Quotes & Sayings About Your Basketball Coach

No matter how you total success in the coaching profession it all comes down to a single factor - talent. There may be a hundred great coaches of whom you have never heard in basketball, football, or any sport who will probably never receive the acclaim they deserve simply because they have not been blessed with the talent. Although not every coach can win consistently with talent, no coach can win without it. — John Wooden

As a coach, you're just trying to figure out how to keep a team on edge. You've got to find that edge. — Don Meyer

Coach Wooden, when he speaks, you listen. I've taken a lot of things from him and his little blue book because to him, it's not just about basketball, it's about life as well. — Kevin Love

I didn't miss any games, but Coach Knight came out and spent three days with my family in Chicago when my dad passed away. I came back and played and it was good therapy for me. Having a basketball family and a coach who understood and actually became like a father figure for that time was comforting to me, and I'm sure that will be comforting to Coleman. — Mike Krzyzewski

Alvin's the coach. We must be the Clippers. And I must be Olowokandi. Nooooo! — Shaquille O'Neal

Oh, you know. I'm queen of the rumor mill. It seems like there's been a new rumor about me every week since I got here. Comes with being the new girl, I guess. Have you heard the one where I seduced the basketball coach? That's a personal favorite. — Cynthia Hand

X & O's aren't worth a damn without a team. If your team isn't with you it doesn't matter what you draw up. The team must respect what the coach is asking them to do — Hubie Brown

For a college basketball player or coach, to reach the Final Four is la-la land. You've achieved, you've got your stamp of approval. My first team to do that was in 1986. Then we did it in '88, '89 and '90. — Mike Krzyzewski

Just because we play in the NBA or coach in the NBA doesn't mean we are not human. We are supermen. For me, getting shot is scary. — George Karl

Players draw confidence from a poised, alert coach who anticipates changing in game conditions — Jack Ramsay

The team is an extension of the coach. — Don Meyer

Your contribution as a coach is defending and rebounding. — Dick Motta

Other people go to the office. I get to coach. I know I've been blessed. — Jim Valvano

Picking an assistant coach, the first thing I was interested in was the man's character. — Woody Hayes

So you're dealing with a coach, and you're dealing with a guy who's actually experienced NBA basketball from a player's perspective and actually goes about it that way. — Kevin Garnett

Coach now the way you want to coach 10 years from now. — Jerry Krause

I believe it's impossible to claim you have taught, when there are students who have not learned. With that commitment, from my first year as an English teacher until my last as UCLA basketball teacher/coach, I was determined to make the effort to become the best teacher I could possibly be, not for my sake, but for all those who were placed under my supervision. — John Wooden

It always amazes me that spectators want to coach, coaches want to officiate, and officials just want to watch the game — Lou Holtz

I grew up in a small town in Illinois, and my dad was a basketball coach. Thanks to him, I have excellent fundamentals in both basketball and baseball. — Nick Offerman

Practice gotta be harder than the games and it never is unless you want it to be as a player. The coach can't drive that — John Calipari

They grabbed me and up I went. My shriek probably could've been heard in England. It certainly brought the basketball coach and the rest of the boys running in the belief that someone was being brutally murdered.
I don't think Mrs. Green will be picking me for the squad. — Joss Stirling

Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end. — Shaquille O'Neal

My American strength coach said he liked me better before I could speak English. — Yao Ming

I don't complain about playing time. My job is to play so well the coach can't sit me. — Shane Battier

My teammates at Duke - all of them, black and white - were a band of brothers who came together to play at the highest level for the best coach in basketball. — Grant Hill

As Pat Riley, the basketball coach, said, Anytime you stop striving to get better, you're bound to get worse. — Brian Tracy

I won't coach this team next year if he is still here. He won't listen to anyone. I've had it with this kid. — Phil Jackson

You should always want your coach to be critical. It gives you an opportunity to learn and to overcome adversity — Steve Nash

You never realize the value of coaching until your children play for a coach — Don Meyer

Players have to buy into your system and be willing to accept the role, you, as the coach, have assigned to them — Chuck Daly

I could maybe coach kids' basketball. I know enough about basketball where I feel like I could coach 12-year-olds pretty effectively. — Hannibal Buress

