My Shoes, My Game, My Brand

GUEST BLOG

by Larry Hunt

These are all headlines [this past week] in various sports outlets – yahoo, etc.

What do they all have in common?

“Eric Bledsoe's crossover makes Clippers' Jared Cunningham jog off the court, toward the stands”

“Kyrie Irving goes between the legs for sweet assist to Kevin Love”

“Erik Lamela scores absurd rabona goal in Europa League match, invalidates all arguments against him”

“CP3's Sick Fake and Score”

All these headlines glorify an individual; all these headlines sensationalize a professional athlete doing something that is actually not uncommon at all. Why then the headlines?

Maybe words like marketing, branding, and self-centeredness come to mind – or something else that reflects the trend to accentuate self. Many elite players today are more enraptured with themselves and their brand than they are sacrificing individual glory for team success. For them it’s all about fame and fortune, all the while feigning humility and the “us” mentality.

Our players need to guard themselves from these “faux [role] models” who consistently prove over time that it’s really all about “me” rather than “us.” A saturation of this worldly, proud persona, especially through social media channels and online news outlets, will quickly skew a player’s perception toward emulating this behavior on the court. Our Bruins’ games should never be “performances”; rather, games should always be contests that require total team effort.

As a side note - there is room for creative, selfless play. Creativity properly used enhances the action required to deceive the opponent. The basketball court is one place in life where deception is allowed! But let’s not be unnatural or ostentatious in our creativity; the day that “playing to the crowd” supersedes “playing for my team” is the day that we regress to mediocrity at best.

Just some random thoughts . . . thanks for reading!

- Coach Larry Hunt, Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

The Five L's

I'm really looking forward to celebrating a Bruins win tonight for Valentine's Day!  In the meantime, I was finishing up a book today for the 3rd time by Gary Mack called "Mind Gym" and I wanted to share some quotes from the closing chapters.  I thought it would be a good read for today about the "Five L's" to success.

The Five L's

Love 

"The most important thing is to love your sport.  Never compete just to please someone else." - Peggy Fleming

"You've got to love what you're doing.  If you love it, you can overcome any handicap or the soreness or all the aches and pains."  - Gordie Howe

"Now that I'm out of the game I know how lucky and blessed I was to play the game that I loved." - Ozzie Smith

"The first thing I did before the start of every spring training was to fall in love with the players and the game all over again." - Jimmy Piersall

Labor

"Success is built upon dedication and hard work.  Take Larry Bird, he doesn't have the speed.  He doesn't have the height.  But he works and works, shoots and shoots...He sets inner goals for everything - for the week, for the month, for the season." - Red Auerbach

Learn

"By the time you learn how to the play the game, you can't play it anymore." - Frank Howard

"The left side of the scales is piled full of talent and the right side is piled with brains.  When you begin your career, it's full of the physical and almost void of the mental.  Then as you get further along...the balance shifts to the mental side as your physical abilities deteriorate and your mental capabilities accelerate.  The frustrating thing is, you can see your body aging right before your eyes, but you know so much more about the game and how to play it.  That's really the way I always felt, especially as I got past the middle of my career.  I felt I can't play forever but I'm learning more every day." - Dan Fouts

"Remember your mistakes and then forget them." - Lou Piniella

Laughter

"What does it take to be a success in business?  A sense of humor and a good bullpen." - Whitey Herzog

"Life is too important to take too seriously.  If you learn to laugh at yourself you will enjoy a lifetime of entertainment." - Gary Mack

Leave, or let go

"I know that I'm never as good or bad as any single performance.  I've never believed my critics or my worshipers, and I've always been able to leave the game at the arena." - Charles Barkley

"The trick is to realize that after giving your best, there's nothing more to give.  Win or lose the game is finished.  It's over.  It's time to forget and prepare for the next one.  Love the game, or your work, but don't be married to it." - Sparky Anderson

You can purchase "Mind Gym" by Gary Mack here.

*The previous quotes were taken from the book, "Mind Gym" by Gary Mack.

Becoming a Bruin

Well, it feels like the past few months have been a roller coaster ride, as I've been trying to find a coaching position for this upcoming season.  I'm very excited to announce that God has opened a door for me to coach at NCCAA DI, Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC.  My young coaching career has been filled with mostly part-time and volunteer positions, so I am extremely thankful for my first "full-time" position where my job is to get paid to coach basketball!  How cool is that?!

My wife and I have spent numerous hours praying that the right position would open up, and it has.  I am looking forward to working with a great head coach in Neal Ring and being part of BJU's inaugural season of intercollegiate athletics.  I didn't think that when Coach Ring first talked to me about coming to BJU it would actually happen.  I had a lot of skepticism and was doubtful about the whole situation, but I guess good things happen when you talk to coaches at the Final Four!

I look forward to being part of a program where Jesus Christ is lifted high and lives will be impacted for the Kingdom of God.  Anyone who knows me understands my passion for basketball and my desire to use the game to proclaim the gospel message of Jesus.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to coach at an institution where I can do that.  I am also grateful for my mentors who have discipled me along the way and continue to make huge impacts in my life.  Coach Peter Wehry, Coach Paul Whitt, and Wayne Simien (there are many more coaches, too!) have been some of my greatest coaching role models and I appreciate everything they do.  I am pumped up to begin work as a Bruin and I am ecstatic to see the awesome things God does with our basketball team!