Coach Brian

Ben McCollum shares what it feels like to be around first-place people and a first-place culture. "I went to Northwest Missouri State, and my first practice with Steve Tapmeyer - best coach I've ever been around - I sat there and I'm like, 'This is what first place feels like. This is what a first-place culture feels like. This is what first-place people feel like.'" That was the wake-up call. He realized what first-place people have: "They've got an extreme work ethic. They've got an edge to 'em that other people don't - a competitive spirit." Then he quoted John Thompson: "You can tame a fool a lot quicker than you can resurrect a corpse...We want guys with a little edge to 'em." You can coach skills, but you can't coach competitive spirit. You don't want to consistently coach their effort and attitude. The last thing they look for: Energy givers. "Over the years, we found that guys that are moody don't make it in our program." "If you're moody, if you have low energy, if you suck the life out of the building - you don't make it." Talent isn't enough. Your energy matters. Your attitude matters. Successful people have a competitive edge, they bring energy, and they look to consistently get better. They raise the standard through what they do. (🎥 Watts Happening Podcast)

What a season for Jaloni Cambridge and Ohio State 🫡

Two completely different players. Both great. Caitlin = System Creator Paige = System Maximizer You'd have to actually watch the games (assuming you aren't since you asked the question) but basically it goes like this. With Caitlin, the offense starts with her. She bends coverage every possession and raises the ceiling of her teammates. She does this by her insane shooting range, her get ahead passing, her pick & roll passing, her ability to get downhill, and the attention she gets off the ball. If you have her, you're system is created around what she does. With Paige, she thrives inside structure, converts advantages at elite efficiency, and has benefited from talent density. Again, watch the games and you'll see that Bueckers is allowed to go without touching the ball for minutes at a time. She surgically picks her spots and creates when needed rather than owning every possession like Clark. Bueckers is an elite decision-maker, midrange shooter, and doesn't require heliocentric control. If you have her, she's going to be able to optimize the existing system with the talent around her.

Thank you for the support all season long. Go Hawks, always. 🖤