Mentality over Material

    Mentality over material. The mental approach you take is more important than the material you have to get there.

    So, it is not a good idea for the Utah Jazz to "tank" in order to get Victor Wembanyama or Scooter Henderson in next years draft. If you develop a losing attitude, it will be hard to shake. If the players so much as sense the coach and front office don't want them to do well, it will likely affect how hard they try. Plus, losing can pound you down. You come to accept the idea you are not good when you lose too much. 

   New Coach Will Hardy is also establishing habits that will carry over in years to follow. He needs to establish a mentality that he will do everything he can to make his team win give your best effort. The mentality of the coach is as important as that of the players.

   Here's advice from another first-year coach, Amber Whiting, who is taking up the reins of the BYU women's program. "They (her players) are learning me, and learning that I don't half anything. I won't accept anything but 100 percent. Then, when we step on the court, it's game time. We'll always run a drill until they like it and give me full effort."

   Winning isn't so much a matter of who's on your roster; it's the confidence you instill in those who are on your roster.