BASKETBALL QUOTES
A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand ... if you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play! (Mike Krzyzewski)
A Coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with authority. (John Wooden)
A good defense doesn't break down on the help; it breaks down on the recovery. (Chuck Daly)
A person really doesn't become whole, until he becomes a part of something that's bigger than himself. (Jim Valvano)
A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals. (Larry Bird)
All kids need is a little help, a little hope but above all somebody who believes in them. (Magic Johnson)
Basketball is a thinking game but, as a coach, one of your major responsibilities is to take as many situations as possible out of thought processes and turn them into quick reactions requiring no thought at all. (Dick Divinzio)
Basketball is like photography, if you don't focus, all you have is the negative. (Dan Frisby)
Basketball is the second most exciting indoor sport, and the other one shouldn't have spectators …. (Dick Vertleib)
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because character is what you really are, while reputation is what others think you are. (John Wooden)
Before you give up on an individual, before you stop what it is you're trying to teach him, you have to understand that YOU ARE BOTH going to experience a period of failure. (Coach Pete Carril)
Coaches build teams, parents build players. (Charles Smyth)
Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The one's who win get inside their players and motivate. (Vince Lombardi)
Coaching is easy …. winning is the hard part! (Elgin Baylor)
Defense doesn't break down on the help, it breaks down on the recovery. (Chuck Daly)
Discipline is not a dirty word. (Pat Riley)
Don't do anything as an individual that will make you stand out from your teammates. (Mike Krzyzewski)
Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. (John Wooden)
Don't try to imitate other coaches. Be your own person with your own style and do your own thing. (Hubie Brown)
Everybody on a championship team doesn't get publicity, but everyone can say HE'S A CHAMPION. (Michael Jordan)
Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better. (Pat Riley)
Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer. (Rick Pitino)
Giving yourself permission to lose, guarantees a loss. (Pat Riley)
Goals determine what you're going to be. (Julius Erving)
Good coaching may be defined as the development of character, personality and habits of players, plus the teaching of fundamentals and team play. (Claire Bee)
Good players can take coaching; great players can take coaching AND LEARN. (John Wooden)
Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We. (Phil Jackson)
Great defense consists of 3 R's: read, react, and rotate. (P. Carr)
Great shooters are one-dribble guys.(Rick Majerus)
I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust them. (Jim Valvano)
I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying. (Michael Jordan)
I can TEACH you how to dribble, pass and shoot the right way, but I cannot MAKE you do it the right way. (Jeff Tufford)
I have never felt it was possible to illustrate how well we were doing offensively based on the number of points we scored. (Dean Smith)
I love practice. It is when a coach exercises the most control over the improvement of his or her team. (Mike Krzyzewski)
I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
I would rather have a player who has mastered two or three moves than to try to teach him six or seven. (Norm Sloan)
If a coach starts listening to fans, he winds up sitting next to them. (Coach Johnny Kerr)
If all I'm remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I've done a bad job with the rest of my life. (Isiah Thomas)
If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you … you haven't done much today. (Mike Krzyzewski)
If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome. (Michael Jordan)
If you don't want responsibility, don't sit in the big chair. To be successful, you must accept full responsibility. (Pat Summit)
If you make every game a life-and-death proposition, you're going to have problems. For one things, you'll be dead a lot. (Dean Smith)
If you want to be in the game you better shoot 75% from the line. (Pat Summitt)
I'm looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm and passion." (Mike Krzyzewski)
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)
In basketball there are only two chances: sprint or stop. (Božidar Maljković)
In going for the last shot of the game most people wait too long to take the shot. Give yourself a chance to get the first shot and tap the ball in. (Norm Sloan)
In the earlier days of my coaching career, I found it difficult at times to have the right player shooting the ball at the right time, especially at pivotal points in the game. As I thought about it, I decided that I needed to have better control of who shoots the ball and, more important, when he shoots the ball. (Bill Kuchar)
It doesn't matter who scores the points, it's who can get the ball to the scorer. (Larry Bird)
It's better to have a good player with the ball in late game situations than to have plays. (Rick Pitino)
It's hard to tell your players they have made a mistake if that is what they do in practice every day. So, I learned, over the years, that you work in practice on what you will do in the games. Every drill must duplicate a situation the player will see in a game. (Dan Peterson)
It's not what I know, but what they do on the court that really matters. (Mike Krzyzewski)
It's not what you teach, it's what you emphasize. (John Wooden)
It's not what you tell them; it's what they hear. (Red Auerbach)
It's what you learn, after you know it all, that counts. (John Wooden)
I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results. (Michael Jordan)
Leadership by all leads to leadership for none, and that spells chaos and confusion. You must be secure in your sense of unchallenged authority in order to be a real instrument in your team's success (Jim Bonder)
Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It's being able to take it as well as dish it out. That's the only way you're going to get respect from the players. (Larry Bird)
Losers celebrate yesterday's victory, winners prepare for tomorrow's challenge. (Justin Gonzales)
Losing is only temporary and not encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it. (John Wooden)
Make sure that team members know they are working WITH you, not for you. (John Wooden)
Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God's way to say nobody's perfect. (Shaquille O'Neal)
Most people have the will to win, few have the will TO PREPARE to win. (Bobby Knight)
My body could stand the crutches but my mind couldn't stand the sideline. (Michael Jordan)
Never begin practice shooting 3s. Start shooting close to the basket and gradually move out (Michael Jordan)
No rebounds - no rings. (Pat Riley)
