“The great thing about basketball is you work as hard as you can to individually get better so that your team can win” – Doug Collins
“This is a team game and one man doesn’t win and one man doesn’t lose. In the end, the best team usually wins” – Wilt Chamberlain
“The time when there is no one there to feel sorry for you or to cheer for you is when a player is made” – Tim Duncan
“The biggest thing is getting our guys to understand, you can’t let one mistake compound into another mistake” – Thad Matta
“Working hard is one thing, but working hard with purpose is what separates the good from the great” – Thad Matta
“Good defensive play is as much a matter of hustle, desire and pride as it is anything else” – Tex Winter
“There is no substitution for hustle, and if you don’t hustle there will be substitution” – Tex Winter
“Players act like the floor is slanted; they run downhill on fast breaks and jog uphill when getting back on defense” – Tates Locke
“Empower the people around you, from the janitor to the athletic director. You do that by being sincere, caring about others, and then putting it into practice” – Sue Gunter
“You should always want your coach to be critical. It gives you an opportunity to learn and to overcome adversity” – Steve Nash
“I know the strengths and weaknesses of my teammates. I make my passing decisions accordingly” – Steve Nash
“You create shots for yourself by what you do without the ball more than what you do after you get it” – Steve Alford
“We try to stress the little things. Because little things lead to big things” – Steve Alford
“Coaching is not what you know, but what you can get your players to do on the court” – Stan Van Gundy
“We have the mentality of the hunter. We want to be the most enthusiastic team in the country. That’s what we can control” – Shaka Smart
“I recruit character as much as I recruit ability. And if you’ve built a team of character, they can handle moments that others cannot and they accept coaching on how to manage pressure” – Roy Williams
“I was taught to play the game from a total team concept. To be able to do everything reasonably well and some things extraordinarily well. If I’m not shooting well, I’ll try to be an asset in other ways – like defense, passing, rebounding, and hustle” – Rick Barry
“Love never fails. Character never Quits. And with patience and persistence, dreams do come true” – Pete Maravich
“You can run a lot of plays when your X is twice as big as the other guys’ O. It makes your X’s and O’s pretty good” – Paul Westphal
“Professional coaches measure success in rings. College coaches measure success in championships. High School coaches measure success to titles. Youth coaches measure success in smiles” – Paul McAllister
“Character is huge for me. Does he care about winning or does he care about playing?” – Otis Smith
“Our conditioning program begins the first day of class. The running portion is very demanding. It has physiological advantages, as well as psychological advantages” – Norm Sloan
“I would rather have a player who has mastered two or three moves than to try to teach him six or seven” – Norm Sloan
“Evaluate wins and losses objectively, focusing more on effort and execution than on the outcome of the game” – Morgan Wootten
“You don’t need great skill to be a tough rebounder; being a rebounder is all about effort, determination, and physicality” – Mike Malone
“The more things we can get kids to do correctly off the court, the more they will do correctly on the court” – Mike Jarvis
“Emphasize small goals when you have a team that isn’t going to win a lot of games” – Mike Dunlap
“It’s fun to play defense. It’s fun to watch the opponent sweat on offense, start complaining to the officials, and eventually be taken out of the game because he’s making so many offensive mistakes” – Maury John
“Everybody on a championship team doesn’t get publicity, but everyone can say they are a champion” – Magic Johnson
“All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them” – Magic Johnson
“Any guy who can maintain a positive attitude without much playing time earns my respect” – Magic Johnson
“It always amazes me that spectators want to coach, coaches want to officiate, and officials just want to watch the game” – Lou Holtz
“You’ve got to be accountable for who you are. It’s too easy to blame things on someone else” – Lenny Wilkins
The most important quality I look for in a player is accountability. You’ve got to be accountable for who you are. It’s too easy to blame things on someone else” – Lenny Wilkins
“I learned early that if I wanted to achieve anything in life, I’d have to do it myself. I learned that I had to be accountable” – Lenny Wilkens
“I love seeing my teammates succeed. That’s what I get more excited about than anything” – LeBron James
“Winning is the first priority. Individual development is important, but if each guy gets better, the team gets better” – Lawrence Frank
“You must have your player’s heads and hearts before they will do anything for you” – Lawrence Frank
“You always have to be on edge. You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last” – Kobe Bryant
“It’s not about the number of hours you practice, it’s about the number of hours your mind is present during the practice” – Kobe Bryant
“Our offensive philosophy is to simply find a way to get the ball into the hands of our team’s best player” – Kelvin Sampson
