Wisdom From A Hall of Famer--The Late Chuck Daly

  • 12 O’clock Rule. When you lose a game, feel sorry for yourself, be mad at your players, etc., but at midnight, you have to move on and get your team ready to play the next day.
  • Get past mad. Don’t hold grudges against your players. Your job is to get the team ready for the next game, especially after a loss.
  • Make it a one day story. Never get into a fight with a person who buys ink by the barrel. Don’t argue with the media, you can’t win. Don’t make them one of your enemies. It will turn into several days instead of one.
  • All decisions are 50/50. We all want to be right all of the time, but in reality the best you should ever expect to be is right 50% of the time. We would take Isiah out of the game and VJ would go in and make 5 shots in a row and you would think that by putting one of the NBA’s greatest players back in would be a no brainer, but only 50% of the time it is. Trust your instincts and knowledge when you make your decisions.
  • Coaching is like flying an airplane, there is going to be a lot of turbulence, but your job is to land the plane safely. During the season, there are going to be a lot of ups and downs, but as the coach you have to remain calm and poised and remember the goals that you have established for the team.
  • I do not consider myself a pessimist, but rather be an optimist with experience. This was Daly's response to Bob Ryan, the great sports columnist from the Boston Globe who dubbed him“The Prince of Pessimism,” because of his negativity.
  • You can’t fool dogs, kids, or players. Players know if you can coach. You better have a good play in the last 2 minutes of a game, or else they will think you can’t coach.


 

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