THOUGHTS FROM DICK BENNETT

Some thoughts from Dick Bennett

“My way to beat the best is to find players who believe in what we are doing, who buy into it whole-heartedly.”

“Though repetition. I’m going to take a very simple approach to offense and defense. Try to place an emphasis of execution and minimize the decisions they have to make, enabling them to make good ones. I’ll emphasize taking care of the ball, taking good shots, hitting the glass hard, and being very sound as a team defensively.”

“I think motivation is the link that makes it all possible. There isn’t anything more important.”

“I teach teams. I don’t teach players. My strength is trying things together.”

“Your players will do what you emphasize, not what you teach them.”

“Here’s what I came up with: get open to score, get second shots, and force turnovers with ball pressure.”

“It’s a paradoxical statement, but it takes incredible personal discipline to play with great freedom.”

“I must learn what I can, to teach what I must.”

“When we begin coaching we tend to relate almost everything to our former coaches, so having solid people that you look to early is vital.”

“I can’t sacrifice integrity for talent.”

“I only have one life. I can’t separate my personal life from basketball. If I can’t bring my faith and family into the office, I feel fragmented.”

“A really solid basketball player is typically solid off the court, valuing the same intangibles both on and off the basketball court — intangibles such selflessness, intelligence, and intensity.”

-Dick Bennett
From “A Season with Coach Dick Bennett”
By Eric Ferris