“A team is a group of players who support one another on court and who think of the group before they think of themselves” – KC Jones
“I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence” – Julius Erving
“Everyone wants to do what the great ones do; but very few are willing to do what they did to become great” – Jon Gordon
“You need to work as hard to be a great teammate as you do to be a great player” – Jon Gordon
“You need to be tough enough to make the hustle plays, run down loose balls, run down long boards and communicate on defense” – John Thompson
“Keep it simple. I’m not interested in trying to prove to my players that I’m a genius” – John Thompson
“One of the hardest things a player must learn to do is when to start a dribble and when to stop a dribble” – John Thompson
“Whether I start or come off the bench makes no difference to me. My game has always been go as hard as I can as long as I can” – John Havlicek
“If you are honest with yourself and can look into a mirror and believe that you have given 100 percent, you should feel proud. If you cannot, then there is more work to be done” – John Havlicek
“Freshman want to play. Sophomores want to start. Juniors want to score. Seniors want to win” – John Beilein
“On good teams coaches hold players accountable, on great teams players hold players accountable” – Joe Dumars
“Praise your kids. Inspire and motivate your players with praise. Ten years from now it won’t matter what your record was. Will your kids love you or hate you?” – Jim Harrick
“Your ability to communicate to your young people will determine your success” – Jim Harrick
“Don’t let talent get in way of team performance. Great players do what’s outstanding for team, not what makes them stand out” – Jerry West
“Confidence is everything in this game, if you don’t think you can, you won’t” – Jerry West
“The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy” – Jerry Tarkanian
“In 19 years Stockton never once lost a suicide drill in practice. Well, there was one day. He was sick. But he still ran it” – Jerry Sloan
The greatest compliment to any player is he is a great teammate. We can’t all be great players, but we can all be great teammates” – Jay Bilas
“The tough player is the one who is difficult to play against and easy to play with” – Jay Bilas
“Hard work is not punishment. Hard work is the price of admission for the opportunity to reach sustained excellence” – Jay Bilas
“The players I respected most were the toughest players, not those who talked a good game or blocked a shot and acted like a fool” – Jay Bilas
“Championship teams are built on being prepared, playing unselfishly and being held accountable” – Jason Kidd
“I have had some bad shooting games but that doesn’t stop me from getting the ball to my teammates” – Jason Kidd
“A lot of late nights in the gym, a lot of early mornings, especially when your friends are going out, you’re going to the gym, those are the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to be an NBA basketball player” – Jason Kidd
“When your best player puts it on the line every day, the other guys can’t cut corners” – George Karl
“Everyday we are going to fight lazy and soft. It’s completely unacceptable. You have to be demanding” – George Karl
“I don’t hire good coaches, I hire good people. If they turn out to be good coaches, too, that’s a plus” – Geno Auriemma
“Yeah, I’m going to try to win the national championship next year. But I’m not going to kill myself doing it. I’m not going to kill my players either. You really start to realize there’s a lot more to what we’re trying to do then winning games” – Geno Auriemma
“If your bigs rim run at full speed it not only increases the potential for a quick layup, but opens up court for guards” – Fred Hoiberg
“At the end of the day, no matter how well you score, you’ve got to be able to stop people” – Eric Musselman
“Coaching is a profession of love. You can’t coach people unless you love them” – Eddie Robinson
“Work as hard as you can to become as good an individual player as you can to help your team win” – Doug Collins
“When your teammate looks you in the eye and holds you accountable, that’s the greatest kind of leadership there is” – Doug Collins
“What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time” – Don Zimmer
“Most of my learning and philosophy regarding coaching basketball was developed after great frustration” – Dick Bennett
“For us to be successful on defense, we must get back and stop the basketball, eliminate easy baskets, keep the ball out of the lane, and bother the shooters” – Dick Bennett
“There has never been a great ‘silent’ defense” – Del Harris
“Our job is to teach young people how to do things that make them successful on the court, in the classroom, and after graduation” – David Shaw
“You’re always going to face criticism, you’re always going to face challenges, but those things are there to make you stronger and more committed” – David Robinson
“Basketball is a game of sacrificing yourself for the next guy, being a team that takes good shots, and taking the right shots” – David Blatt
“The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other and sacrifice personal glory for the common goal” – Dave DeBusschere
“The only lasting form of discipline is self-imposed discipline” – Dale Brown
