Joe Torre, Iconic Baseball Manager, Hits Home Run at GWU Lisner Auditorium

Great quotes about the team success from Joe Torre, the former baseball player and manager are universal to all team sports, basketball included. It made me think about my basketball experiences and my former teammates. 

Winning with GW in 1999

On Feb. 16, 2012 veteran baseball manager Joe Torre delighted a standing-room-only crowd at Lisner Auditorium Wednesday, dishing jokes and details of his longtime career on the diamond, most notably as manager of the New York Yankees.

“My secret was trying to have all the players understand what I was trying to do, even though they wouldn’t agree with it,” Mr. Torre said after receiving a standing ovation to his introduction. “And that took a little psychology, trust me.” Later, he added: “If you give respect you’re going to get it in return. I’ve always tried to be honest with players,” even if it wasn’t what they wanted to hear.

GW End-of-the-Season Banquet 1998

That job is made easier when everyone works together, Mr. Torre said. “It’s tough enough when you’re pulling in the same direction to get something done. But when you’re pulling in opposite directions, and pulling against somebody, you can’t do it. I’m a real believer in the whole team concept.”

“I just can’t believe that game statistics is the only thing that counts,” Mr. Torre said. “I always caution people that there’s a heartbeat there. There’s a pulse and a heartbeat, never forget that. What you see on paper may be misleading.”

In a question-and-answer session, Mr. Torre also fielded questions from audience members, like what advice he has for a Little League coach.

“Let them all play,” Mr. Torre said. “Let’s not be dramatic about how important winning is. If we make the game stressful at this age, they’re not going to want to play it anymore. So we have to just understand that whatever happens—whether they strike out or make an error—that’s fine, we’ll work on it, we’ll get better. It’s so important that we keep these kids interested in baseball. It’s a great game. Let’s not have them need to perform for our satisfaction.”

That's right, just let them all play and enjoy the experience!

Winning Embrace in Spartak-St.Petersburg 2009!

(material is taken from GWToday.gwu.edu)

George Washington University 2012 Homecoming

1998-99 Poster: Coach Penders, Shawnta #54 and me #55

Without a doubt, it's hard to believe that it has been 13 years since the Senior Night of my college basketball career. And just as many years since my fellow teammate Shawnta Rogers - the 5'4 Giant point-guard - drilled a buzzer-beating three-pointer against Xavier on that memorable February day that propelled GW to win Atlantic-10 West Title in 1999.

To make a long story short, here is the YouTube video to witness how it all happened. That was a picture perfect Senior Night scenario any college player could dream about. And to top it all off, Shawnta was battling the flue and didn't practice with a team for three days leading up to the game:-) Definitely a fair-tail story for GW Athletics history book!

During our pro basketball careers in Europe, Shawnta and I have played against each other in EuroCup competition few times, but never again did we wear the same team uniform. While playing for Greekteam ARIS against Shawnta's Italian side Cantu, I had to guard Shawnta in one of the decisive possessions of the game due to a defensive mistake... It was a mismatch... And guess what? The Nut dribbled few times stepped back and drilled a crucial three pointer right in my face... :-)

This past Saturday, February 18th, 2012 Shawnta Rogers, along with other GW greats Jack Kvancz, Joe McKeown and Chris Monroe was inducted in GW Athletic Hall of Fame. It was a great pleasure to share this ceremony with him and the extended GW Athletic family. 

Some days ago I posted a picture of GW players celebrating that victory over Xavier on Facebook. The emotions on the faces of my teammates are unbelievable! All of them have responded with lots of comments even though it has been long 13 years since that day... The bottom line, sports have an ability to create long lasting memories, so for those who still on the court, don't waste your time, create the memories for yourself, your teammates and your fans!

GO GW! RAISE HIGH THE BUFF&BLUE!

Discovering Leadership in Basketball

For as long as basketball exists, there is an ongoing discussion on leadership. Some people say one must be born to be a leader, others argue that anybody can foster a leadership skill set. Likewise, some state that a leading scorer of the team is a true leader, others always stand up for the best “locker room guy”.

Indeed, becoming a true leader of the basketball team is a process. In fact, nobody is born with per-existing leadership skills and therefore any player has a potential to be a leader. So why only a few players eventually emerge as leaders, and why others might flourish into ones only some years later, perhaps with a different team and in a different environment?    

Some time ago, I came across an interesting book on the subject of leadership. Though it was pertaining to leadership in the business world, it could be easily applied to the world of sports.  The book is called True North, Discover Your Authentic Leadership and is co-written by Bill George and Peter Sims.