Offering congratulations may be the last thing in the world that a coach and player feel like doing after losing a game. However , another lesson applicable in life is learned through this act. It teaches humility, and more than than, manifests the fact that not all worthy and hard-fought-for goals are reached." Jack Ramsey
On a player passing up an open shot: “You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take.” Joe Ledbetter, HS coach
On the court, the only size that matters is the heart.” Allen Iverson
One score makes happy ONE player; one assist makes happy TWO.” Toni Kukoc
Parents would rather have their son get all-state than his team win the state championship. (Don Meyer)
Players don't care how much I know, until they know how much I care. (Coach Frosty Westering)
Players will never do more than you demand. (Jimmy Tillette)
Poor body balance is related to over 65% of a team's turnovers. (Jerry Wainwright)
Probably the most important aspect of individual defensive play is the 'close-out.' This approach to the ball should be made in a 'step-drag action' with advanced foot moving forward first and then the back foot in a boxer's type shuffling of the feet. (Tex Winter)
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 - Youth Coach)
Recognize and reward players who put the team first, not just the gifted ones. (Don Meyer)
Reverse the ball one time for a good shot, two times for a great shot, three times for a layup. (John Wooden)
Size is not the most important thing about rebounding. Knowing how to use your body, seeing where the ball is going, that's what counts.(Pete Carril)
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others MAKE IT HAPPEN. (Michael Jordan)
Statistics are like bikini; you can see something, but not everything …(Božidar Maljković)
Success is never final, failure is never fatal; it's courage that counts. (John Wooden)
Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. (John Wooden)
Successful basketball programs consist of people working hard, working together, while never worrying about who gets the credit. (Don Meyer)
Talent without sacrifice it’s useful only to amuse oneself. (Javier Imbroda)
Tell them what you want done, not what you don't want done. We spend too much time telling them what they did wrong. We should spend more time telling them how we want it done. (George Raveling)
The better conditioned team will probably win in the long run; conditioning is essential to success in basketball. (John Wooden)
The coach should be the absolute boss, but he still should maintain an open mind. (Red Auerbach)
The greatest ally you have to get things working well and the players performing as a team is the bench. Don't be afraid to use it, either for the star player or anyone else. (John Wooden)
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)
The measure of who we are, is what we do with what we have. (Coach Vince Lombardi)
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)
The more your players have to think on the basketball court, the slower their feet get. (Jerry Tarkanian)
The most important lesson a coach needs to learn about feedback: what you think you're saying may not always coincide with what your players are hearing. (Coach Di Cicco)
The one thing worse than a bad shooter is a bad shooter that doesn't know he is a bad shooter. (Rick Walrond)
The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not. (Charles Barkley)
The only place where Success is before Work, is in the dictionary. (John Wooden)
The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. If you can improve players' self-esteem and confidence, get them to relax, teach visualization and routine, they will shoot as well, or better, with the pressure on. (John Calipari)
The practice plan is a living thing; it is fluid and ever-changing. But writing out the plan beforehand is a step I always take. I can't ask my players to be prepared to improve and to pursue our goal if I am not prepared. (Mike Krzyzewski)
The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy. (Jerry Tarkanian)
The trouble with referees is that they just don't care which side wins. (Coach Tom Canterbury)
The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions. (Mike Krzyzewski)
The way you practice will determine the way that you play; I do believe that strong relationships are the foundation for geat teams and that team bonding is essential; player improve individually when internal competition is created during practice. (Mike Krzyzewski)
They said you have to use your five best players but I found you win with the five who fit together the best. (Red Auerbach)
They say that nobody is perfect ... then they tell you practice makes perfect ... I wish they'd make up their minds !! (Wilt Chamberlain)
Those who work the hardest are the last to surrender. (Rick Pitino)
Unnecessary dribbles are devastating to a team, but many coaches don’t realize this, and hardly any players realize it. But to have a good team, you absolutely have to control your team’s dribbling. (Dick Divenzio)
We are more limited by our beliefs than our abilities. If you believe you are an average basketball player, you'll play like one. Believe you are a champion, and you'll eventually be one. Set your goals high and let them lift you up to where you really want to go. (Dr. Tom Amberry)
We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all of our games are played indoors. (Weldon Drew)
We spent much practice time working on end-of-game situations...In most instances I didn't want to take a time-out in these late-game situations. After all, we had worked on these things in practice and knew what to do. Calling time-out allowed the opposing coach to set his defense and make some defensive substitutions.(Dean Smith)
What to do with a mistake? Recognize it, admit it, learn from it and forget it. (Dean Smith)
When the legs go, the heart and the head follow quickly behind. (Don Meyer)
When you are speaking to your team after a game, never talk about the kid who was the star of the game. Talk about what your other players did to help the team win. Be sure to spread the wealth....then have individual meetings with one to three players to praise and reinforce. Make sure you touch them. (Mike Krzyzewski)
When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your training partner. (Coach Conor Gillen)
When you move without the ball, good things happen. (Bill Walton)
When you watch a game, be a student of that game. (Don Meyer)
Winning is overemphasized. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war. (Al McGuire)
You don’t switch to rest; you switch to attack. (Mike Anderson)
You don't beat people with surprise, you beat them with execution. (John McKay)
You don't notice the referee during the game unless he makes a bad call … (Drew Curtis)
You get what you tolerate! (Coach John Brady)
You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again. (Pat Riley)
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. (Michael Jordan)
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. (Pat Summit)
Young people need models, not critics. (John Wooden)

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