice To His Son On Getting Into Coaching

Great advice for anyone who wants to get into coaching, from Dana O'Neil's article in The Athletic on Kevin Willard.

Once he realized there was no turning his son away from coaching, Ralph urged Kevin to start from the ground up, take the hardest job he could find to make sure he really wanted in.

The Worm

It's interesting to see how much analysis there is of a 10-part series that involves an inside look of one of the greatest basketball dynasties, when that series is shown during a global pandemic and there are no live sports. I found "The Last Dance" to be an interesting watch, although I was disappointed that Michael Jordan and his production team scrubbed everything first.

Winning 6 titles in 8 years has a way of altering perception and changing the way a lot of behavior is analyzed. I've really been fascinated by the way Dennis Rodman has been perceived. Keep in mind, the way everybody was portrayed in the film was how Michael wanted them portrayed, but I feel like Rodman came out on the good side.

Rodman was a terrific NBA player with a unique skill - the ability to rebound the ball - that generally translated into winning in that league ("No rebounds, no rings" - Pat Riley). He was tough and played hard for the most part when he was on the floor, and playing alongside two of the top 50 players of all time in the prime of their careers certainly helped mask his weaknesses. He also played for one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time. He could defend and he could rebound, with no real offensive skill to appreciate.

There is no doubt Rodman was a big part of the second three-peat with the Bulls. He brought an edge and a willingness to do the dirty work that translated very well for his team. But it seems like the impression is that he was this hard-working, role-playing winner who did all of the little things his team needed to win.

I think Rodman was an unreliable player who forced his teammates to overcome his inconsistency and lack of commitment to win. Did he help his team win? Absolutely. Would they have won without him? I'm not sure, but given his contributions on the court, you can probably make a better case that they would not have. I'm a believer you can win with anyone. I don't believe that there are certain types of players who you can't win with. I think that narrative is lazy and tired, and Dennis Rodman is a perfect example.

I'm not arguing against Dennis Rodman or his value to the team. But our perception of him certainly seems different 20 years down the road, now that we are celebrating the dynasty.

When Michael Jordan talked about Scottie Pippen waiting on his surgery until the season started because he didn't want to ruin his summer, he said "Scottie quit on us." And maybe he has a point. But Dennis Rodman literally did quit on them, during the season. He went to Vegas with Carmen Electra for a team-approved vacation DURING THE SEASON. Think about that for a minute.

The response was a lot of, well, that was Dennis, and he needed a break, and we knew when he came back we could count on him, and no one competed harder. All of that. To me, the Bulls and Phil Jackson figured out a way to make it work. They overcame that fact that he was a bad teammate, and a lot of the credit for that goes to the head coach and the other players. They were willing to put up with it, hoping that he would provide what they needed during the games. And they made it work.

But the idea that Dennis Rodman was some kind of glue guy who could be counted on to do all of the dirty work is laughable to me. In fact, using the term "counted on" with Dennis Rodman is also a joke. Even during the games, when he was playing hard and rebounding, they still never knew when he might just blow up. He was a loose cannon, not generally something you are looking for on high-performing teams. He had an unbelievable ability to rebound, and he was willing to defend and play physical without getting the ball very much. He added great value to the team. But most of the credit for why he was able to help the team goes to the rest of his teammates, and the way Phil Jackson handled the situation.

Jeff Duncan-Andrade

I was recently able to participate on a Zoom call with Jeff Duncan-Andrade, a former basketball coach and now professor at San Francisco State University. Jeff has written multiple books and has a unique approach education. Below are my notes from his Zoom discussion.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/5-practices-of-highly-effective-urban-educators/264628/

• Biggest mistake coaches and teachers make - "they don't clearly define their purpose." If you can't clearly define your purpose so that everyone understands it, you are going to get off-course when things get hard.
• The onion really gets peeled back on people when things get hard - when you are supposed to win by 20 and you are down 4 with 3 minutes to go.
• Purpose is philosophical - it grows, it gets deeper.
• When you watch film, do you watch yourself? Or do you just watch your team? Because very often your team is just a reflection of yourself as a coach.
• Spent a day with John Wooden - the most important time I've ever spent as a teacher and a coach. He really helped me define my purpose, my philosophy, what I believe in.
• Coach Wooden's doorstop is Shaq's shoe filled with pennies.
• "You can be good at a lot of things, but you can only be great at a few." - Advice he got from John Wooden - "that changed me as a coach. I had to let stuff go."
• That helped me get the foundation right. I cut out the noise. I became a minimalist.
• Practice = Action + Practice - that's how you grow.
• Critical practice - Becoming increasingly aware of participation and involvement of all forms of inequality.
• 3 things we wanted for our young people in English class - love reading, love writing, and think for themselves in a way that was critical - to allow them to use their reading and writing to make an impact.
• Coaches can be really deliberate and explicit about how their teams can crossover skills to social inequalities.
• As coaches and teachers we don't have to have the answers, we have to have the questions.
• Turn statements into questions. Don't make statements, they kill dialogue. Develop a spirit of genuine inquiry and explore to solve problems.
• Your ability to understand your players interests relates directly to your ability to drive them and push them.
• When they have a negative influence in their personal lives - ask questions - what does that person want for you?
• Do not screw up that relationship for them as a coach - that person wants what's best for them. Do not question the way they care about you.
• The best coaches are gophers - they get what people want and need.
• The mindset of young people is the direct reflection of the mindset of the adults around them.
• Conflict does not concern me.
• Every year you have a new team - you have to constantly stay in learning mode, and humble enough to realize you don't know it all.
• Very often your expectations and their expectations are misaligned. Write them out, get connected on them.
• The best way to learn something is to teach it. One big mistake we make is we have study hall in silence - study hall should be interactive and collaborative - it should mirror your practice.
• Wealthy kids tend to study in groups - first generation kids study by themselves.
• Create a rich, vibrant learning environment in practice.
• He had a rule with his team - you can ask me to take you to a book store and I'll buy you a book any time you want.
• If you care more about what they did in the box score than what book they are reading, they are going to figure out pretty quickly what you think of them.
• "We measure what we treasure" - Angela Duckworth
• "Part of our responsibility as coaches is to create an environment for self-love - and that doesn't come from getting twenty."
• "Everyone is biased. Get over it. The people that weren't biased, between the giraffe and lion, are dead."
• "I started speaking my truth, when being free became more important than guarding the fear of my ego." - Yung Pueblo, Inward

Joe Maddon on Coaching

Coaching doesn't mean you have to attempt to impart everything you know on somebody. Really good coaching is understanding who you got, and then communicating with them in a way that permits them to be great. And you only interfere when it's necessary.