Beyond Basketball Page 3

  “Well, whenever I need good advice, I always come to you. And right now I need some good advice. Tom, someone just came into my house and offered me $40 million to coach their team. Now, when I first signed on at Duke in 1980, my starting salary was $40,000. We’ve come a long way since then.”

  Tom jokingly replied, “Well, I think I deserve a 10 percent finder’s fee.”

  “Sounds fair,” I responded. “I’ll send you a check for $4,000!”

  We both laughed and enjoyed the moment before delving into the more serious aspects of my situation. When it comes time to make important decisions, I always seek Tom’s advice. His commitment to me, even after my first three seasons with a 38–47 record, is why I was able to get things going at Duke. I never doubted his support. And because he was committed to me and never doubted me, I never doubted me. His commitment made me better because I was never afraid of losing my job. It is easy to be committed to someone or something during good times, because when you are winning, your commitment is never challenged. But loyalty and dedication during more difficult times can be tough. Tom never wavered, and when commitment doesn’t waver, that’s when you have the greatest chance of winning. And we did win!

  During the seventeen years that he was my boss, he always told me to follow my instincts. Even when we had losing records, he never interfered, he only asked me that I ensure our student-athletes were a good representation of Duke both on and off the court.

  When I think back on his decision to hire me, I am amazed. He told me years later, that, following my job interview in 1980, he simply couldn’t get me out of his mind. He tried to convince himself that I was not the right one for the job. But when it came down to it, he just had to follow his heart. From that day forward, we were on the same team.

  Tom gave me the same advice on that summer day in 2004 that he always had. He told me to be myself, to make sure that I continue to do what I love, and to follow my instincts. The decision became easy. Because of Tom’s commitment to me, I developed a commitment to Duke that I knew I could never give up. Not only that, but he taught me to be committed to myself and to follow my heart. As long as I am coaching, I will give my Duke teams the very same commitment that Tom Butters gave me.

  Communication

  Effective teamwork begins and ends with communication. The word, of course, means to convey a message. In order to communicate with your teammates, coworkers, or family, you must ask yourself and one another two critical questions:

  • How do we talk to one another?

  • How do we listen?

  However, communication does not always occur naturally, even among a tight-knit group of individuals. Communication must be taught and practiced in order to bring everyone together as one.

  My team has one rule regarding communication: when you talk to one another, you look each other in the eye. Eye contact is an important act of mutual respect but also enforces the most crucial element of communicating: telling the truth. Lying and quibbling are unnecessary impediments to working as a team. Face-to-face communication and truth should serve as the basis of all team communication.

  In our team’s preparation, there are three systems that I and my coaching staff try to instill. Of course, there is an offensive system and a defensive system consisting of basketball “x’s and o’s,” but there is also a communication system. In our locker room conversations, tape sessions, and individual meetings, I encourage my players to look me in the eye and to be honest and forthright, never feeling afraid to express themselves. In these meetings we establish a system of communication steeped in honesty. By eliminating counterproductive quibbling, we establish our basis for collective communication among all members of the team, top to bottom.

  On the basketball court, there is very little time to get your message across. In the heat of a game, a basketball team speaks a different language; it is not a language based on long sentences, but it is a language nonetheless. To acclimate our team to speaking this language, we do not merely drill defensive stances and positioning in our practices, we drill talking. When you talk, your body reacts, your hands get ready, and your mind becomes prepared to respond, even under pressure.

  On our Duke Basketball teams, I never want to be the only communicator. In order for a message to get across, it must be echoed by every member of the group. I constantly look for members of my team who can help convey the message. It starts with my staff. Currently my coaching staff consists of three of my former players. I like having my former players as assistants because they have already been a part of the culture we instill in our young men. Often my assistants are better equipped to communicate a particular message to the team because they can present the same message in their own words or provide more current examples. It is difficult for me to believe that I am now forty years older than my players—I never thought I’d be forty years older than anybody! So my staff often helps to bridge the communication gap that can exist between generations.

  The bottom line on communication is that everyone on a team should feel comfortable expressing themselves. The freedom to express oneself to other members of a team, business, or family breeds a sense of ownership. And, most importantly, each member of the team knows that when we look each other in the eye and communicate, we are honest. That type of communication can help to turn a group of individuals into a true team.

  COMMUNICATION IN ACTION

  I remember a few years ago I gave my team a motivational speech in our locker room before practice. At the time, I thought it was a great speech, one that would surely inspire an energetic and passionate practice. So as we left the locker room to take the court, I was proud of myself. I thought to myself, as far as speeches go, there’s King, there’s Lincoln, and there’s me. But as we stepped onto the court, there was no pat on the back from my assistants or surge of excitement from the team. They calmly jogged out on the court and not a word was spoken.

