The Greatest Basketball Commentary I Have Ever Read

I've read a number of books about coaching basketball, and I try to learn as much as I can to become a better teacher of basketball. But inside, I believe that teaching sports is about teaching life. Jealousy, envy, selfishness...they destroy teams. Sharing, caring, and team spirit create life for the team. 

If you never read anything about basketball, just read what Carril believes and embrace the truth.

Excerpts from former Princeton coach Pete Carril follow.

Whatever you emphasize and to the degree that you do, you get better at it.

There's a tendency for players to believe that because the coach is talking to someone else, they don't have to listen. If they're all listening, the coach won't have to repeat the same thing to the guys who weren't involved.

The quality of their work habits can overcome anything: praise, criticism, good or bad coaching. 

I can check the level of your honesty and commitment by the quality of your effort on the court. You cannot separate sports from your life, no matter how hard you try. Your personality shows up on the court: greed, indifference, whatever, it all shows up. You cannot hide it.

Passing makes everybody feel a part of the game, a part of the team. No single aspect of basketball does more to develop good team play than passing

The essence of character is what I call mental and physical courage. Everybody has the potential for courage, but some people -- because they have had to demonstrate it all their lives -- are good at it, whereas others are not until the need suddenly arises and they have to learn to react. Basketball brings out the need for courage.


Defense is the heart of our game. Good defense is recognizable even when you're losing.

When you demand a lot, my experience has been that you get more.

Size is not the most important thing about rebounding. Knowing how to use your body, seeing where the ball is going, that's what counts.

Pivoting is one of the most underrated techniques and skills, and when you go to teach it, someone always asks, "Why bother?" 

Fakes are like lies. The first thing I tell anyone about faking is that if you're going to fake, your move has to look like the real thing.

How do you know if your team has camaraderie? I can tell by the way they walk off the floor at the end of practice. You can feel their happiness vibrating; you can see how they work out together; 

When players who have had good high school coaching walk on the floor in college, there isn't much that a coach has to do. 

I don't recruit players who are nasty to their parents. That shows they are giving less than they can give and can't forge the bonds essential for a good team. I look for players who understand that the world does not revolve around them.

There are so many things that don't show up on the stat sheet, or in the win and loss column, that no one can explain, but you see them and they affect the outcome of games.   

Use your assets: You have to take advantage of what you have. Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren did that, and we do it, too. If you have a fast team and you don't run, you're being stupid. And if you have a slow team, you must take the run out of the game.