“Leadership is difficult. It is a lonely responsibility. The best leaders are servants. It is always about others” – Dale Brown
“I’m a lot better coach when I have really good players” – Chuck Daly
“Offense is spacing and spacing is offense” – Chuck Daly
“Players have to buy into your system and be willing to accept the role, you, as the coach, have assigned to them” – Chuck Daly
“Defense doesn’t break down on the help, it breaks down on the recovery” – Chuck Daly
“It’s discouraging to make a mistake, but it’s humiliating when you find out you’re so unimportant that nobody noticed it” – Chuck Daly
“If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful” – Charles Barkley
“Kids are great. That’s one of the best things about our business, all the kids you get to meet. It’s a shame they have to grow up to be regular people and come to the games and call you names” – Charles Barkley
“I know that I’m never as good or bad as any single performance. I’ve never believed my critics or my worshippers, and I’ve always been able to leave the game at the arena” – Charles Barkley
“I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I’ve got a technique It’s called just go get the damn ball” – Charles Barkley
“There’s a disposition great defenders have — a genuine pride that scores are a problem, people that score on me is a problem” – Brett Brown
“I never think about missing a free throw. All that goes through my mind when I’m at the line is seeing the ball go through the bottom of the net” – Brad Daugherty
“Developing better people should be the number one goal for any coach when dealing with kids” – Bobby Orr
“This is basketball, not figure skating. You don’t get extra points for degree of difficulty” – Bob Hurley
“A bad day coaching basketball is better than a good day doing almost anything else” – Bob Hurley
“Basketball is not an equal opportunity game. If you can’t shoot it well, you don’t get to shoot” – Bob Donewald
“I dribbled by the hour with my left hand when I was young. I didn’t have full control, but I got so I could move the ball back and forth from one hand to the other without breaking the cadence of my dribble. I wasn’t dribbling behind my back or setting up any trick stuff, but I was laying the groundwork for it” – Bob Cousy
“Do your best when no one is looking. If you do that, then you can be successful in anything that you put your mind to” – Bob Cousy
I recruit hungry kids who love the game and want to get better and feel they have more questions than answers” – Bo Ryan
“Shot fakes and ball fakes work. No one uses more than Wisconsin. It’s amazing how many people don’t use them” – Bo Ryan
“I didn’t get into teaching and coaching for the number of wins or the money. It was a passion for trying to help young people” – Bo Ryan
“As players see themselves getting better through skill sessions, they will want to get in the gym more” – Billy Donovan
“If you don’t feel you have something to prove every day, you’ll never improve” – Billy Donovan
“If I can’t expect someone to be accountable off the floor, how can I expect them to guard a pick and roll? Or get a rebound?” – Billy Donovan
False Hustle = cheap fouls, lunging, reaching, etc” – Billy Donovan
“Systems win! Believe in your system, and then sell it to your players” – Billy Donovan
“Winning is about having the whole team on the same page” – Bill Walton
“Champions behave like champions before they are champions” – Bill Walsh
“Desire outweighs footwork when it comes to crashing the glass” – Bill Self
“A team divided against itself can break down at any moment. The least bit of pressure or adversity will crack it apart” – Bill Parcells
“Winning coaches look for opportunities to praise. Anything that reflects a commitment to the team is praiseworthy” – Bill Parcells
“You can easily separate ‘team guys’ from ‘me guys’ by how they accept coaching. The guys that accept it are about winning” – Bill Parcells
“Until you can reach in and grab that kids heart, you can’t coach him” – Bill McNees
“Mental Toughness is doing the right thing for the team when it’s not the best thing for you” – Bill Belichick
“On a team it’s not the strength of the individual players, but the strength of the unit and how they all function together” – Bill Belichick
“Talent sets the floor, character sets the ceiling” – Bill Belichick
“Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you” – Anonymous
“People do not differ in their desire to win; they differ in the price they are willing to pay to win” – Alan Stein
“It doesn’t matter how athletic or skilled a player is, if they have a low I.Q., they won’t be very good” – Alan Stein
“Winning is overemphasized. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war” – Al McGuire
“Help one kid at a time. He’ll maybe go back and help a few more” – Al McGuire
“Your defense will save you on the nights that your offense isn’t working” – Adolph Rupp
“He who controlleth the backboard, controlleth the game” – Adolph Rupp
In all my years one thing has never changed; You win with serious, tough-minded players. That never changes” – Tom Thibodeau
“The guys who take shortcuts, who aren’t ready, they fail when their opportunity comes” – Tom Thibodeau
“People always talk about going on offensive runs. But you can go on defensive runs too” – Tom Thibodeau
“You learn from everybody. You learn from the players. You learn from great coaches. You learn from great teams” – Tom Thibodeau
