A coach should never criticize players publicly or in the media. Bear Bryant said: “If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you. ” If you want to tell your AD behind closed doors that is one thing, but don’t say anything negative about the players publicly. Don’t tell everyone that the players did not do what you told them. Even if it is true that they did not do as they were taught, save that for the locker room and practice if it is not the last game of the season. As the coach give the players credit for the victories and accept the blame for the defeat as the head coach. To me, it is even more unforgivable in college to blame the athletes. D1 coaches make hundreds of thousands of dollars off of the efforts of the players and the players are getting nothing in return. I don’t agree with the argument that they are getting a free education. Most of them could go to college for next to nothing just on aid and need alone, even if they didn’t have a basketball scholarship. I believe that If a coach works on game ending situations over and over in practice, the players will at least look as if they have a plan of attack and are not totally disorganized at the end of a game, then the people who matter can judge for themselves that the coach did his or her job in preparing them.
For a collection of hundreds of great tools for basketball coaches and players, visit www.coachingtoolbox.net
