The Key to Success: PREPARATION

I wanted to thank Head Coach Lennie Acuff of the University of Alabama in Huntsville for giving me the heads up on a great article. The article was on ESPN.com and talks about the fantastic job that Michigan’s State Head Coach Tom Izzo and his coaching staff do in game preparation on short turnarounds. Izzo has an impressive 14-2 records in rounds 2, 4, and 6. The Spartan’s video staff consists of a head video coordinator (Jordan Ott), two graduate assistants, and 11 student managers. According to the article the staff tapes almost 1’800 games and they are referred to as the “Peons” because of their amazing work ethic and commitment to Michigan State basketball. Izzo has preached to his Spartans in the past three weekends, "You get me through the first game; I'll get you through the second." It is amazing in reading the article how many people are involved and how much time and effort the Michigan State staff put into game preparation.

In the game of basketball I strongly believe that scouting reports are extremely important to a team’s success. Creating an in-depth scout will take the guessing game out of what you will see when the ball is thrown in the air. I have also learned that scouting reports also help players mentally prepare for a game, and the mental aspect of the game is just as important as the physical aspect. What a great scouting report coaching staff can do for a team is give players added confidence. Michigan State guard Travis Walton had this to say on Izzo’s game preparation, “We're confident he's going to come out with a game plan and have something ready for us. That's why he's coach Izzo, and why he's a Hall of Famer one day. With one preparation day, the things he does are amazing