I shared this in another thread, but in view of last night’s performance I felt it was worth mentioning again.
I have a friend with connections to a few NBA scouts, former assistants and the team. A while back we had an interesting discussion. Apparently, on multiple levels, it is believed the team has a few self-perceived alpha males who are or have been difficult to coach and/or are seemingly incessant whiners. It is believed their “tale wages the dog†attitude and actions have had a synergistically negative impact on team chemistry and performance. Hearing this the scout commented saying, “the NBA has the best athletes in the world playing a spectacular game better than it has ever been played before and we have almost zero-tolerance for pacifier prima donnas.†He went on to say one of the greatest constants in basketball is change. If you can’t accept changes in coaching staff, philosophies or positions played, you will almost certainly never make it in the NBA! It was interesting to hear it said that no other trait will help you if you are not humble enough to listen, learn and execute. Prior to that discussion, I hadn’t really considered that being coachable was almost as highly regarded as athletic ability.
With the comradery and team chemistry apparently being compromised in what was characterized as a “whiner vs winner†battle among teammates, it appears more coachable team leaders may have become frustrated with the whiners attitudes, actions and tale wages the dog displays. A former ISU assistant said the whiners on the team have been calling him to complain about the coaching changes and increased emphasis on defense among other things. This former assistant said, the arrogance and lack of willingness to be coached among some players has prompted a new strategy. Apparently, the coaches are now attempting to encourage, coach or direct certain “pacifier prima donnas or whiners†through handlers or other third party intermediaries rather than “mano e mano.â€
I left that discussion believing the arrogance and resistance to coaching directives has already greatly reduced the stock value of some of our players from a NBA perspective. From my chair, it appears the players need to wake up, assume the mantel of responsibility, call a “player only†team meeting and resolve the issues that are alleged to exist.
I have a friend with connections to a few NBA scouts, former assistants and the team. A while back we had an interesting discussion. Apparently, on multiple levels, it is believed the team has a few self-perceived alpha males who are or have been difficult to coach and/or are seemingly incessant whiners. It is believed their “tale wages the dog†attitude and actions have had a synergistically negative impact on team chemistry and performance. Hearing this the scout commented saying, “the NBA has the best athletes in the world playing a spectacular game better than it has ever been played before and we have almost zero-tolerance for pacifier prima donnas.†He went on to say one of the greatest constants in basketball is change. If you can’t accept changes in coaching staff, philosophies or positions played, you will almost certainly never make it in the NBA! It was interesting to hear it said that no other trait will help you if you are not humble enough to listen, learn and execute. Prior to that discussion, I hadn’t really considered that being coachable was almost as highly regarded as athletic ability.
With the comradery and team chemistry apparently being compromised in what was characterized as a “whiner vs winner†battle among teammates, it appears more coachable team leaders may have become frustrated with the whiners attitudes, actions and tale wages the dog displays. A former ISU assistant said the whiners on the team have been calling him to complain about the coaching changes and increased emphasis on defense among other things. This former assistant said, the arrogance and lack of willingness to be coached among some players has prompted a new strategy. Apparently, the coaches are now attempting to encourage, coach or direct certain “pacifier prima donnas or whiners†through handlers or other third party intermediaries rather than “mano e mano.â€
I left that discussion believing the arrogance and resistance to coaching directives has already greatly reduced the stock value of some of our players from a NBA perspective. From my chair, it appears the players need to wake up, assume the mantel of responsibility, call a “player only†team meeting and resolve the issues that are alleged to exist.
