MAVS ALL ABOUT "TEAM"

Wonder why Dallas has been peaking at the right time?  Look at these quotes from two of their all-stars:

"This is a bunch of veterans who want to play and are unselfish. I think that’s what makes this group special, I mean, everybody sacrificing for each other and we just want to win. It’s been fun to play with these guys all season long, so hopefully we can have a great series.”
-Dirk Nowitzki

“There’s a point in everybody’s career where you’ve got to make certain sacrifices if you really want to get to that ultimate goal.  Sometimes you’ve got to do certain things you probably don’t want to do, or make changes you’ve never done in your whole career just to make something work. At the end, when you can get that prize, that’s all that matters."
-Shawn Marion

LESSONS LEARNED FROM MJ

I have had the opportunity to work with Michael Jordan of the Bulls and the first time I sat down to talk with him he said a few things that were fascinating to me. First, he said that when people talk about him some say that he is quick or that he is a great jumper, but he said that his pride lies in his heart and guts. He is most proud of his ability to go all out, every game, on every play, at both ends of the court. Being first team all defensive team shows him that he plays the defensive end as hard as the offensive end.


The second thing he said that impressed me was that he goes out onto the court EVERY NIGHT EXCITED. How can he be excited to play or practice every night? He said that it doesn’t matter how he gets excited, he just does. He finds a way to get fired up every night. Some nights it is the guy he is playing. Other nights it is the place he is playing. He finds a way to be excited, to play hard every minute. Most guys don’t go all out every minute, that is why he thinks he is one of the best ever.

The third thing he said that spoke to me was that for awhile he just took care of himself. He did well, but his teams didn’t achieve. Then he made the decision that take care of just himself wasn’t enough, so he started to take care of himself and two or three others. He started to boost others up daily as well as #23. That in his opinion is when he started winning championships.

Notes from author Bob Rotella’s talk to the Umass basketball team 10-19-95

NO MATTER WHAT -- KEEP SWINGING

"My motto was to always keep swinging.  Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging."

-HANK AARON

DENA EVANS ON MENTAL TOUGHNESS

For basketball players reading this blog -- no matter what age, male or female, regardless of your level of play -- if you are looking for a special experience that will take your basketball IQ to another level than you should look into a session at Point Guard College.

You can find more info at: www.PGCBasketball.com

Until then, learn from this video of PGC CEO Dena Evans talking about Mental Toughness:

DON MATTINGLY ON TEAMWORK

Team sports are really difficult things.  Sometimes your team wins because of you, sometimes in spite of you and sometimes it's like you're not even there.  That's the reality of the team game.  Than at one point in my career...something wonderful happened.  I don't know why or how...but I came to understand what "team" meant.  It meant that although I didn't get a hit or make a great defensive play.  I could impact my team by caring first and foremost about the team's success and not my own.  I don't mean by rooting for us like a typical fan.  Fans are fickle.  I mean CARE, really care about the team...about "us."  I became less selfish, less lazy, less sensitive to negative comments.  When I gave up me, I became more.  I became a captain, a leader, a better person and I came to understand that life is a team game...And you know what?...I've found most people aren't team players.  They don't realize that life is the only game in town.  Someone should tell them.  It has made all the difference in the world to me.

-Don Mattingly
From John Maxwell's "Teamwork Makes The Dream Work"

DERRICK ROSE: "I JUST HATE LOSING"

The following comes from an old article on ESPN.com by Andy Katz:

Derrick Rose has cried after losing an AAU game. Not just once, but multiple times.

An AAU game? Are you serious? There's usually another game in a few hours, and no one pays much attention to an AAU team's win-loss record.

But once John Calipari saw Rose tear up after an AAU loss, the Memphis coach knew right then that Rose was a player he wanted.

"What turned it for me was when I saw him cry after an AAU loss and the other dudes were racing to get to McDonald's," Calipari said. "This kid was crushed by losing."

Rose wasn't being immature. He cared. Maybe too much, but Calipari would take that passion in a second.

"I just hate losing, and I know on the next level I'll have to get used to it [and] hopefully I won't tear up more at the next level," Rose said after his workout for his hometown Chicago Bulls Thursday morning. "I'm really competitive. If people say I can't shoot, then in a drill I'll try to outshoot them. I just hate losing. No matter what it is, I'll do it to win. Winning is the goal for me."

4:21 AM WAKE UP CALL GETS CHRIS PAUL'S WORKOUT STARTED

Great video from NBA Fit on Chris Paul and his workout regiment, his perspective and attitude.

BELIEFS: WHAT YOU THINK

I can make you rise
.....or fall.

I can work for you
.....or against you.

I can make you a success
.....or a failure.

I control the way that you feel and the way that you act.

I can make you laugh...work...love.

I can make your heart sing with joy...excitement...elation.

Or I can make you wretched...dejected...morbid.

I can make you sick...listless.

I can be as a shackle...heavy...attached...burdensome.

Or I can be as the prison’s hue...dancing...bright...fleeting…lost forever unless captured by pen or purpose.

I can be nurtured and grown to be great and beautiful...seen by the eyes of others through action in you.

I can never be removed...only replaced.
I am a THOUGHT.

Why not know me better?

by Bob Conklin

BEST POSSIBLE CHANCE OF PLAYING TO YOUR POTENTIAL

"To give yourself the best

possible chance of playing

to your potential, you must

prepare for every eventuality.

That means practice."

-Seve Ballesteros-

JORDAN ON PRACTICE AND LOSING

One of our favorite books in past seasons to assign to our players to read is "How To Be Like Mike," by Pat Williams.  It is a wonderful book with great insights and stories as to what made Michael Jordan great.

One of the stories shared by Williams was an annual meeting held by Phil Jackson the night before he started training camp. Jackson would bring his team together on the eve of the first practice and close by asking each player to give his individual goals. Jordan was always the last player to speak and he always had the same thing to say:

“I have no individual goals. We play for one reason and that’s to win the title. Practice is more important than the games, and I will practice when I’m hurt, when 95 percent of the players in this league would sit out. I expect all of you to do the same thing. You will follow my lead.”

In terms of handling a defeat, Jordan said, “Accept a loss as a learning experience and never point fingers at your teammates.”