“You have to have a mentality. This is a business. This ain’t hanging out having a good time” – Tom Thibodeau
“Discipline is the greatest form of love you can show someone. Great players crave discipline” – Tom Izzo
“We want men here, not just players. Players are a dime a dozen” – Tom Izzo
“We are in the trophy generation.Give them a trophy for 23rd place.That makes the parents happy” – Tom Izzo
“Today’s society wants to skip the process. And I hate that” – Tom Izzo
“I haven’t always recruited for the best talent. I’ve taken a few guys who would fit for different reasons. Leadership. Toughness” – Tom Izzo
“Not talking on the floor is the least recognized form of selfishness but maybe the most dangerous to your team having success” – Tom Crean
“You must be unselfish and accept the role that helps the team the most” – Tom Crean
As a coach, I’m never going to do anything to embarrass you. As a player, you can never do anything to embarrass the program” – Tom Crean
“Players that learn the value of hard work, commitment, teamwork, and sacrifice are the ones that make their teams great” – Tom Crean
“Never let fundamentals and building skills take a backseat to game planning. Game plans win games. Fundamentals win championships” – Tom Crean
“You’ve got to get a toughness and a level of basketball IQ that matchup because that’s what the best teams have” – Tom Crean
“One of the biggest keys to offense is eliminating the weakside help that allows defenders to stop penetration from the wing” – Tom Crean
“Success isn’t the same as talent. The world is full of incredibly talented people who never succeed at anything” – Tim Grover
“When you’re tired, sore, and can’t do more, that’s the time to do more” – Tim Grover
“Bottom line – if you want success of any kind; you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable” – Tim Grover
“Mental toughness is believing, without a doubt, that whatever happens, you got this” – Tim Grover
“Success isn’t the same as talent. The world is full of incredibly talented people who never succeed at anything” – Tim Grover
“No trainer or coach or expert can make you good or great or unstoppable if you’re not going to do the work” – Tim Grover
“Don’t coach mad” – Rick Pitino
“Long term success is a direct result of what you achieve everyday. Goals provide your daily routine” – Rick Pitino
“The more you lose, the more positive you have to become. When you’re winning, you can ride players harder because their self-esteem is high. If you are losing and you try to be tough, you’re asking for dissension” – Rick Pitino
“Inferior guards play on the sidelines and great guards play in the middle. Isiah, Magic, Chris Paul, all get to the middle” – Rick Pitino
“The key to coaching is not what you do, but the way you do it. The intangibles, the motivational parts of the game are the most important facets of it” – Rick Pitino
“True motivation is not getting people to play to their potential. It’s getting people to play beyond their potential” – Rick Pitino
“Learning what not to do is sometimes more important than learning what to do” – Rick Pitino
“Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer” – Rick Pitino
“Success is determined by your daily choices and habits” – Rick Pitino
“The basic premise of my system is to fatigue your opponents with constant pressure defensively and constant movement offensively” – Rick Pitino
“Set higher standards for your own performance than anyone else around you, and your only competition will be with yourself” – Rick Pitino
“If you are not willing to work hard and establish discipline in your life, then all your dreams are merely pipe dreams” – Rick Pitino
“Failure is good. It’s fertilizer. Everything I’ve learned about coaching, I’ve learned from making mistakes” – Rick Pitino
“If you want to have a lot of success, you need to have a lot of failure” – Rick Majerus
“My players on defense must have a hand-up on every shot. If not, they run sprints” – Rick Majerus
“Switch if you have to! It’s not the mismatch that beats you, it’s the open shot!” – Rick Majerus
“One of the biggest reasons I like coaching college ball is the kids. I feel I can impact players’ lives” – Rick Majerus
“To win the big games you must get to the free throw line, and then you must make them” – Rick Majerus
“Most lay-ups and two foot jump shots around the goal are missed by not putting the ball up high enough on the backboard” – Rick Majerus
“Some say you have to use your five best players, but I found out you win with the five that fit together best as a team” – Red Auerbach
“I don’t believe in statistics. There are too many factors that can’t be measured. You can’t measure a ballplayer’s heart” – Red Auerbach
“The coach should be the absolute boss, but he still should maintain an open mind” – Red Auerbach
“Be and look prepared. Be a man on integrity. Never break your word. Don’t have two sets of standards. Stand up for your players. Show them you care on and off the court” – Red Auerbach
I can’t stand a ballplayer who plays in fear. Any fellow who has a good shot has got to take it and keep taking it. So he misses – so what?” – Red Auerbach
“Everyone is born with a certain potential. You may never achieve your full potential, but how close you come depends on how much you’re willing to pay the price” – Red Auerbach
