Thanking The Passer

One of Dean Smith's best known innovations was requiring a player who scored a basket to point to the player who had thrown him the pass that led to the hoop.  "Thanking the passer" became a trademark of Carolina basketball.

Pg IV

It's Not OK To Lose

"How'd the game go today?"  he asks each of the players individually that night.  He already knows the answer, and they know he knows.  They respond sheepishly.
"What was the problem?" he asks.
The answers focus on lackadaisical defense and bad shot selection. 
Their coach's response is simple: "Well, if I was you, I'd try to change that."
"I let them know individually that to me, it's not OK to lose.  If you think it's ok to lose, that's how you lose thirty-six games in two years.  Winning is important.  It's not OK to just go through the motions, whether it's a pickup game, pool, or marbles.  You should compete to the best of your ability and invest something in every competition we have."

Pg VIII

Let People Know Who You Are From The Start

Complaints were growing about Doherty's management style.  The freshmen- Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott, and Jackie Manuel- who were supposed to be the sign of hope for the future, were stunned to find that the suave, smiling coach who had recruited them often blistered them on the practice court.  This confusion about Doherty's true personality caused an erosion of trust between the players and the coaching staff, which combined with growing complaints about his management style proved fatal.

Pg 7

There Is Only One Source For Carolina Basketball

There was no room left for Phil Ford on Roy's staff, a situation that had caused an outcry when Doherty left the popular former point guard off his staff.  This time, there was silence.  That was the same sound coming out of the basketball office, where the leaks and gossip that had plagued Doherty were immediately stanched.

"There is only one source for Carolina basketball and that is me.  That was one of the problems that made it so difficult here before.  There were so many sources.  It came out that Matt was doing this or Matt was doing that, and somebody forgot to ask Matt."  Williams said.

No one would forget to ask Roy.  He would make sure of it.

Pg 11

Noel Was A Mulltisport Athlete And Now He Is Behind

Unlike most of his teammates, Noel was a multisport athlete throughout high school.  Instead of spending his summers traveling the United States with AAU basketball teams, he spent considerable time on football, a sport which he was so proficient that he received several major Division 1 scholarship offers on the gridiron.  He does not have the same amount of game experience on the hardwood as his teammates.  In early practices he seems a step behind his teammates and he struggles to live up to the glowing reviews he had received from fans and Tar Heel insiders prior to mid-October.

Pg 30

David Noel's Work Ethic

Two days later Noel shows the work ethic that made him a fan favorite as a freshman.  The rest of the squad goes through a typically rigorous Roy Williams practice, but Noel's heavily bandaged right hand prevents him from taking part in any of the drills. 

Instead, Noel works on his left-hand dribble and practices his shooting form left-handed.  Without being asked, Noel selects one player to "shadow," and mirrors that player's running throughout drills.  When the group he would usually be working with makes a defensive mistake, and Williams tells them to line up on the baseline for a series of sprints as punishment, Noel drops the basketball he is using and lines up beside his teammates, running sprints for an error he did not commit.

Pgs 30-31

No Action Went Unnoticed

Both men were fascinated with the structure of a Carolina basketball practice, with the tight organization and attention to detail.  No action, not even a missed layup, went unnoticed by the coaching staff, and everything had consequences.

Pg 41

Look At Me When I'm Talking To You!

But with the White team on defense, there is a miscommunication as the Blues work the ball around the defense.  McCants and Felton disagree on who is responsible for guarding the ball handler, with each believing the other has the duty.

Williams blows his whistle.

"I don't like the arguing," he says, intensity slowly rising.  "Just say, 'I've got the ball.'  Gosh dang it, we have to play in forty-eight hours!"

It is then that McCants makes a critical mistake- he cuts his eyes away from his head coach and looks at the floor.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Williams booms.  "If we're gonna win, we're gonna do it together.  We've got a game in forty-eight hours.  I'm sick of you arguin' like frickin' third-graders.  Your way got your ass kicked.  Every single time.  Thirty-six frickin' losses.  Do it my way.  If you don't like it, get your ass out because I'm gonna frickin' win, with you or without you."

Pgs 46-47

Respect Is Not Inherited

Respect is not inherited.  It must be earned every day.

Pg 54

This Guy Will Never Amount To Anything Because He Does Not Work Hard

Because Scott May had played for Indiana, the May family had a close relationship with the volatile Bob Knight.  Of course, Knight usually had his own unique way of expressing his fondness for the family.  Sean May vividly recalls standing in front of a summer basketball camp in Bloomington as an eighth-grader.  Knight called him out in front of the camp to make a very important point.

"Kids, I want you to look at this guy," the legendary coach boomed.  His dad was an All-American, but this guy will never be anything.  His dad worked hard in practice every day, but this kid doesn't love the game of basketball.  His dad worked harder in one practice than he has worked in his whole life.  That's why he'll never amount to anything in basketball."

Pgs 58-59

This Is Where You Become A Team

This is the time when you guys become a good team.  If you want to be a good team, this is where you prove it.  You have to stay together and figure this thing out.

