If you are not in one of the coaching “Family Trees”… Calipari, Summitt, Pitino, Auriemma, Knight, VanDerveer, Krzyzewski, Stringer, Calhoun, etc… How do you get noticed to even get a call back, let alone an interview for the next opportunity?  The same can be said of the first time head coach once they get there, how do they get noticed at a non-BCS school?  it’s almost a never-ending cycle.  Unless you set your mind right and keep it right, even after you have some success, it can be a never-ending struggle.  Give your head coach complete trust and loyalty – unconditionally.  Trust your head coach’s loyalty back to you, their respect to your development and the continuation of our profession.

Basketball advancement in this generation of coaches, especially in men’s basketball, has become all about recruiting… who is delivering the best players.  The ESPN’s hot young assistant list is all about coaches with multiple top ranked recruiting classes as the “recruiting coordinator” at a BCS school.  If you can bring a program players – you get jobs and move up.  For the sake of argument, we aren’t going to include advancement for those who operate through “working in the grey area.”  That’s going to happen, it always has and always will.  Don’t let your self worry about it or get involved.  Control what you can control.  With the recent NCAA rules changes, hiring – paying people “around” prospects – will be harder.

Understand, I’m not saying you should expect to advance, move up, if you can’t deliver players.  You have to be able to recruit.  You have to become a well-rounded coach too.  My next statement will definitely put me in the “old school” category, but the way I was raised in this profession was this: to work as hard as you can, to be loyal and supportive to your head coach, the staff, players and university and do the job you have today as though it is the last job you have.  If you did that, the next opportunity took care of itself. Those were the words Jeff Van Gundy spoke to me in 1985 when I became his assistant at McQuaid Jesuit High School.  Is that true today?  They were very true then and I believe they are still true today, but fewer coaches live by them.  It’s harder to believe it’s true when those that are working that way are by-passed for people that deliver players, advance and get jobs without having the experience.

That has all changed because of how recruiting has evolved and young coaches moving through the ranks because of their ability to deliver players.  It’s perpetuated by what I call the “Cycle of Coaching.”  Simply put, coaches are hired to be fired almost at any level.  In both the Men’s or the Women’s game the days of 20+ year careers at the same college or university are over.  Now, a 5-Year contract really means win in 3 or you’re probably done.  As long as that is the case, coaches that can deliver players will get jobs.  The “win right now” (or be fired) pressure will keep that in place no matter what the NCAA does to legislate parity in recruiting.

Below is a way to get noticed and get noticed the right way.  It may seem too “old school” for some and it may not get you the next job as fast, but when you do get there you’ll be prepared, you will have a solid group of loyal people in your inner circle, you’ll have built trust and respect amongst family, friends, parents, colleagues and prospects and you’ll enjoy our profession much more.

Adapted from the Center for Creative Leadership

The Right Way to Get Noticed

First off… Be Humble. Please.  It’s perceived that humility does not breed advancement.  I disagree.  Today’s new head coach is the consummate self-promoter.  Unless, as an assistant, you work for someone who really promotes and sells you – humility is a hard proposition to take a chance on.  It’s a catch 22:  the new head coach is promoting themselves, the young assistant is (presumably) bustin’ their tail for the program and that head coach and the head coach is still promoting themselves.  An assistant can’t promote himself or herself – it’s then perceived that they are “a big ego” coach.  What do you do?

“Many of the best, most talented individuals avoid self-promoting,” says CCL’s Cindy McLaughlin, co-author of The Truth About Sucking Up: How Authentic Self-Promotion Benefits You and Your Organization. “They are uncomfortable with it or feel like any kind of self-promotion is bragging or sucking up.”

This is very true in the coaching world.  So many of the well established, well respected veteran coaches understand this and work very hard to promote their assistants.  But what happens when that is not the case?  Trouble.  Why do some head coaches do that?  It’s a no-win situation for both sides.  Our profession is built on loyalty, on trust.  Head coaches demand it; assistants crave it for all the countless hours they pour into the head coach’s program.  Everyone needs it for potential advancement.  Without it, both sides suffer.

