Inspiration often comes from those who come before us and those we aspire to one day be like. Use these quotes to inspire and motivate you to move to a new level and become a better basketball coach.
“I always designed my practice plans the night before and then made tweaks a few hours before practice began” – Bob Knight
“The key is to maintain an evenness. Try to play one possession at a time, regardless of what happened on the last possession” – Brad Stevens
“What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it” – Dean Smith
“I’m looking for activity. I put players in and take them out based on effort and defense, not making or missing shots” – Doc Rivers
“Plays are not as important as players, and players are not as important as teammates” – Don Meyer
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“The worst day coaching is better than the best day doing anything else” – Don Meyer
“No one is bigger than the team. If you can’t do things our way, you’re not getting time here and we don’t care who you are” – Gregg Popovich
“Don’t try to imitate other coaches. Be your own person with your own style and do your own thing” – Hubie Brown
“Other people go to the office. I get to coach. I know I’ve been blessed” – Jim Valvano
“What do you do to help us win when you’re not scoring baskets?” – John Calipari
“1. Be on time.
2. Never criticize a teammate.
3. Never use profanity”
– John Wooden
“A coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with authority” – John Wooden
“You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one” – John Wooden
“Put great thought to what and how you practice. Once practice is done you can never get that time back. Did you simulate the game?” – Kevin Eastman
All the successful teams I’ve ever seen have 3 characteristics: They play unselfish, they play together, and they play hard” – Larry Brown
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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
“In developing teams, I don’t believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don’t promote teamwork, standards do” – Mike Krzyzewski
“We communicate all the time, even when we don’t realize it. Be aware of body language” – Pat Summitt
“Switch if you have to! It’s not the mismatch that beats you, it’s the open shot!” – Rick Majerus
“Not talking on the floor is the least recognized form of selfishness but maybe the most dangerous to your team having success” – Tom Crean
“Discipline is the greatest form of love you can show someone. Great players crave discipline” – Tom Izzo
“A bad day coaching basketball is better than a good day doing almost anything else” – Bob Hurley
“Offense is spacing and spacing is offense” – Chuck Daly
“Don’t ever have a rule that you won’t enforce with your best player” – Doug Collins
“The more things we can get kids to do correctly off the court, the more they will do correctly on the court” – Mike Jarvis