  As we took the court for practice, I asked my assistants, searching for a compliment, “How do you think it went?” Instead of the praise I had expected, my assistant Steve Wojciechowski said to me, “Coach, I don’t think they understood anything you said.” At first I was angry with that response because it was not what I expected. However, it was honest and made me realize that my message did not get across to my team.

  I asked the team to come and sit on the bleachers and listen. When they were all gathered in front of me I asked if they had understood what I said to them in the locker room. Shane Battier, one of our team captains, stepped up and said, “No, Coach, we didn’t understand.”

  “Well, here’s what I was trying to say.” I proceeded to sum up in about thirty seconds the message that I had previously tried to convey in a fifteen-minute speech. I then told Shane that if that ever happened again, I needed to know right away that my message was not received. I needed immediate communication. Shane said, “I got it, Coach. Let’s start practice.”

  That is the type of communication I want on my team, the type where everybody can express themselves and no one feels stifled. I want the type of communication where, even if your head coach believes he has delivered the basketball equivalent of the Gettysburg Address, you can tell him that his message has not resonated. That rare but essential brand of communication turns a group of individuals with different backgrounds, talents, and ideas into a unit that can effectively talk and listen, both on and off the court.

  Courage

  I often share with my Duke Basketball teams a Winston Churchill quote: “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others.”

  In other words, you can possess countless good qualities as an individual, but if you don’t have the courage to proceed, you may never see those qualities come to fruition. It takes courage to put what you believe to be the best of you on the line, to test it, and to see how far it takes you. Courage means daring to do what you imagine.

  For the most part, people do not attempt thi
ngs because they fear the consequences. But the greatest consequence of all comes in not attempting to do the things that you believe you can. Having courage means boldly pursuing your dreams, no matter what the consequences may be.

  Sometimes in basketball games, I will bring my players into a huddle and see fear in their eyes. Maybe a particular player has missed several shots in a row, or perhaps the opposing team has made a run and put us back on our heels. My job as a leader is to show them a face of courage. That is what a team is all about. When one individual gets down or afraid, they will look to their teammates and their leader, in particular, to bring them out of it. I want my face to tell them, “Let’s all get together and let’s do those things that we imagined and prepared for in practice. Let’s have the courage to do the actions necessary to reach our goals.” I want to take them past the hurdle of fear and help them in times of both individual and collective doubt. All of a sudden, we walk away from that huddle and, together, we are going to go after it. We are going to have a chance.

  I can remember a time of extreme doubt in my life when I was offered the chance to attend the United States Military Academy and to play basketball there. At first there was no way I was going to go. I was too afraid and too full of self-doubt. But I received the encouragement I needed from my parents, my greatest supporters.

  My father, in particular, was not a man of many words, but when it came to ensuring that his son did not turn down a great opportunity because of simple fear, he was vocal and emphatic. Thanks to him and my mom, I was able to find the inner courage to make the right decision, one that shaped who I would become as an adult. Just look at the word “encouragement” and you will see that it means helping another find courage. Always surround yourself with individuals who will help to enable your courage when it is lacking from within.

  The most courageous player I ever coached was Bobby Hurley. Even when I myself felt stifled by moments of doubt, I could look into Bobby’s eyes and find the confidence to proceed. My job in coaching him was to give him the freedom to boldly follow his instincts.

  In the 1991 NCAA semifinal game against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, we were a considerable underdog. UNLV had won 45 games in a row, including the National Championship game from the previous year when they beat us by 30 points, 103–73. Unlike the year before, this year’s game was hard-fought, close, and incredibly exciting. Throughout the course of the game, usually only one basket separated the two teams’ scores.

  With under two and a half minutes remaining, UNLV jumped to a five-point lead and it seemed the momentum was going their way. When Bobby brought the ball down the court, I recognized that UNLV had changed from man-to-man defense to a matchup zone. I jumped up off the bench to tell Bobby to run a certain play against this new defense. Just as I got to my feet, Bobby took a three-point shot and knocked it down. He did not need my instruction, he needed to courageously follow his instincts. As a result of that play, the momentum shifted back and we were put in the position to win the game in the last few seconds. Bobby’s three-pointer was as big a shot as any Duke player has ever hit. After we beat UNLV, we won our first National Championship by beating Kansas 72–65. Many people think of game-winning shots as last-second shots. This is not always the case. Bobby’s courageous shot in the UNLV game is the perfect example.

  The following year, we again found ourselves in the national semifinal game, this time matched up against Indiana. The Hoosiers played an amazing first half and really should have blown us right out of the gym. However, Bobby hit four three-point shots in that half to keep us within striking distance. We played well and together in the second half and won, eventually beating Michigan for our second straight National Championship. Neither of those championships would be ours unless Bobby had the courage to follow his instincts.

  Courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined. We all have the capacity to imagine amazing things, but you need courage to take those often frightening steps toward making your dreams a reality. Your time will come. As President John F. Kennedy once said, “Courage is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to all of us.”

  Crisis Management

  As a leader, and particularly a leader in sport, I am often asked about how to act and lead your team in a time of crisis. My response is that, once you find yourself in that crisis moment, it may already be too late. If you have not developed your team properly, members of that team will not feel the sense of ownership your group needs in this type of moment.

  Crises are not handled in the instant they occur but are prepared for in all of the moments that you and your team spend leading up to that one. You prepare for the crisis well ahead of time by establishing trusting relationships among all members of your team. For me, every team meeting, every practice, every individual conversation that occurs throughout the season establishes who we will collectively be when a crisis occurs. If you plan to manage a crisis when the time comes, it is already too late to establish the communication and trust that should already exist among the members of your team.

  Crisis causes people to think and act as individuals rather than as part of a team. In difficult situations, it is human nature to feel alone, and you may start worrying about your personal plight as opposed to the unit as a whole. A leader’s goal during these times must be to refocus every individual’s attention on the group, the entity that you have created, which is far stronger than each separate individual. When you truly trust and rely on one another, you find strength in your unity and can face challenges with the courage and confidence that comes with knowing you are not in it alone.

  In any profession, a crisis presents a situation in which it is the leader’s job to find a way to win. Of course, my version of a crisis as a basketball coach is minimal when put into perspective. A crisis for me is being down by one point with only a few seconds on the clock, while others face terminal illness, being sent to war, and other life-or-death situations. No matter how strongly you feel about what you are doing, it is important that you keep a sense of perspective about the “crises” you face.

  If you have a trusting team, business, or family, a crisis becomes an opportunity to shine. You relish the predicament because it is a chance to prove to yourselves and to show others the strength you have developed as a unit during the course of your time together. A well-prepared team embraces crises as defining moments and overcomes those crises together, as one.

  CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN ACTION

  One of the great basketball stories during my time at Duke was the 1992 NCAA regional champion-ship game against the University of Kentucky. The winners would earn a trip to the Final Four and the losers would find themselves at their season’s end. Many still refer to it as the greatest college basketball game ever played. Everyone who has seen the game recognizes the incredible passion and heart with which both our and the Kentucky kids played. It was truly a beautiful game.

  The Kentucky game serves as a perfect illustration of team crisis management. With a trip to the Final Four on the line, I and my team found ourselves in overtime, down by one point with 2.1 seconds remaining on the clock. We had possession of the ball on one end of the court and had to score on the opposite basket, 94 feet away.

  I had some great players and amazing young men on my team that year, including All-Americas Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, and Grant Hill. As they came to the bench for that last timeout, I could see a look of defeat in their eyes. The first thing I said to them as they sat down in our huddle was, “We are going to win.” Whether they believed this seemingly ridiculous claim or not, it had the effect of immediately focusing everyone’s attention on our collective goal instead of thinking about blame, regret, fear, or what beach they would be going to next week instead of the Final Four.

  Then I looked Grant Hill in the eye and asked him if he could pass the ball 75 feet to Christian Laettner, who would be waiting to receive the pass at the opposite free throw line. He responded that, yes, he could do
that. I then turned to Christian, looked him in the eye, and asked him if he could catch the ball and get a shot off in the very short 2.1 seconds that remained in the game. He said to me, “Coach, if Grant throws a good pass, I’ll catch it.”

  Both players said that they could and, more importantly, that they would accomplish their assigned tasks. They both made positive statements. I loved Hill’s and Laettner’s responses, because in their voices we heard confidence, and that confidence was felt throughout the entire team. It is so vital in a group for each member to hear the team message echoed by more than one voice. Christian and Grant both exuded confidence in themselves and in our team, and as a result, we left that huddle all feeling like we would be winners.

  It all went according to plan. Grant threw the ball to Christian, as promised, and Christian caught the ball, dribbled once, turned around, and took our team’s shot. The ball left his hand and, while it seemed to hang in the air forever, the clock expired. It went in. Pandemonium.

  A lot of people say that we were lucky that day. I say, luck favors those who have spent their preparation time building effective systems of communication and trust in one another. That way, when a crisis occurs for you, within your family, your team, or your business, it can turn into an opportunity to shine.

  Culture

  Making shots counts—but not as much as the people who make them.

  Developing a culture means having a tradition that maintains the standards you want to define your program. A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on “x’s and o’s” as compared to time spent learning about people. Culture is established by the people who compose your team and is carried on through those people. In other words, culture can only exist through the relationships among the people who make up your group, those in the back offices and on the front lines. A successful development of culture means that you hear different voices echoing the same message throughout the organization—now, through the history of your program, and into its future. But you cannot merely expect culture to be a natural occurrence; it has to be taught and made a part of your everyday routine.