“You don’t win games as a coach during games. You win games as a coach before games. Players win during games, not coaches” – Red Auerbach
“Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up” – Red Auerbach
“The greatness of Michael Jordan is his competitive drive. The weakness of Michael Jordan is his competitive drive” – Phil Jackson
“In basketball — as in life — true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way” – Phil Jackson
“Basketball is a sport that involves the subtle interweaving of players at full speed to the point where they are thinking and moving as one” – Phil Jackson
“Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We” – Phil Jackson
“Basketball is a simple game. Your goal is penetration, get the ball close to the basket, and there are three ways to do that. Pass, dribble and offensive rebound” – Phil Jackson
“Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I’m doing” – Phil Jackson
“Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others out-weighing your concern for yourself” – Phil Jackson
Once you’ve done the mental work, there comes a point where you have to throw yourself into the action and put your heart on the line” – Phil Jackson
“Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart” – Phil Jackson
“I thrive on challenges, and there is no more imposing challenge for someone in my profession than winning an NBA title” – Phil Jackson
“You can’t force your will on people. If you want them to act differently, you need to inspire them to change themselves” – Phil Jackson
“The two ingredients for success in basketball are playing hard and playing intelligently” – Pete Carril
“Get the kids to understand that they shouldn’t worry about who makes the shot, only whether or not the shot is made” – Pete Carril
“The quality of the pass leads directly to the quality of the shot” – Pete Carril
“Bad shooters are always open” – Pete Carril
“A guy who gives you less than what he has to give is, one, telling you what he thinks of you, and two, telling you what he thinks of himself” – Pete Carril
“I don’t recruit players who are nasty to their parents. I look for players who realize the world doesn’t revolve around them” – Pete Carril
“Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning. Losing forces you to reexamine” – Pat Summitt
“Confidence is what happens when you’ve done the hard work that entitles you to succeed” – Pat Summitt
“Teamwork doesn’t come naturally. It must be taught” – Pat Summitt
“Discipline is the only sure way I know to convince people to believe in themselves” – Pat Summitt
“We communicate all the time, even when we don’t realize it. Be aware of body language” – Pat Summitt
“Admit to and make yourself accountable for mistakes. How can you improve if you’re never wrong?” – Pat Summitt
“You can’t always be the most talented person in the room. But you can be the most competitive” – Pat Summitt
“I want to continue to do is to help these young women be successful. You don’t just say goodbye at the end of their playing careers and end it there” – Pat Summitt
“Never be ready to play yesterday. Being ready to play today is what’s important” – Pat Riley
“There are only two options regarding commitment… you’re either in or you’re out. There’s no such thing as life in-between” – Pat Riley
“To have long-term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way” – Pat Riley
“Great effort springs naturally from a great attitude” – Pat Riley
“If you get tough mentally, you can get tough physically and overcome fatigue” – Pat Riley
No rebounds – no rings” – Pat Riley
“It’s what you get from games you lose that is extremely important” – Pat Riley
“In all the research you do as a coach, studying other coaches and championship-type situations, you find that all those teams combined talent with great defense. You’ve got to stop other teams to win” – Pat Riley
“Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers” – Pat Riley
“The true warrior understands and seizes that moment by giving an effort so intense and so intuitive that it could only be called one from the heart” – Pat Riley
“Great players and great teams want to be driven. They want to be pushed to the edge. They don’t want to be cheated. Ordinary players and average teams want it to be easy” – Pat Riley
“If the only reason I coached was to win basketball games, my life would be pretty shallow” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Each group and each youngster is different. As a leader or coach, you get to know what they need” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Footwork is one of the primary prerequisites to becoming a great player” – Mike Krzyzewski
“I have a rule on my team: when we talk to one another, we look each other right in the eye, because I think it’s tough to lie to somebody. You give respect to somebody” – Mike Krzyzewski
“I don’t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball” – Mike Krzyzewski
“There are 5 fundamental qualities that make every team great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride” – Mike Krzyzewski
“If a team cannot perform with excellence at a moment’s notice, they probably will fail in the long run” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Believe that the loose ball that you are chasing has your name wirtten on it” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Goals should be realistic, attainable, and shared among all members of the team” – Mike Krzyzewski
