4 Stories from the Final 4 - Part 4

I remember being mesmerized by Theo Epstein. This youngster was the General Manager of one of the most powerful franchises in professional sports. How could that be possible?

This years Final Four proves that the Red Sox faith in Gen Y leadership is a formula for success. Earlier this week we spotlighted Shaka Smart. Today I want to introduce you to his opponent this weekend: Mr. Brad Stevens. One would mistake Stevens for an injured player on the sideline before they would assume him the head coach. Similar to the disbelief of seeing Theo Epstein in the owners box, or Shaka Smart calling plays, the general intuition is to step back when we see a youngster running the show.

Make no mistake about it, Brad Stevens is running the show!

The Bulldogs of Butler as well as those of Gonzaga have a few things in common: Great Shooting, Disciplined Game Planning and Awesome Coaching!

With the NBA recruiting High Schoolers and the fundamentals of basketball being lost to remarkable athletic talent....college basketball has actually improved. There are few dominant players that last longer than 2 years, the team concept carries the game, and the emphasis on game planning makes geniuses out of the guys calling the plays.

Name a player on the Butler Bulldogs or the VCU Rams...? Now you know their coaches.

There was a time when players wore jerseys without their names on them. The name on the front of the shirt was what mattered. The superstars are chasing contracts and short timers are being overlooked for a better team of lifelong amateur athletes. The boys on the court on Saturday may never play for money. They love the game and their teammates and they are about to earn college degrees. The experience on the court and the mentorship of their coaches will serve their lives far better than an NBA contract!

Enjoy the Final Four!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

4 Stories from the Final 4 - Part 1

My wife is elated because there is a mere 3 games left in College Basketball season. (she fails to remember that the NBA playoffs are 2 months long). I always tell her that the game is more than sweaty dudes bumping into each other....every team has a story. So in the week leading up to The Final Four, DFTR will look at 4 stories from those competing this weekend. Forward the stories to your wives, they may be more sympathetic to your cause.

I can roll up on any Basketball court in my town and ask the shorties if they have heard of Dr. James Naismith. Odds are they have not. Basketball has evolved as a super show of athletic grace. The fundamentals and tradition are often left to play second fiddle to the awesome power and expertise of the men and women who have spent their lives practicing for their 'one shining moment'.

In 2011, we have digressed (or progressed). Shaka Smart and and the Virginia Commonwealth University squad have executed basketball in it's most fundamental form. Coach Smart spends every minute of the game on his feet, practically on the court with his players; calling offensive sets and preparing the defense. His players are smaller and less skilled but his system is consistent and reliable.

In a recent UPS commercial Geno Auriemma compares the game of basketball to shipping logistics. Five players moving in separate directions (and a ball moving in another). Coach Auriemma's contention is that we only cheer when the ball goes into the basket. We miss the logistics of what gets the players up the court, the players into position, and the ball up in the air.

Shaka Smart and the VCU Rams wear their logistics are their sleeve. You can see the game taking shape. The team plays together for the purpose of getting the ball in the basket. They Stick to the system, knowing it will produce points. The discipline is hyper-focused. Their bigger, faster, stronger opponents have moments of running them over in a charge to the basket. Over the course of the game, the system wins.

We all love a Cinderella story. There has never been a play-in 11 seed in the Final Four. This is truly the David to any Goliath.

Where the system has helped VCU best the uber-athletic Georgetown and Kansas, they now face the fundamentally sound Butler Bulldogs. Can the system prevail?

No One knew who Shaka Smart was 3 weeks ago. But, you would not know that from the way he has purported himself and his team. He is energetic on the floor, articulate in his interviews, a sharp dresser, and an impassioned leader. You would assume that he has been there before....which is why he is there.

VCU could have taken enough pride in getting their small school into the tournament. They could have marveled at the bright lights and enjoyed a few head turns in tournament town. They chose, however, to cease the opportunity. Knowing this might be a one shot deal, they defied the statistics and relied on the logistics.

Coach Smart came at every team they played with a self-assurance. This is how great things are done in defiance of convention. To practice well, play hard, and find a differentiator. That, and to know no better than to believe IT CAN BE DONE!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

In Commencement

To the High School Graduates of 2010 -

The last four years were likely the best or worst of your life. Either way, the next four will most assuredly take on the latter of aforementioned distinctions.

It is time for you to truly establish your identity as a person. You can wake up when you want to, watch what you want to, accept advice from who you want to, study at your own pace, fall in love and you might even drink a beer for the first time.

Where ever the next four years takes you, know that this last chapter of your life is closed. Put a bow around it and savor it for what it is. You will not have a close knit group for the extended period of time that you have experienced living in this town with the people you sit next to right now. You now will lead a transient life...people will walk into and out of your life with bolder objectives and shorter attention spans. Be adaptable, step out of your comfort zone, embrace change, & innovate.

We live in a time where any idea you have can make you a fortune. You need to decide what that idea is, if you are willing to dedicate your life to it, and if happiness is the end game. You have the opportunity at this moment to decide who you want to be and to make it happen. Two things to consider:

• Will you be truly happy in pursuit of your chosen career?
• Never make money the driving force behind that decision!

Do not choose a career path predicated on who your parents want you to be. Do not follow your boyfriend to college for the sake of familiarity. Do not choose a course of study because you got high marks in those classes in high school.

Be Yourself! Take the next four years to find yourself and who you truly are:

• Take Walks
• Find the Extended message in everything you read
• Make new friends
• Remember your old pals
• Know that there is a song to lift or transcend any mood
• Always heed the advice of your elders
• Always be willing to listen when a friend is in peril
• Prioritize based on your passion
• Bow to No One
• Allow No One to stick a finger in your face

There are no hall monitors in college, you can bring your lap top to class with you and you set your own study hours. You make the rules now...accept this as a privilege and act accordingly.

Know that you will have more than enough time to study, so study first. Know that the love you have now will endure if it is strong enough and if it does not the world will not end.

When you leave class, the movie house or the gym with a feeling that you could fly...that is what you should pursue. If you want a career bad enough, you can make it happen. There will come a time when you must consider your spouse and children in every decision you make...that time is not now...you are bound by nothing.

Allow no one to distract you from what is genuinely important, dedicate yourself with purpose to what you truly love. Now is the time to pursue what you genuinely love...you have the opportunity to try and fail several times. Don't try to be someone you are not, find your horse on this merry-go-round and set out to make the world a better place; every day.

I leave you with this: Every morning you will go through a series of exercises that can distract you back to bed or propel you into your day. Choose to focus on the positive aspects. You are used to achievement based on a four year cycle...your career will be 10 times longer:

• Focus on the positive
• Be willing to try and fail
• Learn from your mistakes
• Be propelled by what you are good at
• Don't accept advice from anyone who does not have your best interest at heart

Go now and find love, develop a path for your life, establish your rules and do not compromise your pursuit of happiness!

Allow yourself to believe you can change the world for the better and you will!

Don't Forget to Remember

Dave

references: http://twitter.com/davidkovacovich