When you're a coach you've got to go up the ladder, you've got to be ready to travel. That's the nature of coaching — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Famed basketball coach Phil Jackson, a meditator himself, arranged to have his players - first the Chicago Bulls, and then the L.A. Lakers - learn meditation as a way to improve their focus and teamwork. Jackson finds that mindfulness assists players in paying attention to what's happening on the court moment by moment. Such precise training in attention has paid off during tense playoffs; Jackson has led more teams to championships than any coach in NBA history. Meditation — Sharon Salzberg

You know how when you step on court your coach is like "go go go!"? And all throughout you just keep telling yourself to hit harder and harder and keep at it? You know how much you treasure those five-minute timeouts? You know how good you feel at the end of a session? You know how you're glad you're tired? No pills, no shots, just plain energy. I want to work like that. Whether I have to write ten thousand words or send five hundred emails, brainstorm for hours at a time, I want to have that energy. To keep fighting. To know it's all worth it.
Oh, yeah. That's my perfect day. — Thisuri Wanniarachchi

I've always tried to coach people the way I would like to be coached; positively and encouragingly rather than with criticism and fear ... I've tried to be as fair as possible. — Tony Dungy

Building relationships is the key for being happy as a coach. Players must want to play for you. If they are comfortable with you, they will work hard for you. — Mike McConathy

If a Coach is determined to stay in the coaching profession, he will develop from year to year. This much is true, no coach has a monopoly on the knowledge of basketball. There are no secrets in the game. The only secrets, if there are any, are good teaching of sound fundamentals, intelligent handling of men, a sound system of play, and the ability to instill in the boys a desire to win. — Adolph Rupp

You need a teaching coach who understands the game of basketball, not just some guy coming on the court talking about Xs and Os. — Oscar Robertson

The University of Houston has made an excellent choice by hiring Ron Hughey as its new women's basketball coach. Coach Hughey will bring an expertise and energy level to the program that will excite fans and put Houston Women's Basketball back on the map. Having watched him coach up close, I know his players will improve immensely and love learning from him. I look forward to following Houston Basketball in the years to come. — Mike Thibault

In 2001 we didn't have all the talent in the world, we just had me on offense and just a bunch of tough ass dudes, and a great coach in Larry Brown. — Allen Iverson

People really don't care, in some ways, that you have a family. With a high profile job like I have, they just want you to win basketball games. You can do that and still keep your family together. I try the best I can to be at the basketball practices or tennis practices or recitals. In my first year at Dallas my (then 11-year old) son Avery Jr., said, "You know daddy, you're still the best coach in the NBA." I was like, "But I haven't won a playoff game yet." And he said, "That's okay. You're still my daddy." That makes you feel good. — Avery Johnson

We told Stanley Roberts to go on a water diet, and Lake Superior disappeared. Pat Williams When Xavier McDaniel plays against Orlando Wooldridge, it's a coach's dream - X vs O. — Mychal Thompson

The idea of going back to basketball drills made her stomach tighten, but she stood up on her tiptoes and leaned into Jay, whispering against his cheek. "I got your note last night. Would've been better if I'd have found you in my bed instead."
Jay groaned and grabbed her by the shoulders. There was the hint of accusation buried behind his breathy chuckle as he set her away from him. "You're playing with fire, Vi. You shouldn't tease me at school. Besides, I think if I hid in your room, your father - check that, your mother - would skin me alive."
Violet heard the coach shouting her name, and she knew she'd be getting a demerit for slacking off. But she didn't care.
She flashed him her most wolfish smile. "Next time, you should totally take that chance. It could've been fun," she promised before sauntering away. — Kimberly Derting

A good coach improves your game. A great coach improves your life. — Michael Josephson

I am very excited to be the head women's basketball coach at Beloit College, ... This is a great opportunity for me. I am looking forward to putting my stamp on the program. I am confident that I can and will be successful here. — Don Adams

How tall are you, Constantine?" I asked, unable to hide my tears.
Constantine narrowed her eyes at me.
"How tall is you?"
"Five-eleven," I cried. "I'm already taller than the boys' basketball coach."
"Well, I'm five-thirteen, so quit feeling sorry for yourself. — Kathryn Stockett

What is there about basketball that makes Larry Bird or Lenny Wilkens want to coach after their playing careers are done? — George Vecsey

I've had a desire to coach for years. This was something I felt I should do. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball. — Mike Krzyzewski

Anytime you're playing basketball, and you have a coach who you have to respect, you've got to be very disciplined. — Romeo Miller