Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The Will To Prepare To Win

"Everyone has a will to win, but not everyone has a will to prepare to win." - Bob Knight

Knight as a coach was renowned for his effort to prepare for as many game scenarios as possible.

Jay Bilas the ESPN basketball analyst and broadcaster is incredibly thorough in his game prep:

- watch tape of teams' recent games
- take notes and compile scouting reports on tendencies of each player, strengths and weaknesses, important statistics from his last four games
- break down offensive and defensive tendencies of teams (deny passes? fight through screens? defense of pick-and-rolls? post defense? go-to plays?)
- talk with coaches who recently played against the teams
- write scouting report by hand the day before the game

In both cases, their preparation allows them to simply watch the game and react to what they see on the floor. What may appear to be natural is in actuality the result of passionately long work. It's the will to prepare to win.

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