Generally, head coaches do not intentionally choose to NOT advocate for their assistants, to NOT help them advance – but in some cases they DO choose to not help because they do not want to lose the assistant.  Long time, veteran head coaches may be so removed from being an assistant that they have forgotten this from early in their own career.  Some never were assistants very long and this factor doesn’t play into their thought process.  Either way, you must have open, honest conversation with your head coach about this.  If you do, you will find out right away: this coach is going to help me or they aren’t.  Then decide, stay or go.  No matter what, stay loyal, don’t go negative (it is never any good for anyone and no one really wants to hear it anyway) and continue doing the job you have today as though it is the last one you will have.  Stay above anything you perceive as disloyalty from a head coach.  As an assistant, you never win the battle or the war – just move on.

Self-promotion doesn’t need to be viewed in a negative light, according to McLaughlin and her co-authors Gina Hernez-Broome and Stephanie Trovas. Interestingly, when self-promotional behaviors are done well — matching style with substance — they are usually interpreted as something else: effective communication, managing up, networking, information-sharing or relationship-building.  Do it with humility, do it openly and honestly.

To toot your horn in a way that is authentic and good for both your career and your organization, consider these points:

• Self-promotion does not have to be painful or over-the-top.

Ignore the braggarts and suck-ups. People who promote well understand the importance of publicizing the work done by themselves and their groups, but there are many ways to do it: speaking up in meetings, being clear (and accurate) about successes, improving communication with your head coach and fellow staff members, volunteering for visible roles. Don’t be obnoxious, but don’t be overlooked, either.

• Effective self-promotion isn’t about being someone you’re not.

In fact, your efforts will be more accurate and better received if you are genuine, substantive and (yes) imperfect. Authenticity is an important skill to foster a healthy and collaborative workplace. Without it, credibility is strained and trust is hard to come by.

• Understand yourself.

Get clear on your strengths and why they matter. If you try to self-promote and are off the mark, then you come across as either pathetic, ego-driven or having delusions of grandeur.

• Don’t expect others to notice your work without your efforts.

Doing a job and doing it well doesn’t ensure that others will appreciate and value it. Self-promotion is needed in some way to connect the dots between what you do and why it matters. The head coach won’t always make those connections by themselves.  Especially if they are busy self-promoting.  Help them.

• Don’t inflate yourself at others’ expense.

What might seem like a win at the time will cause damage to your reputation and limit your ability to work well with others. Plus, it’s just not nice.  We’re a profession of respect and loyalty.  To your head coach as well as the other assistants you are on staff with.  Treat the profession with respect and the others around you the same.  It will give back to you ten-fold.

• Promote what you deliver.

Back up your claims with real accomplishments, skills, experience or knowledge that deserve recognition and acknowledgment. If you tout yourself as detail-oriented, then be that person, plan the minutiae and uncover the mistake. Unmatched people skills?  Put them to use resolving conflict, coaching others and building a great staff.

When it isn’t working.  If you know that you are getting great results – there is proof in the pudding and it is not getting recognized and you’re concerned about your future, you have to take a new approach.

Begin by looking for opportunities to talk to your head coach about the accomplishments that have occurred that directly relate to your investment in that area.  Do it in a way that felt genuine, humble and reasonable.  Add yourself to the staff meeting agenda and made sure you speak up early in the meeting.  Start with a group accomplishment and a group challenge or critical issue. You’ll find information shared was the truth; it just hadn’t really been shared publicly before.

After a few weeks, your head coach will realize how you have played an important role in increasing the staff’s productivity. While the staff may or may not have actually improved, you will have increased your promotion of the staff and yourself so that, going forward, they were accurately assessed by the head coach.

Lyndra is among the Top Ten scorer’s in the Euroleague

ABR: Iverson Worth the Risk for Grizzlies

That really wasn’t a hard on e to call though.

What’s the latest?

From nba.com

After complaining about his back-up role with the Memphis Grizzlies, Allen Iverson left the team Saturday following a meeting with the team’s owner and Coach Lionel Hollins.

Happier days for Iverson and the Grizzlies

“It’s a personal issue,” Hollins said before the Grizzlies played the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. “And it’s indefinite.”

Memphis owner Michael Heisley gave the four-time NBA scoring leader permission to skip the Grizzlies’ game Saturday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

According to a team spokesman, Iverson participated in a walkthrough at the team’s hotel in the morning and then hopped a flight in the afternoon after he and personal manager Gary Moore met with Heisley.

Iverson, a former NBA rookie of the year and league MVP, played Friday night in a 114-98 loss to the Lakers, scoring eight points in 22 minutes. He had come off the bench in the previous two games after sitting out the first three with a hamstring injury.

