The AssistThe Assisthttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008-02-05T18:54:37ZSquarespaceSpecial People Don't Act Specialhttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/special-people-dont-act-special.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T18:47:15Z2008-02-05T18:47:15ZHe was sincere, and you could see that in his eyes.  The people who are special in life are the ones who don't act special.

Pg 335

]]>A Means To An Endhttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/a-means-to-an-end.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T18:42:22Z2008-02-05T18:42:22ZUnlike Ridley and Robby, those guys never grasped the most important lesson of high school basketball: It's a means to an end.

"Without basketball," Robby said, "on hot summer days, you ain't got nothing to do but get in trouble."
"If I didn't play no sport," said Ridley, "I really don't know what I'd be doing."
"Sometimes sports is the only reason somebody goes to school."
"That's the only reason I went!" Ridley said.  "If Coach wasn't that strict, forget about it."

Over time, O'Brien's relentlessness chipped away at Ridley's love of the game.  It became more of a job.  But now Ridley could appreciate that.  It prepared him for college, where it was clear all ball players were cogs in a big-business machine.  A romantic attachment to the game at that level could only do harm.

Pg 324

]]>Walk The Linehttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/walk-the-line.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T18:40:24Z2008-02-05T18:40:24ZMore and more, he was realizing what a tough line it was to walk.  "You don't want to stray away from where your heart is, but at the same time you gotta leave some of it behind so you can get ahead," he said.  "It's hard- you know what I'm saying- to try to walk that line.  You don't wanna not be able to go back home."

Pg 323

]]>Double Negativehttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/double-negative.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T18:37:48Z2008-02-05T18:37:48ZHe saw a direct connection between rap and those grade-school kids hanging in the street at midnight.  "It's a double negative, man.  You can't make positive music, or you'll be soft.  You gotta keep making bang-bang, but then you're influencing the youth to do the wrong thing.  They can't distinguish reality from facade."

Pg 323

]]>In Real Life There Aren't Many Jack O'Brienshttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/in-real-life-there-arent-many-jack-obriens.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T18:33:54Z2008-02-05T18:33:54ZFung had just heard that Cori Boston, one of Tony's former Charlestown teammates who was also playing on scholarship at Robert Morris, was planning to leave, disillusioned by the lack of attention he felt he was receiving. 

"Why is Cori talking about transferring?" Fung wondered.  "Why did Rashid drop out of the University of Florida?  Why have others failed once they left Charlestown?

I think maybe they're looking for another Jack O'Brien.  But in real life there aren't many Jack O'Briens."

Pg 269

]]>3 Types of Mothershttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/3-types-of-mothers.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T18:24:50Z2008-02-05T18:24:50ZOver the years the coach had found out that his players' mothers- since the fathers were typically out of the picture- fell into one of three categories.

Nonfactors: Mothers so fatigued at trying to hold things together that they were content to let O'Brien run the show when it came to their sons' lives.

Blamers: Mothers who weren't interested in the grind of holding their sons accountable and instead were quick to scapegoat their teachers and coaches when things inevitably went wrong.

Partners: Mothers willing to hold their sons to high standards, accept no excuses, and have O'Brien's back if their sons tried to blame him for something they failed to do.

O'Brien could deal with the non-factors, though doing so always made him sad.  He had trouble with the blamers, and their sons seldom lasted in his program.  But he cherished his relationship with the partners, who unfortunately were all too rare.

Pg 215

]]>Those Who Matterhttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/those-who-matter.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T17:04:08Z2008-02-05T17:04:08ZTo anyone who tires to get you off track by questioning what you're doing remember; Those who mind don't matter, those who matter don't mind.

Pg 207

]]>Kids Are No Goodhttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/kids-are-no-good.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T16:57:11Z2008-02-05T16:57:11Z"Kids are no damn good!"  Fung would tell all the wide-eyed recent college grads he hired to rejuvenate his faculty.  "They leave the school a mess.  They don't listen.  They swear."  Then he would pause for effect.  "That's why we have to work hard to make them good."

Pg 168

]]>Hard Work Beats Natural Abilityhttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/hard-work-beats-natural-ability.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T16:55:39Z2008-02-05T16:55:39ZNo one ever helped a disadvantaged kid by feeling sorry for him and letting him make excuses.  Hard work beats natural ability every time.

Pg 167

]]>They Put Up With The Demands For The Chance To Winhttp://www.gosportslife.com/the-assist/2008/2/5/they-put-up-with-the-demands-for-the-chance-to-win.htmlAndy Kaasa2008-02-05T16:51:24Z2008-02-05T16:51:24ZAlthough O'Brien told people all the time that his record of getting kids to college meant more to him than all the state and city titles, he also knew that his whole program was built on winning.  For his boys, nothing succeeded like success- an experience mostly absent from their lives before O'Brien's arrival.  Many guys choose to come to Charlestown, and put up with his impossible demands on the court and in the classroom, because they knew they had a good shot of leaving with a championship ring or two.  If the wins stopped coming, O'Brien worried, so would players willing to put up with his rigorous expectations.

Pgs 159-160

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