Do early season losses by a good team actually help a team focus?
Hi,
It has been a while, hope everyone is doing well.
I remember when the Blue Devils lost an early season game to Stanford (boy did that hurt), but went on to win the National Championship. The guy sitting next to me at that game said he felt that an early season loss actually helps a lot of teams focus, etc. At the time I thought he was trying to make me feel better about the loss, but given the results maybe he was right.
GO DUKE!!!
Within the discipline of coaching
Coaches:
a. Try to win every single game.
b. Try to have the best players on the court at all times (in the context of a rotation scheme that keeps players fresh) -- until, until a game is decided.
c. Try to call the best offensive play and defensive scheme on each single possession.
This is hard work.
Sure, sure. If a team loses a game, the coaches use it as a teaching opportunity or a wake-up call. Are losses good? No! See points a, b,and c above.
Reaction to losses can go further. I heard from an eyewitness -- a Duke grad who was a grad student at UNC -- that on one of Dean Smith's last teams, with more hardheads than usual, he said, "You guys aren't listening to me; I'll sit over here; just coach yourself."
sagegrouse
'This response probably makes no sense at all'