“I just want to win, I hate losing more than I like winning,” Iverson said prior to Friday’s game. “Its just a frustrating feeling losing. I’ve never been a loser in my career and I don’t want to start now. I’m not trying to be selfish or anything like that, I just want to win.”

Iverson, who signed a one-year contract with Memphis in September after a tumultuous stint last season in Detroit, has been open about his displeasure with his reserve role. On Friday, he also told reporters he also wasn’t communicating with Hollins, who was hired last January to replace Marc Iavaroni.

“I think that’s probably the worst part of all this,” Iverson said after the loss to the Lakers. “That while all this is going on, we have never talked to each other. That’s probably why it’s at this point right now. We’ve just never had a conversation, so it’s probably going to always be hard for me and him to see eye-to-eye, because we’ve never even talked to each other. Obviously that’s what you do if you’re trying to accomplish the same goal.”

When asked before Saturday’s game to respond, Hollins bluntly: “If Allen wants to talk to me, my door is open. I talk to him during the game before the game and after the game.

“I understand star power, and that’s to be expected,” Hollins added. “I wouldn’t mind even talking about Allen’s star power if it was about the game and his performance during the game, versus what Allen has said and what he will or won’t do.”

Hollins said third-year player Marcus Williams would likely assume Iverson’s minutes during his absence.

Jeremy Tyler

Here is the latest…

USA Today LINK

Obviously, everyone knew this would take some time, but there seems to be a mixed review out there if this was even a good idea at all.

Jeremy Tyler’s European Experiement Gone Wrong

Jeremy Tyler’s First 100 Days from the NY Times

We’ll see where this one goes, but maybe it will be a good lesson for future phenoms.

I have been exploring Leadership a great deal recently.  We’ve looked at how important it is to get your player’s view of their own leadership, who they are and how it all fits together.

I have ben fortunate to coach many players with tremendous leadership ability.  We are all fortunate to have the opportunity to coach against other players and witness their ability to lead.  One of the premier young point guards in the World currently is Renee Montgomery.  I was on the receiving end of two of her masterpieces while she was developing her leadership skills that enabled

Renee Montgomery

UConn to eventually complete a perfect 39-0 season and win a National Championship during her senior year.  It was in her sophomore and junior years, two “not so close” wins were over us while I was at Virginia.  (12/5/07: 75-45 and 12/18/06: 96-60)  She was tremendous on the court, but she also showed great leadership when she went to the sideline as well.  Even though the game was never in question she continued to lead.  That stuck in my mind, impressed me.

As the fourth overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft  she helped lead the Minnesota Lynx to within one game of a playoff spot, providing leadership as a rookie for a team really hampered greatly by injuries.

Renee agreed to review and reflect on one of my recent posts Leadership:  Seven Leadership Essentials and how it pertains to her and her career.

I expected a few sentences… What came about was easily better than the original.  Download it and read it.  Share it with your team.  It’s a tremendous look at Renee’s leadership ability, who she is and where she is headed.

Reading it lead me to her website and to investigate more about this person.  I came away with a tremendous amount of new-found respect for just who this person is.  Not only the athlete and the player, but the person.

Take time to look over her site, you’ll come away very impressed.

PRINTABLE VERSION OF:  Leadership: Seven reasons why I am who I am By: Renee Montgomery

Thank You Renee!

Continue below to read Renee’s: Leadership: Seven reasons why I am who I am…

Leadership: Seven reasons why I am who I am

By: Renee Montgomery

Its been said “everyone wishes we had the essentials of great leadership early in our lives, careers,” but I have been one of the few that had this trait at an early age. Many people that have come in contact me were surprised to know that I was the youngest in my family because of how assertive I am, and how I have taken control of situations. I do think that leadership qualities can be developed, but true leaders are born with a special something. What is that special something? I really don’t know, but I’m going to try to help you understand what its like, “being a leader from birth.”

Seven Leadership Essentials:

Who am I?

I am a 22-year-old woman that was born and in raised in St. Albans, WV. I would like to be able to say that growing up I faced a lot of adversity in school or at home but I didn’t. I grew up making straight A’s, which was the only acceptable thing when my Mom was a college Professor. My home life was enjoyable to say the least. People have compared my family to the “Brady Bunch,” but I wouldn’t go that far. My parents have been married for thirty-five years and counting, so my home life is an area of strength for me. I am just a girl raised in the country, so how could I lead a girl raised in the Bronx? How can I relate to someone born and raised in California?

What is authentic leadership?

