Dustin Thompson

Billy Donovan shares a lesson that changed how his players thought about winning. At Florida, he had a manager track how long the ball was in each player's hands during a game. He asked one of his starters: "How many minutes do you think you had the ball in your hands for the game?" The player said 15 minutes when he had played 30. The real numbers? "A backcourt player, for the most part, is probably 92% of the game gonna be played without the ball in their hands. A frontcourt player - 95% of their minutes is gonna be played without the ball in their hands." Think about that. You're playing without the ball almost the entire game. "It's amazing to me how many players focus on points, points, points. That's what goes on ESPN. That's what gets the highlights." "But if you're gonna strictly talk about winning and you're really driven and motivated by winning and competing and being a good teammate, you have to look at the fact is -- what am I doing with my 92, 93, 94, 95%?" "Am I screening? Am I running the floor? Am I on the floor for loose basketballs? Am I rebounding? Am I taking a charge?" "There's so many ways to impact the game with the amount of time you're on the floor when the ball's not in your hands." This is what separates good players from winning players. You control how you show up. You control your attitude. You control your effort. Great teammates master what they do when no one's watching - and when the ball isn't in their hands. Winning isn't about the glamour. It's about the 95%. (🎥@Coaching_U ) (🎥@brendansuhr)