“Don’t be surprised if a few “Ollieisms” start finding their way into military jargon after Wednesday’s panel discussion on leadership at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
UConn’s Kevin Ollie was one of seven basketball coaches, including UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma, who participated in the seminar with an audience of more than 400 service members in attendance at the Pentagon Auditorium.
And Ollie, still thriving on the increased attention that has come his way since the Huskies won the NCAA championship in Dallas last month, was a crowd favorite as he included many of his now-famous sayings – from “ten toes in” to “faith through the dark” – along with an explanation of the “challenge circle” that wraps up every UConn practice session.
Ollie talked about commitment and loyalty and how those characteristics helped the Huskies persevere when “they said our whole program was collapsing.”
“The confetti dropped down a month ago but the confetti [really] dropped down 18 months ago when those guys did not give in,” Ollie said of the players who stayed with UConn during the NCAA postseason ban in 2013. “Those guys believed. They kept fighting through it and they had faith through the dark. That’s what I believe in. That’s how we overcame. It’s the loyalty to the university that we have the opportunity to perform for each and every day.”
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith and Villanova coach Jay Wright were the other participating coaches in the program brought together by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey. Jay Bilas, ESPN college basketball analyst, served as moderator.
The coaches, many of whom have served with USA Basketball, met with President Barack Obama in the oval office Wednesday morning. Ollie had an advantage everywhere he went, especially since the Huskies defeated the teams coach by Wright and Izzo on the way to the Final Four.
“President Obama picked us [to win the NCAA championship],” Izzo said. “And today when we met the president, I told him it was Kevin’s fault. I said, ‘Don’t chew me out about your bracket.’ But I told my [players] we got beat by a team that, if you ask me, Shabazz [Napier] was the guy. He willed his way and he willed it on his opponents. He was demanding of his own players. I mean, I watched him push players on his own team. That is Utopia.”
Ollie responded by saying Napier matured over his four years at UConn.
“It was a process,” Ollie said. “We challenged him each and every day.”
And when Ollie explained the challenge circle, the other coaches seemed to hang on his every word. The challenge circle is something Ollie developed with the help of Dr. Joe Carr, the sports psychologist who worked with the Huskies during the 2012 season.
“We call the basketball our cake,” Ollie said. “I have the cake first and I throw to one of the guys. They catch the cake and then they have to challenge one of the other guys. . . . We’ve created an environment where we’re all challenging each other to get better. I think that allowed Shabazz to challenge Ryan Boatright in front of 79,000 people [in Dallas] and push him. I’m over there like, ‘Oh man, my two point guards are about to fight right now. Please don’t do this.’ But they had that environment where they challenge each other, each and every day.”
Later, during a discussion on accountability, Izzo said a team needs “self-evaluators.”
“About eight years ago, I went and bought these Barbie and Ken mirrors, you know?” Izzo said. “Every time we have a major problem, I get the mirrors out. I make [my assistants] hold them and take a look at it. Who’s fault is it? Is it ours or theirs? I think that’s what leadership is all about, adjusting a little bit.”
Bilas, who did an outstanding job during the one-hour discussion that was streamed live on the Pentagon Channel and heard on Armed Forces Radio, couldn’t help but interject at that point.
“Among the things that I’ll take from this leadership conference today,” Bilas said, “at the top of the list will be that UConn has a challenge circle and Michigan State uses Barbie mirrors.” That drew a large round of laughter from the military officials and the coaches.
Wright said he warns his players against using terms like “war” and “battle” to describe their games. Auriemma took that a step further, using an analogy about mistakes that could lead to a loss.
“There’s kids your age all over the world serving in the military, who, when they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, the way they’re supposed to do it, when it’s supposed to be done, it has serious consequences,” Auriemma said. “When you start taking every little thing that you’re supposed to do, as seriously as those kids your age take their jobs in the military, then you understand what passion is, what commitment to detail is, and when your teammate expects you to do something, you do it.
“You can make mistakes, but if you accept making those mistakes because it’s just a game and nothing bad happens, then as you move on and the stakes get higher, things get tougher, the only thing you learned in college is how to make mistakes and how to make excuses.”
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