If you follow high school basketball closely, you have probably heard our leading scorer – senior Terrence Ross – suddenly withdrew from Montrose this past Tuesday. Terrence was our leading scorer (averaging close to 20 ppg) and is currently being recruited by several of the nation’s top programs. This past fall he verbally committed to Maryland but re-opened his recruitment a few months ago. His abrupt departure came as a complete shock to our team. I am not at liberty to make any further comments at this time, but will certainly disclose as much as I can when appropriate… so make sure you check back.
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you know we (Montrose) had a tough time in Orlando this past weekend. We lost back-to-back games in the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.
We lost our second round game to the host, and eventual tournament champion, Montverde Academy (Orlando, FL), who is now the 10th ranked team in the nation (ESPN). We played our hearts out… our guys really and truly left it all on the floor. Overall, we played pretty well. However, we made a handful of costly mistakes that you just can’t make in big time games and expect to win. We lost by 2.
The next night we came out flat and got out-hustled, out-worked, out-smarted, and out-toughed by Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, FL), who is now the 37th ranked team in the nation (ESPN). Our players were still dejected from the loss the night before. Instead of using the loss to motivate us, we had no passion and we had no pride. In essence, we let Montverde beat us twice. Point blank – those are the reasons we lost. But I must say, the officiating in that game was absolutely horrendous. All three of those officials had no business doing an elite level high school basketball game. They had no clue. They had no consistency whatsoever… sometimes they called touch fouls and other times they allowed both teams to play rugby. And not one of them had even a remote understanding of what a traveling violation is. Hell, two of the refs made the All Tournament Team!
As I said, they are not the reason we lost, but they certainly didn’t help and their incompetence fueled our team’s frustration. Midway through the second quarter, I was given a technical foul. I am not positive, but I think I am the first strength & conditioning coach in the history of basketball to get one (which in an odd way… makes me kind of a pioneer). Certainly not my proudest moment. Thankfully, I don’t work for Kevin O’Neil… or I would have been fired on the spot!
For the record, I didn’t use any foul language or scream any obscenities (which I will admit, I have done on occasion). The players from ACD kept grabbing the ball after they scored to intentionally slow down our fast break. I offered my justifiable complaint to the baseline ref. He blew the whistle (stopping our fast break), turned and looked directly at me, and he broke me off a “T” with no warning. It was ridiculous. Everyone sitting near me (players and fans) was dumbfounded. Nevertheless, I sincerely apologized to the team and to our staff after the game and promised it wouldn’t happen again. And it won’t.
So after back-to-back losses, and having our leading scorer literally pull a Baltimore Colts on us, we find ourselves knee deep in adversity. We need to come together as a group and get refocused. We still have a lot of season left to play. But we need to do this quickly – next week we head up to New Jersey to play Coach Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony’s team!
Jay Bilas, who is a friend and someone I really admire, wrote a compelling article on ESPN.com last week that really sums up our current state. The premise of the article was about winning. He made several key points that really hit home. The most applicable one for us was a quote from Bill Parcels:
“You have to understand what causes you to lose before you can understand how to win.”
I believe I have pinpointed the reason we are struggling. Our players go through stretches where they lack the “want to.”
They know what they are supposed to do and they have all of the talent in the world to do it. Our guys have the potential to be one of the top teams in the country this year…but they go through periods when they don’t “want to.” It has nothing to do with ability. It has to do with a consistent desire and commitment to excellence. There are times when they don’t “want to” box out, times when they don’t “want to” make the extra pass, and times when they don’t “want to” play defense. Hell, the entire point of my blog “Lesson Learned?” was a question of their “want to.”
Terrence Ross is a perfect example. Before you think I am picking on Terrence because he left, please understand… I like Terrence. I always have. He was always cool with me. While I am very disappointed he left, I harbor no hard feelings or ill will and I wish him the best. I sincerely mean that.
But anyone who knows TRoss will readily admit he is the epitome of why you would question someone’s “want to.”
No one has ever questioned his natural ability or talent. TRoss is 6’5”, has the wingspan of a Pterodactyl, has cat like reflexes, and can absolutely jump out of the gym. His jump shot is smooth, effortless, and has NBA range. Despite needing a few more pounds of muscle, he is a prototype 2-guard. With the exception of Kevin Durant, TRoss is the most naturally gifted player we have had at Montrose… and believe me… we have had our share of studs.
Despite his natural ability and talent, people have always questioned his “want to.” High school ranking evaluators and college recruiters have questioned his work ethic. They have questioned his dedication. They have questioned his leadership, his heart, and his competitiveness. They have consistently questioned his “want to.” Which is a shame because his “want to” is 100% controllable! I hope for Terrence’s sake, he finds it.
I read a book last week called Strengths Finders 2.0. While it used different terminology, it basically made the same point I am trying to make:
Talent X “Want To” = Potential for Success
Please re-read that formula. That is very powerful stuff. Think about it like this in regards to basketball:
Your talent is defined as your natural gifts... primarily your height, length, and overall athletic ability (quickness, reaction, explosiveness, etc.). While you can certainly make some improvement through proper training, these characteristics are for the most part uncontrollable. Not everyone can have LeBron’s body (sorry).
Your “want to” is your desire… primarily your effort, enthusiasm, heart, competitiveness, and ability to be coached. These characteristics are 100% controllable.
To predict someone’s potential for success, in this case, on the basketball court, simply rate their talent and rate their “want to” on a scale of 1 to 10. Then multiply the two numbers for a maximum score of 100.
The best players in the world… guys like Kobe, LeBron, CP3, and Kevin Durant have a high talent rating and a high “want to” rating. These guys’ scores are right around 100.
Players who are looked at as underachievers (“wastes of talent”)… guys like Darko Milicic, Stephen Marbury, and Kwame Brown have a high talent rating and a low “want to” rating. These guys’ scores are low… but they have the potential to raise them and put themselves in the superstar’s group if they would just “want to.” The only thing holding them back is themselves.
Players who are looked at as overachievers… guys like Bruce Bowen, Ben Wallace, Brian Scalabrine, and Tyler Hansbrough may not have been born with tremendous talent... but have a “want to” that is palpable. These guys’ can’t do much else, they are already maximizing and making the most of their talent.
Our team is currently underachieving. Our talent is very high. This is the most athletic team we have had at Montrose in my 7 years. But our “want to” is sporadic and inconsistent. Until we fix that, we will continue to have a roller coaster of a season.
Before I sign off, I wanted to give a quick update on the young lady who tore her ACL over the holidays. I spoke with her father the other day and her surgery went very well. She had no meniscus damage and there has been no swelling. She is walking fine and doing physical therapy 3 times per week. Her PT is very pleased with her progress and credited her lower body strength as a reason the injury was less severe and why her recovery is going so smoothly!
And as always, check out (and subscribe to) www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom. Last week I posted a video of Duke Basketball’s Pre-Game Warm-up. This week I will post Nike Skills Academy Warm-up.
And if you need anything else, or if I can be of service in any way, don’t hesitate to email me at alan@strongerteam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible.
One love.
Alan Stein
