responsibility

NASA On Leadership

This week, our program at Bob Jones University had the privilege to have Daryl Woods speak to our team on leadership.  Some of you may be familiar with him if you read Jay Bilas' book, Toughness.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, Daryl is the Technical Assistant at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center.  He has a vast knowledge of strategic planning and project management in the world of engineering, and truly is a "rocket scientist."  In his book, Toughness, Jay Bilas shares the story about how he met Daryl and drops a great leadership quote on us that says,

“Responsible to the element, accountable to the mission.”
— Daryl Woods

RESPONSIBLE TO THE ELEMENT

During his talk with our team, Daryl explained to us how this mindset was an integral part to their success.  He told us that he was given the task to unite two separate teams together, one of which was plagued with low morale due to a recent project being cancelled.  Throughout this journey he shared how each member of this team was responsible for various elements, or parts of the space shuttle.  Each of these elements plays an important role in the overall performance of a successful flight.  Obviously, each responsible party was extremely dedicated to performing their specific role to a high level, but in the meantime other elements were struggling with various circumstances.  

ACCOUNTABLE TO THE MISSION

As circumstances came up, members of one element began to contribute to other elements that needed help, whether it was financially or with personnel.  As this team began to help one another, it became very clear that the mission was the most important thing on their minds.  They began to understand that each element was crucial in the overall success of the mission and while they were responsible for their element, it was more valuable to be accountable to the mission.  This culture brought life to its members and they flourished because of a mindset that prioritized the team over any individual.  

Here are a couple tweets from our discussion with Daryl:

THE TEAM

As we apply this leadership lesson to our basketball program, we see continual growth and love for each other.  When someone is having a rough day performing their role it is necessary that they find a way to stay responsible to their task, but it is also the duty of his teammates to pick him up and stay accountable to the team.  We can exercise this mindset in many aspects of our program, both on and off the court.  When this mindset is owned by every member we begin to see results that are truly remarkable.  No matter what is going on within your team, whether its in sports, business, or church, make sure that every member stays responsible to the element and accountable to the mission!  

Winners vs. Losers

When a winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong;" 

When a loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn't my fault."

A winner works harder than a loser and has more time;

A loser is always "too busy" to do what is necessary.

A winner goes through a problem;

A loser goes around it, and never gets past it.

A winner makes commitments;

A loser makes promises.

A winner says, "I'm good, but not as good as I ought to be;"

A loser says, "I'm not as bad as a lot of other people."

A winner listens;

A loser just waits until it's his turn to talk.

A winner respects those who are superior to him and tries to learn something from them;

A loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find chinks in their armor.

A winner feels responsible for more than his job;

A loser says, "I only work here."

A winner says, "There ought to be a better way to do it;"

A loser says, "That's the way it's always been done here."

- Pat Williams; Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic

Photo courtesy of patwilliams.com 

*Taken from the book, "The Edge" by Howard Ferguson.

Eliminating Baskets in Defensive Transition

In the article, Factors to Successful Pack Line Defense, I briefly wrote about three characteristics that make our Pack Line defense successful for our program at Bob Jones University.  I would like to take each of those factors and go more in depth with them.

TRANSITION DEFENSE

Our transition defense always begins when we take a shot or turn the ball over on offense.  On the shot, it is our practice to aggressively send THREE offensive players to the glass, while our 1 & 2 guards GET BACK.  Obviously, if we get the offensive rebound we will continue to execute our offense.  However, if we do not secure the ball we will need to immediately get back in transition and stop the ball.  In a turnover scenario, everyone will just immediately get back.  In order to successfully accomplish this, we will need each one of our players to perform their role at a high level.  Note: each of these role descriptions should be performed with the three MUST-DO'S at the end of this article.

Roles Defined

It is the duty of the point guard to initially STOP THE BALL!  He is the first line of defense and his role is crucial in eliminating easy baskets in transition.  His job is to engage the ball handler by the time he reaches half court. He needs to slow down the ball handler, eliminating any passes up the sideline.  He will do this by attempting to turn the opposing player 2-3 times.  By doing this, our point guard is limiting the ball handlers options to either retreating or making an ill-advised cross court pass. 

Our 2 guard is SPRINTING immediately to the paint.  His primary responsibility is to eliminate anything that comes near the rim.  Whether it is by dribble penetration, a pass ahead, or a post feed, it is this players responsibility to take away any baskets in the paint.  He will perform this role until his teammates get back in position at which point he will closeout to the perimeter player.  

The other three players need to GET BACK as quickly as possible by SPRINTING.  A tendency of many inexperienced players is to be content in "buddy running," which basically means they run even with the player they are guarding.  To be successful in transition, this can't happen!  We need our post players to recover to the paint to relieve our 2 guard of his duties.  They will then need to fulfill the responsibility of protecting the rim.  The last guy back will need to sprint to the weak side of the floor and eliminate any ball reversal that takes place.

After successfully eliminating the primary break many teams will ease up.  Great teams understand that their job, however, is never done and the real fun now begins!  Players will now need to instinctively go from a "transition" mindset to a "half court" mindset.  This is the time that our defense can now make a statement.  

Championship Habits in Transition

Realistically, many teams perform their roles that are listed above, but still find ways to give up easy baskets in transition.  Why?  Because they do not perform the minor details that great teams demonstrate.  These following habits are MUST-DO'S for any team that wants to become great in defensive transition:

  1. Proper Floor Balance - When each player performs their role correctly, proper floor balance comes naturally.  However, there are still times when one or two players will run to the wrong area, leaving an opposing player wide open.  Great teams make it second nature to be in the correct place to keep the defense balanced.
  2. Exceptional Effort - Effort is 100% controllable by each member of your team.  If anyone lacks desire to sprint or communicate properly, one would have to question why that player is in the game.  Players will NEVER (yes, that's an absolute) be able to to perform their roles to the best of their ability without exceptional effort.  Transition defense is something to take pride in at all times.
  3. Clear and Precise Communication - Verbal and non-verbal communication is crucial to successful transition defense.  Not only should each player be verbally talking through what their role is, but they should also be non-verbally giving their teammates cues about where to go and who to pick up. 

All three of those MUST-DO'S go hand in hand and will only be successful if they are habitually ingrained in your player's minds.