Tuesday February 24, 2009

Purnell's Patience Pays Off

Purnell’s Patience Pays Off
I know I did it and I am pretty sure many of you did it as well. I will freely admit that I screamed at the TV Sunday afternoon and more specifically I screamed at Raymond Sykes.

The Tigers were ahead in the second half and were playing some fantastic half-court offense when the moment came. Clemson turned the ball over and an errant pass went in the backcourt. Sykes strolled into the backcourt and loafed as he was outhustled by a Tech player. Sykes could have simply hustled and Tech would have gotten the ball out of bounds. Instead his mistake cost the Tigers a foul.

If you were like me, you were furious and yelled at the TV. Also if you were like me, you were waiting to see Oliver Purnell rip Sykes a new one right there on TV. And if you are like me, you are still waiting to witness the butt chewing.

As Sykes came to the bench for the first time, I watched with anticipation. But Purnell did not say a word.

At first I thought the coach had missed the opportunity and I was disappointed. However, I quickly recalled a conversation I had with former Clemson assistant coach Shaka Smart a year earlier.

I wrote a bog about the conversation then but thought this was a perfect time to remind us of the message.

Purnell chose not to say anything to Sykes at the time of the mistake but that does not necessarily mean he did not say something to him in the locker room or on the bus after the game. Maybe he mentioned it Monday in practice or is waiting to get on Sykes today.

Or maybe Purnell will never mention the incident.

There was a time where 99% of the coaches in the game would have jumped a player right then and there. Heck, maybe a large majority of coaches in today’s game would have as well. But not Purnell. Not on this occasion.

I would have to guess that Sykes knew his mistake. Would a coach ripping him make him realize it more? I am not sure. Maybe so. However, maybe ripping him might have other causes that would be longer lasting and maybe more hurtful than his original mistake.

Purnell has done an excellent job of keeping his eye on the big picture. There have been many opportunities over the past four years for Purnell to jump Sykes but if he would have the way many coaches would have done, would Sykes have developed to where he is now? Maybe or maybe not. Sure Sykes has issues but let’s remember where he started. There have been few players in recent history that have improved as much from his freshman to his senior season as Sykes has over the past four seasons.

I would only imagine that there might have been a time or two over the past four years that Purnell bit his tongue on the short-term issue to have a better chance at long-term success.

Coach Smart made that point very clear to me in that conversation. He said that coaching has changed through the years because society has changed. You can’t stay on players today the way Bobby Knight did in his glory days.

I read the New York newspapers everyday in search of New York Yankee news and yesterday the papers were full of the story of the Yankees taking the day off from spring training to go play billiards. This team bonding experience was something new to major league baseball but Yankees manager Joe Girardi got the idea from New York Giant head coach Tom Coughlin. Coughlin was known as a hard-nosed coach that was tough on his players. The head coach softened his style and the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl later that season.

Pete Carroll of Southern Cal is a master of this new wave thinking. The head coach of the Trojans usually takes his team swimming each year instead of another grueling session of two-a-days.

We saw Dabo Swinney do this when he took over this past season when he took the Tigers to the Greenville Memorial Children’s Hospital.

This kind of team bonding did not happen in the Lombardi or Bryant days. Those teams bonded because they were put in such adverse conditions they drew closer. There was an “us vs. them” mentality with the line being drawn between the staff and the players. The players came closer in their battle to survive the coaches demanding so much and harshly criticizing them after mistakes.

Today’s kids are much more sensitive to criticism. Now coaches have to be very careful so they don’t lose the player for the long-term in getting across a short-term message.

I thought Purnell should have ripped James Mays a thousand times for his lack of hustle but his patience and view of the big picture led Purnell to turn the other cheek. Mays was a better player because Purnell chose to take the proper route.

In the Duke route Terrence Oglesby missed a dunk that turned out to be meaningless but drew attention from fans. Purnell simply closed his eyes and shook his head. Instead of ruining Oglesby’s confidence, the coach just remained passive. After a down game against FSU, Oglesby responded with 21 against Boston College, 17 at Virginia and 16 versus Maryland.

The first I heard of this type of coaching came with Mac Brown in their national championship season at Texas. The Longhorns had team bowling nights that started during their title run and the players pointed to the activity as a key to their success.

I used Purnell’s example in parenting as well. In my mind there is no longer a need to jump a child every time he/she makes a mistake. Sometimes it’s best to teach in another way.

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