There were two things going on then. I was enjoying the battle against Bill and I was convincing myself that my practices were games, that I at least had the competition that every athlete needs.

Coach Wooden gave me a job description. He told me I probably wouldn't play very much, but he needed me to practice against Bill. He said, 'You're not going to get the glory, but I need you to do this.' I accepted the challenge.

The talent is better but your teamwork is not.

Bill and Keith knew each other's idiosyncrasies like the back of their hands.

No doubt. Who could score on Bill and who could stop Kareem?

Relationships are the Ends, Not the Means.

Pattern Consistency is a major key to time-management. Search for and discover the best time to do planning, and do your planning at that same time every day. When the priorities receive their own place in the day, each day will have the same pattern. Pattern begets comfort and productivity. Patience An abundance of patience is needed to manage time consistently. Making the change to becoming a good time-manager may be very difficult.

Coach Wooden’s philosophy is for players and students to improve a little every day and make perfection the goal. His method for improving conditioning included one painful demand—each player, when reaching the point of exhaustion, was to push himself beyond. When this is done every day, top condition will be attained over time.

First, demonstrate what you want. Second, allow the person learning to imitate with the trainer coaching until perfect execution is achieved. Last, build repetition until it becomes second nature.

Coach Wooden preached against comparisons and external rewards, and for focusing on becoming your best.