Little BIG Things

First of all, I want to say RIP to Mr. Fleets Hazel Sr. as I attend his Homegoing service this morning. He fought the good fight and will be truly missed. His son Fleeks "Butch" Hazel Jr. is a good friend of mind and I am really sorry he had to join club of us, who have lost our fathers. It's a tough club that no one wants to join because the initiation process is SO hard! I saw alot of cats I've known for years at Mr. Hazel's service and had to jet out right after to prepare for our Home game vs Saint Francis University of Pennsylvania.

Wow! That was the worst game we've played since we've been at Morgan. We lost to a Saint Francis, PA team that I'm not afraid to say that we were better than or should have beaten at home. Now, obviously they were the better team tonight because they won but as bad as we played...we had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed a free throw at the end. The guys came out with NO energy, NO focus, NO respect for their opponent and NO respect for each other. It was embarrassing for sure! We also hadn't lost a home game in basically a year and a half....17 games.

At shoot-a-round I pointed out once again that little things matter and that a level of commitment is necessary in order to be successful regardless of the endeavor. I recounted some things from a story 60 Minutes piece on Michael Phelps (the historic Olympic Gold Medalist). His swim coach pointed out that Michael Phelps practiced EVERYDAY for 5 straight years...Christmas, New Years...YES Everyday! That was impressive...when you love something and make a commitment, you WILL succeed. He recounted how during one of the races he won in Beijing, his goggles were filled with water and he could see, so he continued to push through by counting strokes! That is unbelievable to me. Now, the kicker was when he was shown a picture of the famous event where he won by a fingernail. The thing he noticed right away about the difference between him and his opponent was a very basic swim technique that I guess swimmers are taught at an early age. They are taught to keep their heads down throughout the race til it's completion. Well from the photo finish, which was taken from the bottom of the pool, you can see that the swimmer who Phelps beat...had lifted his head up and Phelps' head was down. It was BIG! Again...something small being something BIG! I shared this with the fellas in hopes that it would sink in.

Basketball and Life mirror each other and just like in Life...we learn some tough lessons the hard way! And sometimes you have to hit the bottom and accept responsibility before things will get better. Let's hope this is the bottom...