Coach Fox can turn things around if he takes a lesson from George Costanza and starts doing THE OPPOSITE of his natural instinct.
Most every decision Fox has made in his Bulldawg basketball career has been wrong. Who to recruit, who to start, when to sub, what offense to drop (the Triangle ), what new O scheme to adopt, who to hire as asst coach ..... all of it has been wrong and resulted in the same soul-numbing mediocrity each season.
His life as UGA coach has to be the opposite of what Fox wanted it to be. Fox must wonder why did it all turn out like this for him? He had such promise when he arrived from Nevada. He was personable and well-liked by Nevada fans. He was considered bright by the media because he ran a complicated offense. He recruited prospects who got drafted in first round by the NBA.
If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right. Fox needs to completely ignore every urge towards common sense and good judgment he's ever had in Athens. This should be more than a notion for him; it should become his religion.
First he should stop shaving and no longer wear a coat and tie on sidelines. He most importantly must choose to become an emotional and outwardly demonstrative leader who delegates authority rather than control the little details. He should trust his players enough to allow them to improvise. He needs to seat his most trusted veteran advisor next to him on bench rather than a quiet graduate assistant.
He should admit to top 5-star Atlanta prospects he doesn't really expect them to sign with him and that he doesn't really care because he'll be fine and have fun anyway without them. In other words, be the opposite of "needy". And he should tell his talented 4-star recruiting targets he will start them as Freshman and promise to be patient when they stumble.
He must ditch the Modified Motion and run the opposite type of scheme that requires lots of off-ball screens and player movement away from the ball. He should tell his big men not to set high post screens. He ought to order his guards and wings to take lots of 3-point shots.
He should install scripted in-bounds plays. Narrow his rotation to only 8 or 9 players. Press on D and declare publicly that playing zone D will be the secret to their postseason success. He would embrace the public relations aspect of his job and do his post-game interviews courtside with fans watching and reporters encouraged to ask lots of questions. All practices should be open to the public. He would learn to laugh from deep in his belly.
Success will come to Mark Fox easily next season if only he will do one simple little thing --- stick to the Opposite .
Most every decision Fox has made in his Bulldawg basketball career has been wrong. Who to recruit, who to start, when to sub, what offense to drop (the Triangle ), what new O scheme to adopt, who to hire as asst coach ..... all of it has been wrong and resulted in the same soul-numbing mediocrity each season.
His life as UGA coach has to be the opposite of what Fox wanted it to be. Fox must wonder why did it all turn out like this for him? He had such promise when he arrived from Nevada. He was personable and well-liked by Nevada fans. He was considered bright by the media because he ran a complicated offense. He recruited prospects who got drafted in first round by the NBA.
If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right. Fox needs to completely ignore every urge towards common sense and good judgment he's ever had in Athens. This should be more than a notion for him; it should become his religion.
First he should stop shaving and no longer wear a coat and tie on sidelines. He most importantly must choose to become an emotional and outwardly demonstrative leader who delegates authority rather than control the little details. He should trust his players enough to allow them to improvise. He needs to seat his most trusted veteran advisor next to him on bench rather than a quiet graduate assistant.
He should admit to top 5-star Atlanta prospects he doesn't really expect them to sign with him and that he doesn't really care because he'll be fine and have fun anyway without them. In other words, be the opposite of "needy". And he should tell his talented 4-star recruiting targets he will start them as Freshman and promise to be patient when they stumble.
He must ditch the Modified Motion and run the opposite type of scheme that requires lots of off-ball screens and player movement away from the ball. He should tell his big men not to set high post screens. He ought to order his guards and wings to take lots of 3-point shots.
He should install scripted in-bounds plays. Narrow his rotation to only 8 or 9 players. Press on D and declare publicly that playing zone D will be the secret to their postseason success. He would embrace the public relations aspect of his job and do his post-game interviews courtside with fans watching and reporters encouraged to ask lots of questions. All practices should be open to the public. He would learn to laugh from deep in his belly.
Success will come to Mark Fox easily next season if only he will do one simple little thing --- stick to the Opposite .
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