ABC's of Antelope Basketball

Academics, Basketball, Character

The ABC's of Antelope Basketball represent our core values and expectations. The primary pillars of the ABC's are Academics, Basketball and Character. The rest of the ABC's help to support these areas. We look for teachable moments to stress the importance of all of the ABC's in fulfilling our purpose as a basketball program, which is to help our student athletes become men of character who will lead by example on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.

A: Academics

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela

B: Basketball

“‘Play the right way’ means play unselfishly, respect each other’s achievements, play hard, fulfill your role” – Gregg Popovich

C: Character

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” - John Wooden

D: Defense

“I feel all great teams have two things in common: defense and rebounding. So, we stress defense and rebounding every day as the most important aspects in the game to win” – Larry Brown

E: Effort and Execution

“Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.” - Michael Jordan

F: Fundamentals

“Fundamentals are the essential building blocks of a team. To help turn fundamentals into habit requires intensive, intelligent, and repetitive action. If you want to strive for excellence, you must embrace continual work on fundamentals. We can all do the basics, better.” - Coach K

G: Grit

“What is grit? Grit is refusing to give up. It’s persistence. It’s making your own luck.” - Peter Diamandis

H: Honor and Humility

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” - C.S. Lewis

I: Integrity

“Integrity means doing the right thing whether you are alone or with a group, doing the right thing no matter what the rewards or the consequences may be. It means putting your base of ethics into action. It takes strength of character to have integrity.” - Coach K

J: Joy

“In basketball — as in life — true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way” – Phil Jackson

K: Kindness

“Kindness encompasses a vast range of words and actions, and I often tell players that kindness has a ten-word vocabulary. One word—“please.” Two words—“thank you.” Three words—“I love you.” Four words—“Can I help you?” - Joe Ehrmann

L: Leadership

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” - Sam Walton

M: Moral Courage

“Many of the injustices in the world happen when observers stand by because they lack moral courage. Moral courage is standing up publicly for what you believe is right even when others—including sometimes your friends and teammates—don't. Exhibiting moral courage requires real courage.” - Joe Ehrmann

N: New Ideas

“Success today requires the agility and drive to constantly rethink, reinvigorate, react, and reinvent.” - Bill Gates

O: Optimism

"We must be optimistic. No matter how devastating the previous day, we must be tremendously resilient and come back the next day with a plan to improve." - Dick Bennett

P: Pride

“Pride can be defined as self-respect and a feeling of satisfaction over an accomplishment. It can also be a feeling you get from being a part of something bigger than you. Pride means having an understanding that you put your signature on everything that you do and ensuring then that what you do is done in the best possible manner.” - Coach K

Q: Quickness

“Positioning, anticipation and technique create quickness. Therefore, you can always get quicker” – Don Meyer

R: Respect

“The ROOTS of Honoring the Game is an acronym which stands for better respecting: Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates and Self.” - Positive Coaching Alliance

S: Service

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” - Mahatma Gandhi

T: Teamwork

“Successful programs consist of people working hard, working together, while never worrying about who gets the credit” – Don Meyer

U: Unity

“You develop a team to achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. All of us alone are weaker, by far, than if all of us are together.” - Coach K

V: Vision

“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” - Muhammad Ali

W: Work Ethic

“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” - Michael Jordan

X: X's and O's

“Players must be able to carry out simple instructions from the bench to the court. If they can’t, then they can’t play” – Bob Knight

Y: Youthful Energy

“We have the mentality of the hunter. We want to be the most enthusiastic team in the country. That’s what we can control” – Shaka Smart

Z: Zero Excuses

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” - Benjamin Franklin

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