quotations about basketball
On a good team there are no superstars. There are great players who show they are great players by being able to play with others as a team.
RED HOLZMAN
attributed, Team Work: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball
Defense should be played with your feet and your brain, not your hands.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go. Don't ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
attributed, You Vs You: Sports Psychology for Life
We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors.
WELDON DREW
The Michigan Journal, 1987
More games are lost by dumb than are won by smart.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
There is nothing better than being out there when the game is on the line.
LARRY BIRD
The Sacramento Bee, February 3, 1998
Basketball is like most other things: if your basics are off, nothing else is really going to help you improve.
GREG DUTCHER
Killing Calvinism
Basketball is a team game. But that doesn't mean all five players should take the same amount of shots.
DEAN SMITH
attributed, "501 Awesome Basketball Quotes", Basketball for Coaches
The goal is to make practice more difficult, physically and mentally, than anything your players will face during a game.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy.
JERRY TARKANIAN
attributed, Winning Words
Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.
PHIL JACKSON
Sacred Hoops
In basketball -- as in life -- true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way.
PHIL JACKSON
Sacred Hoops
Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.
RED AUERBACH
attributed, It's How You Play the Game
Failure is good. It's fertilizer. Everything I've learned about coaching, I've learned from making mistakes.
RICK PITINO
attributed, Teamthink
I just love the game of basketball so much. The game! I don't need the 18,000 people screaming and all the peripheral things. To me, the most enjoyable part is the practice and preparation.
BOB KNIGHT
attributed, Coach Yourself: A Motivational Guide for Coaches and Leaders
Most important ingredient to winning: no personal agendas. The commitment has to be 'us' driven not 'me' driven.
KEVIN EASTMAN
attributed, "501 Awesome Baketball Quotes", Basketball for Coaches
Basketball is a sport that involves the subtle interweaving of players at full speed to the point where they are thinking and moving as one.
PHIL JACKSON
Sacred Hoops
The best basketball announcer is one who allows you to close your eyes.
LARRY BIRD
Esquire, Sep. 2008
We have a practical rule in our game: when you stop the basketball, when it resides in your presence and you hold it for longer than two counts, you've destroyed our rhythm. When the ball is in your hands, you become the focal point. And when you become the focus, our system breaks down. It's that simple. Suddenly the defense can catch up, and the spacing is destroyed. So it's the unselfish players--players who are more interested in reading what's happening and keeping the flow going on the floor--who are the most valuable players that you have.
PHIL JACKSON
attributed, Team Work: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball
Basketball allowed me to revere my father without him knowing what I was up to. I took up basketball as a form of homage and mimicry.
PAT CONROY
My Losing Season: A Memoir