Almost every year
someone will ask me if making the NCAA tournament ever gets old.
When it does it means I am too old. It really is an honor to be
playing in sports’ showcase event. There is absolutely nothing
like the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The tournament is much different then it was just a few short
years ago. At one time you could look at the bracket and quickly
get a pretty good idea as to who would get through the first
weekend of the tournament. Sure there would be a surprise or
two, but nothing like we have seen in recent years.
Who could have foreseen Jim Larranaga and George Mason beating
Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut to
advance to the Final Four?
Outside of the Missouri Valley Conference were there a lot of
people that really believed both Bradley and Wichita State would
emerge in the Sweet 16 last season. And Bradley had to beat the
likes of Kansas and Pittsburgh to get there as a No. 13 seed.
Is there really such a thing as an upset anymore?
Two years ago it was the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin that
played like the team from the power conference. Then UWM head
coach Bruce Pearl and his team was impressive in wins over
Alabama and Boston College. And they certainly did not back down
from the challenge of facing Illinois, the eventual national
runner-up.
The landscape of college basketball is ever changing. We are not
that from removed from a time when a run like Panthers had in
2005 or Bradley in 2006 would have stunned everyone. George
Mason’s run would have been inconceivable.
Now I don’t think anyone is stunned or shocked with the results
in the tournament any longer. Perhaps there is a little surprise
and even eyebrow or two are raised, but those who follow it
closely know better.
Everyone fully expects the unexpected. Now it’s a matter of
determining where it will come from.
Expanded media coverage has helped to bring attention to so many
programs, long before the brackets are announced on Selection
Sunday. Prior to their run in 2005, Coach Pearl’s team spent the
previous two months ranked among the top five in
collegeinsider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25 and they played a
nationally televised game against Hawaii in ESPN’s Bracket
Buster.
Last season it was George Mason that enjoyed an extended stay at
the top of the mid-major rankings. And somewhere, tucked away in
one of the four regions, is another UW-Milwaukee, another
Bradley, another George Mason.
I have often said and it’s worth repeating that there is nothing
quite like March. Baseball fans love October and sports fans
everywhere gather on Super Bowl Sunday to watch the game.
But this is different. This is special.
In a couple of weeks it’s likely that four familiar names will
be on their way to Atlanta for the 2007 Final Four. But fourteen
days is an eternity in March.
There is nothing quite like the NCAA tournament.
Effort is Non-Negotiable
by Kelvin
Sampson
One of the biggest
challenges facing every coach is trying to convince their team
that they can still improve. It’s something that every coach,
regardless of record, deals with on a regular basis. But often
overlooked is the ability to convey that message to a team that
is already doing exceptionally well.
Take coaches like Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams. Every season
their programs are among the top ranked teams in America.
Their teams always play well from November through January, but
they get even better in February and March.
Success is often short-lived and in the world of college
basketball is -- at best -- a temporary thing. Even Mike and Roy
will tell you that the yesterdays are ancient history. It’s
always a matter of the now and the immediate future.
During a recent conversation with a friend I was reminded of how
John Thompson’s Georgetown teams always seemed to elevate to a
higher level in February. Coach Thompson’s teams, which were
among the nation’s elite in the early-to-mid-1980’s, always took
it to another level down the stretch. That is what made them so
special.
John, Mike and Roy may vary in their approaches, but there is a
common thread. The goal was to make the players believe that as
good as they are today they can still be much better tomorrow.
I have always believed that it begins with effort and
maintaining that through practice. It’s relatively simple -- You
don’t negotiate effort.
There is such a thin red line between being good and being great
that something as elementary as effort is often the difference.
Think about those old Georgetown teams. Can you ever remember
one of John Thompson’s teams losing because of a lack of effort?
When was the last time you heard someone say that a Mike
Krzyzewski coached team didn’t play hard? And I got a close look
at Roy Williams’ teams -- when he was at Kansas – so I can tell
you that effort was never an issue.
A lot of things -- both good and bad -- can happen in February
and March. As coaches we deal with the bad because it’s part of
the process. Sometimes you are going to lose. It’s part of the
game. What we can’t deal with is a lack of effort.
As I alluded to above, approaches to maintaining that level and
convincing a team they can improve vary. This time of year I
have always tried to create more upbeat and intense practice
environments. It’s a long season so it’s important to not wear
your team out, but you also don’t want them to become
complacent.
In February we will engaged in highly competitive practices that
will last from ninety to an hour-and-forty-five minutes, rather
than an extended three-hour practice. Sometimes less is more.
Six months is a long season. From the first workout to the final
game, the goal is to improve. For everyone it’s a constant
battle, always fighting to move forward. The methods are
different, but ultimate goal is the same.
Championships are never won in January, but they can certainly
be lost before the calendar turns to February.
Effort is what is often the degree of separation. Everyone has
talent so it is quite often a matter of who has more effort on
that possession, that game, that month and that entire season.
