Agreed, some insightful quotes. Good to see the players progress on the mental side of the game. That really comes first. Some examples:
- Omar talking about Brimah not having to block every shot but changing shots and not swiping down. I think with Amida though, as great as he played defensively the last 8 minutes - he is still worried about the number of blocks in the box score - rather than staying in the game - and making them miss. So mentally his approach to the game is definitely a work in progress given his limited exposure to the game.
- TSam may be a captain next year. I loved how he talked about preparing both physically and mentally - the night before the game. Especially, with a day game - get your sleep, make sure you have gotten your shooting practices in so when you are in position to make a play you will have confidence to make it without hesitating. He also means getting locked in on what you need to do to win after hearing scouting report. Unless you are a Bird, Jordon, Magic, Kobe or LeBron you need to do that. Quite frankly, with those elite few it's was really about just them being ready, because if they were what the scouting report said about the other team was meaningless. They were that good.
- Boat is tough with a huge passion for the game and to win.
- KO has them focused on the right stuff - fighting through screens, rotations, practicing shooting on own to built confidence, looking for third and fourth option. Brimah staying in game by not making silly fouls.
- if you have physical talent then the game becomes mental, toughness and hard work in order to win. I hear the coaches voice in the players comments ( they may not realize that) so that's a good sign. The coaching is slowly sinking in. This was always my fault with Jerome during his college days - he had physical toughness but needed to game prep.