I was never given a template for “how to lead” or “what it takes to be a leader.” The everyday leaders to me were my parents. I aspired to give my all in everything such as they did with my sisters and I. For example: My mother and I stayed up all night perfecting my science fair project. Now, did the extra six hours that we put in making sure everything was right matter? To some, no, but to us it was the difference in getting 1st and 2nd place, so it meant everything. I want my leadership legacy to be I always strived for first place, and rarely received second place. But how can I, being a perfectionist, inspire someone that is lazy?

How does leadership exist in teams?

There are many types of teams in life. It can be a group project in class, a volleyball team, organizations fighting for the same cause, etc. So how does leadership exist in teams is a very broad question, but there is also a very broad answer. To be a leader you need people to follow you, your passion, and your ideas. I also think that at times, a leader has to know when to take the back seat and follow. My strength may be English, while my co-workers/teammates strength is math. By allowing my partner to take the lead on math related issues shows that I trust and have confidence in him/her. But how can a leader allow someone to lead them? How can I allow someone give me an answer to a question that I already had figured out?

How do I communicate?

I have always been blessed to be able to communicate with people from different cultures and different backgrounds. I’ve done this, by not trying to be anything other than who I am. I’m not going to try to seem more street savvy because I am talking to someone from Detroit nor would I try to change my country accent because I am talking someone from Beverly Hills. When a person knows that you are being real with them, they are more likely to listen to what you have to say. But now that I have their attention what do I say to them? How do I know which words to use, and when to stop and listen?

What do I do with conflict?

Conflict is not something that I have had to deal with a lot while growing up; yet dealing with it is one of my strongest leadership traits. I know when things are right, I know when they are wrong, and I know ways to fix them. This may sound simple, and you may be thinking that we all know when things are right and wrong. Sometimes someone may say all the right things to you, but you still need to realize that something is wrong. It may be from my “Brady Bunch” upbringing, but I just want everyone to be happy, or as happy as possible. Being a leader means that I may have to temporarily jeopardize my happiness to bring other people together and make them happy. But why would I do something that makes me unhappy? Why does it matter to me if they are unhappy?

How do my values affect my actions?

Values are everything when it comes to being a leader. I put value in hard work, honesty, and trustworthiness. I have to lead by example as well as through words. I cannot tell someone to run harder while I’m the last person finishing the sprints. I cannot inspire someone to be truthful at all times when I have previously lied to them. And I definitely cannot ask someone to follow me if they don’t trust my leadership skills. But how did I gain their trust? And why will my teammates trust me far after our college years spent together?

What’s my vision?

My vision was to try to explain to you how I think, and how being a leader was something that has always dwelled within me. I know that everyone has the ability to have leadership traits but I also think that some people should aspire to be followers. Not followers that do what others say whether it is good or bad. The followers I’m referring to are also known as hard-workers, go-getters, or employees of the month. I am an athlete, and I lead my teammates, yet my Coaches lead me. Let’s face it, most of us are going to have a boss, or someone that tells us what we should do, but this doesn’t mean that you cant lead within your smaller groups. The answer to all of the questions that I asked in this article is simple. Its that “special something” I have. My something is different than yours, but everyone has a special something. So start today and find out…. what’s yours?

United States Women blow away competition in Ekaterinburg

EKATERINBURG (2010 FIBA World Championship for Women) – The United States women weren’t at full strength but still had far too many weapons for the rest of the competition at the Ekaterinburg International Invitational in Russia over the weekend. With Team USA duo Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter leading the Phoenix Mercury to the WNBA title on Friday …

U.S. Takes Top Honors in Ekaterinburg Tournament Against Top European Pros

By HOOPSGAL CORRESPONDENT

The Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry led Team USA to a 78-63 victory over the champions of the Russian professional women’s basketball league to take first place in the Ekaterinburg International Invitational Tournament Sunday evening…

Updated links for Team USA’s Russian Trip.

McCoughtry one of five in double figures

Angel McCoughtry scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures and the U.S. women’s basketball national team beat ZVVC UKA Prague 100-81 in the opening game of the Ekaterinburg tournament Friday night.

USA Basketball

Balanced Scoring Act By USA Women’s National Team Paves Way To 100-81 Win In Ekaterinburg International Invitational Opening Game

On October 14, Coach John Wooden will turn 99 years. Let’s all wish Coach Wooden a Happy Birthday! Click on this link:

Coach John Wooden