Getting the other guy in the car.

March 31, 2010

Sports Illustrated writer Joe Posnanski has a series of stories about West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins.

As a kid Bob Huggins quit his dad’s highschool basketball team after being berated by his father even after a great, great game. After confronting his dad and telling him he’s quitting, his dad convinces him to get in the car and go to practice.

See, this gets at the heart of Huggins’ philosophy. Sure, you need talent. Sure, you need discipline. Sure, you need leadership. Sure, you need heart. But the difference in Bob Huggins’ world is something more subtle, a secret he has been keeping ever since he quit his high school basketball team. It doesn’t matter the sport — in 1994, the Cincinnati Bengals lost their first eight games and went 3-13, but Huggins was really convinced that, given the chance, he could turn them around. Why? Because to him winning in football, like winning in basketball, like winning in life is all about the same thing.

You make the other guy get into the car.