The Big Games I've Lost
There's a famous story about Super Bowl XXIII when the 49ers get the ball down 3 with just over 3 minutes to play on their own 8-yard line. Joe Montana sensed that his team was a little uptight in that moment, and one of his key lineman specifically, Harris Barton, was really tense. So, before the drive began he looked into the crowd, tapped Barton and say "Hey look, that's John Candy." It broke the tension in the huddle, calmed Barton down, and the Niners went down the field and scored to win the Super Bowl.
In many of the big games I've lost - especially the games we were expected to win - I've had one central thought when looking back on my performance as the head coach: I couldn't find a way to break the tension. When things got tight, the game got really intense and the pressure of the result hung over my team, I couldn't find a way to snap them out of it. I couldn't find a way to get them to relax and be themselves.
It almost never goes the way you think it's going to go. When it does, you don't have much to worry about. We recently had one of those, against Richmond in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. We played great from the tip on both offense and defense, we made 12 threes and guarded the entire game, and the result was never in doubt. We didn't have to do much. But it is rare when that happens, and those aren't the games you need to prepare for.
In a big game with a lot on the line, especially in the post-season when it's win or go home, your team is going to have to handle some pressure and adversity. At some point you'll be faced with the fact that you might lose, and your kids will get tight. One of your best players gets into foul trouble, the other team goes on an 8-0 spurt, the crowd starts to get into it - you are all going to feel it. That's the nature of a big game. It's how you handle that pressure that will give you a chance to win.
When I've lost those games, my team usually played tight and couldn't handle that pressure. They started to think about the result, what it would be like to lose. And I couldn't find a way to break that tension and get them back.
Having a great pulse of your team is really essential here, because there isn't a default blueprint for how to loosen up. You have to judge how they are responding to the moment in front of them and give them what they need - regardless of how you feel. Often I find I have to make sure they see the opposite of how I feel. If I'm starting to feel tight I need to make sure I loosen them up. Or if I'm a little too relaxed for whatever reason, I may have to get after them to get them going. The key is to find a way to get them to be themselves, to play without fear and win the game. Sometimes talking about the pressure of losing can break the tension, believe it or not. Letting them know it's the way you play for each other that matters, not the result.
It might be a joke that will make a few guys laugh. Maybe you make fun of yourself. In one huddle in the conference championship game when I was at RIC I sensed our guys were too tight, so after we got done with all the instructions I yelled over the noise in the gym - "I've got one more question for you guys! How does my tie look?" They all started to laugh. "This is a big game, TV cameras are here, I don't want to look like a slob." Everybody smiled as they left the huddle. It's just basketball guys. Let's remember to have some fun.
Big games come with pressure and tension that your team might not be used to. Your job is, when that tension hits, to find a way to break it. The pressure of a big game gets to all of us. Getting your team to loosen up in that moment is more important than any basketball decision you will make.