Saturday, March 28, 2009

Being Tough

This past week has given me so many things to write about, I just wish I had the time to share all my thoughts. I have been collecting a few things though for future posts.

Regardless of the sport, coaches, teammates, even fans appreciate TOUGHNESS. However, it seems most people have their own definition of being TOUGH. There have been a couple things that have come to my attention that help define toughness for a basketball player.

One great example came directly from Tubby Smith, the University of Minnesota's coach. In an interview about the development of his team for next year, he had this to say:

"That's one of the things that we were hoping, that we would grow and get better," Smith said. "Being tougher. Being men. I said that from last year to this year, you've got to keep getting better. Ralph [Sampson III] is getting there. Colton is there. Colton is as tough as there is. Travis Busch is there. Knowing how to be tough."

"Setting a good, solid screen, to me, is being tough. Being in the right spot. Making the right decisions. Fighting through fatigue. Busch? He's a guy that gives you that hustle. He can raise the level of intensity on the court, because he plays with such reckless abandon."

(Travis Busch is a 2005 Mustang. He is the school's all-time leading scorer and Minnesota's 2005 Mr. Basketball.)

A more in-depth definition came from Jay Bilas, on his blog at ESPN.COM. He defined 33 things that define a tough basketball player. Every basketball player should read this. Be honest with yourself. ARE YOU TOUGH?

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