“The thing I love the most about teaching, is that you can connect with and see an individual or group exceed their limits” – Mike Krzyzewski
“You don’t just be a team. You become a team. Through tough games you find that you need each other” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Effort is fully replenishable. There is no need to save any of it. Leave every bit you have on the playing field” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Don’t confuse your path with your destination. Just because its stormy now doesn’t mean you aren’t headed for sunshine” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Champions play as they practice. Create a consistency of excellence in all your habits” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Play and practice like you are trying to make the team” – Mike Krzyzewski
“I have a plan of action, but the game is a game of adjustments” – Mike Krzyzewski
“When you win, sometimes it overshadows a poor performance” – Mike Krzyzewski
“If what you have did yesterday still looks big to you… You haven’t done much today” – Mike Krzyzewski
“In developing teams, I don’t believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don’t promote teamwork, standards do” – Mike Krzyzewski
“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” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Every season is a journey. Every journey is a lifetime” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Everybody wants to take responsibility when you win, but when you fail, all these fingers are pointing” – Mike Krzyzewski
“I’m looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm and passion” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Everyone wants to be on a team. They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be in a situation where they feel that they are doing something for the greater good” – Mike Krzyzewski
“Defense is one man guarding the ball and four others helping him” – Mike Krzyzewski
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them” – Michael Jordan
“Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night” – Michael Jordan
“If it turns out that my best wasn’t good enough, at least I wont look back and say that I was afraid to try” – Michael Jordan
“I’m not out there sweating for 3 hrs just to find out what it’s like to sweat” – Michael Jordan
“If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it” – Michael Jordan
“Heart is what separates the good from the great” – Michael Jordan
“I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results” – Michael Jordan
“Being afraid on the court means you’re not confident of your skills” – Michael Jordan
“There have been times when I have failed. But there have never been times when I thought I would fail” – Michael Jordan
“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them” – Michael Jordan
“Accept a loss as a learning experience, and never point fingers at your teammates” – Michael Jordan
“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise” – Michael Jordan
“I’m a firm believer in goal setting. Step by step. I can’t see any other way of accomplishing anything” – Michael Jordan
“Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion” – Michael Jordan
“All the successful teams I’ve ever seen have 3 characteristics: They play unselfish, they play together, and they play hard” – Larry Brown
“Kids today don’t know the difference between instruction and criticism” – Larry Brown
“I feel all great teams have two things in common: defense and rebounding. So, we stress defense and rebounding every day as the most important aspects in the game to win” – Larry Brown
“As a coach, I feel if you can get your players to play hard and together on the defensive end, they will automatically be unselfish at the offensive end” – Larry Brown
“The point guard is there to serve others; to keep them involved and organised” – Larry Brown
“Failure does not come from losing, but from not trying” – Larry Brown
“There are many times when you are better off practicing than playing; but most people just don’t understand that” – Larry Bird
“Don’t let winning make you soft. Don’t let losing make you quit. Don’t let your teammates down in any situation” – Larry Bird
Coaches can talk and talk and talk about something, but if you get it on tape and show it to them, it is so much more effective” – Larry Bird
“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end” – Larry Bird
“Once you are labeled ‘the best’ you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around” – Larry Bird
“It doesn’t matter who scores the points. It’s who gets the ball to the scorer” – Larry Bird
“When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro” – Larry Bird
“Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds” – Larry Bird
I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me” – Larry Bird
“Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. I didn’t play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals. You’ve got to have them down before you can even think about playing” – Larry Bird
“Leadership is diving for a loose ball. It’s about being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way your going to get respect from other players” – Larry Bird