Pg 62

The More Passes That Are Made, The More The Defense Is Broken Down

One of the day's drills is meant to emphasize the importance of sharing the basketball and working for good, even great, shots instead of jacking up the basketball at the first opportunity.  Williams hands the Blue team a 20-point advantage and announces that the team will scrimmage for ten possessions.  If the starters score on every possession, they could tie the score, but just one Blue basket will put the game out of reach.  Then the coach introduces the catch: for every pass the White team makes before a basket, they get one point.

Suddenly, the Tar Heels are a team of glad-handed passers.  They rack up 10 points before one basket, 9 before another.  No one goes one-on-one at the expense of his teammates.  The ball is quickly worked around the perimeter, dumped inside, fired back out, and reversed across the court.  It is crisp, up-tempo offense, but it is also patient offense- exactly the kind that Roy Williams favors.  The message seems to be getting through: the more passes the starters make, the more the defense is broken down, and the better scoring opportunities are created.

Pg 64

I Don't Have All The Answers

One thing I know is that I don't have all the answers.  That's why I'm always asking questions, and why I tell my team that smart people need tutors.

Pg 75

I Felt Sort Of Stupid At That Point

On the last time he was so disappointed in the performance of one of his teams: "I coached ninth-grade football one year.  The quarterback got down behind the guard instead of the center.  I felt sort of stupid at that point.  That's the way I feel today."

Pg 76

Remember, You Are Fortunate To Be College Basketball Players

The next day's team meeting at the Smith Center takes place after the squad participates in another Roy Williams-imported tradition, when nearly 100 Special Olympics athletes arrive for a two-hour basketball clinic.  At first, the timing seems awkward, since the previous day's loss is still fresh. 

But the clinic also serves to illustrate a point Williams makes after every game; part of the postgame routine includes a reminder from the head coach of how fortunate the players are to be college basketball players.  At times, the reminder rolls off the squad as mere words, but today as the players watch the sheer joy of their guests at the chance to shoot a few hoops on the Smith Center court, smiles slowly begin to spread.

Jawad Williams and senior walk-on Jonathan Miller are the team's best coaches, as they are on a first-name basis with all of their charges within minutes of meeting them.

Pg 101

He Inherited Four All-Americans Who Had Been Told How Talented They Are For Most Of Their Careers

William's preseason fears are coming true.  He inherited a team with four McDonald's All-Americans who have been told how talented they are for most of their careers.  Those same All-Americans have a grand total of zero NCAA Tournament appearances among them. 

Most members of the media and most Carolina fans underestimated the challenge of getting those touted players to buy into their new coach's system.  Williams did not.  He saw, almost from the first day of practice, that he had a team whose reputation vastly exceeded their accomplishments.  He brings up that point again to the team on Monday, trying to persuade them that individual accomplishments will mean very little if the team falters.

Pg 110

On Being Selfish

Every one of you guys in here, and girls, you know what?  You're as selfish as you can possibly be.  You want what you want.  You know who the most selfish player [is] I've ever been around in my life?  Michael Jordan.  But he did everything he could for his team to win.  And everybody's got to fight it off. 

I mean, if Michael had 40, he wanted 50.  All right?  But because he wanted to beat you.  And every player I've coached has been selfish to some extent. 

Great players are the ones that fight that selfishness off if it's hurting their team.  And that's the challenge we've got with this team.

Pg 114

Jawad Williams Went To School At 6 A.M. To Work

Jawad Williams realized early in his career that to get where he wanted to go- the University of North Carolina, the alma mater of his lifelong hero, Michael Jordan- he needed to outwork everyone else.  Once when he was a freshman in high school, Melvin overheard the basketball coach talking about how early he got to school.  Traffic was bad in that part of Baltimore, so the veteran head coach started getting to school before 6 A.M. to beat the traffic.  He didn't plan on having a companion.  But it wasn't too long before he had a regular carpooler.

"He said he wanted to come with me," Smith says.  "We'd be in here in the morning before the janitors.  We always had to call security and let them know we were in the building so they'd know what was going on.  Melvin did this religiously."

"Guys were in their beds sleeping and I was working, and that was the key," Scott says.  "I had to work on my game and get better."

He was never averse to doing extra work.  Southern had a drill that involved running the length of the court ten times in 1 minute, with five sets of the drill spaced 45 seconds apart.  Completing the running was never a problem for Scott.  It was what he did during the break periods that was strange.  Other players grabbed their shorts or even lay down during their 45 seconds of rest.  Melvin Scott jogged.  And then, when players who had failed to complete the drill had to do it again, he ran with them too.

"All of the rest of the kids saw what was going on," Smith said.  "I told him that if he would always work like that, he would always be ahead of the pack, because no one else was going to work like that."

Pgs 129-130

Don't Think Too Much

I think the big adjustment for me was just to play.  Just to get out there and have fun and enjoy myself.  I've been thinking too much and the game hasn't been very fun.  When I think a lot, it hurts my game.

-Rashad McCants

Pg 134

The Coach Is The One Required To Get Through To Them

Despite his frustration, William's competitiveness prevents him from blaming the players.  He is the head coach.  He is the one required to get through to them.  That is the source of his frustration, and that is what prevents him from throwing up his hands and writing off the players as uncoachable.

Pg 152