RESOLVE in a VACUUM

The New Jersey Nets have 10 wins and 64 losses on the season but they celebrated not setting the NBA record for most “L’s” in a season. The word RESOLVE comes to mind because I was up ’til about 2 a.m. writing about it last night. One of the pillars in my  curriculum for coaches is the R-word which literally means “…firmness of purpose or intent…”

When you’re the worst team in the NBA throughout a grueling 82-game season, where do you find the resolve to compete? What is the purpose collectively or individually? If you’re not a marquee piece, you know your job isn’t safe. After all, you’d probably fire yourself if you were the general manager because it’s bad business to gainfully employ people who no one wants to watch. But what’s the purpose found in the midst of a 10-win season with six of those being home victories?

Maybe a better question could be asked of the college or high school team with the same woes. There’s a pretty hefty monetary incentive to keep your head up in the NBA but purpose has to be extremely clear when you’re a laughing stock. I can’t get my head around it unless I find something analogous in my own life. And the analogy is literally elementary. I think the New Jersey Nets find resolve the way I did in the mid-to-late 1980s as I was bussed to a better school more than an hour from my inner-city home. The purpose was simple: SAFETY, A BETTER EDUCATION, a WAY OUT of POVERTY. So when I was occasionally called a “nigger” by a kid or when I envied the clean streets of the neighborhoods adjacent to the school, I stayed motivated. You can be 10-64 and still feel like a franchise building a championship roster.