Texas Tech head basketball Chris Beard was on the Jim Huber Show Podcast over at Breakthrough Basketball, and they had a great conversation on him, his philosophies as a coach, and more.
So, my man @Kolt Rogers transcribed some of the noteworthy parts for you guys.
On his time at Tech as an assistant, relationship with Coach Knight:
"Every coach would agree; you have some real breaks in coaching. My nice break happened to be getting the privilege to work for Coach Bob Knight. It was like getting a PHD in coaching every single day, not just only on the practice floor but during games as well. I just learned a lot about how to run a program year round. I have so much respect for Coach Knight for so many reasons. One of the things that stuck out was the graduation rate, I don’t think Coach gets enough credit for that. Every single player that played for him for four years, got their degree. I’ve been proud that we have been able to duplicate that. Our four seniors from this year’s team all graduated, and that’s something I’m proud of. Secondly, the ability to win at the highest level for many, many years with no problems from the NCAA or violations of rules, is something special. Coach Knight was able to win consistently the right way, and graduate all his players, and that is something I really respect."
On meeting Coach Knight for the first time:
"It’s a long story, but I’ll give you some of the highlights. I was actually coaching JUCO ball in Oklahoma, there were no cellphones or text messages, just an answering machine next to my bed. I actually had a message from someone saying it was Karen Knight, and that she wanted me to give Coach Knight a call. I thought it was a prank call. I didn’t return the call. Later that afternoon, I had two back to back calls from both Karen and Bob Knight. I recognized Coach Knight’s voice so I returned the call quickly. It was great working with him. One thing I tell players and people at clinics is about one of the first or second times I met him. I drove him to the Oklahoma City airport, and I was waiting at a table with Coach Knight waiting for him to get on his plane. He was narrowing it down to which job he would take. He had not taken the Texas Tech job yet. I told myself whenever there was an opportunity that I would tell him that I would love the chance to work on his staff. I told him if there was a chance for me to be on his staff that nobody would outwork me. He looked at me and told me, “Chris, I’ve never been too concerned with working hard, that’s a given. What I look for are coaches that can get things done.” That advice has stuck with me over the years. What separates winners and people who are trying to win, is the ability to get things done."
On his teams rarely turning the ball over, how he goes about stressing that:
"It’s something that we really preach all the time. It’s in our core philosophy on how to win games. You can’t be great at everything. You must pick a few things to try and be great at. You must have an identity. Shot selection is always been something I’ve been obsessed with. If you don’t turn the ball over and you give yourself a chance to score on every possession, that is really how you win games. Our players deserve all the credit; they have really bought into that over the years. I’m always seeking that game where we can play forty minutes with no turnovers. There are consequences to turning the ball over in practice. We call it accountability. It’s the accountability that is gonna help us win games. If you turn the ball over, it is usually something simple like taking yourself out of the game and doing five push-ups. We really value turnovers. I don’t want our guys to play scared or timid, but that comes with talent. A lot of our guys are talented and smart enough to play hard and take risks while not turning it over."
On his 4:1 philosophy and how it got started:
"It actually started at Fort Scott. I was young and overconfident, and we took our team to a tournament and got popped. We ended up going 0-3 in that tournament. We got beat mentally and physically. Coach Knight actually brought up the 4:1 part to me later after all of this. He always told all his players that the mental to the physical is as four to one. It really stuck, I just really believe in it. The difference between being elite and average is mental toughness. It is just one of our core values, mental toughness helps you in all phases of life, not just basketball. The board idea I got was actually from Coach Saban. I actually study football coaches more than I study basketball coaches, I love college football. The idea of winning on the road is something that I really got from Coach Saban. We did not do a great job of it this year, but we will correct that moving forward. Walking on a board seems easy, until you have to do it in a place that makes you uncomfortable. Winning on the road is a lot like that."
On how he gets his players to buy in on a daily basis:
"It is a day to day process. I’m not a guy with a five to ten-year plan. We build the program with some vision during recruiting, but I’m just a guy who focuses on having a day to day plan. I try to execute during that day and I don’t worry about anything else. I learned so much from my professional coaching opportunity. I absolutely love professional basketball. Our biggest thing is recovery, getting a good night’s sleep. There are a lot of players in the world that work really hard but do not get enough sleep. There is a fine balance there. You’re almost being counterproductive by not getting enough sleep. We value sleep and having a day off. We also value having the right nutrition. I think we have the best nutrition in the country. We talk a lot about being an unselfish unit. Everything we do involves humility. Respect all people that came before us, and execute everything we can to the best of our ability. I have never coached a successful player that takes four hour naps. You have to be disciplined and consistent. Sleep and rest is very important to our players and our staff. The Spurs are really big on nutrition and sleep and we have a Coach on staff, Coach Ogden, who is really good friends with a member of their staff. We try to model our approach to things like the Spurs. When I was at Incarnate Word, the Spurs used to practice at our gym. I got to see how Popovich runs things, and got to see guys like David Robinson and Avery Johnson. I actually named my daughter after Avery Johnson, that’s how much respect I have for him. He is the greatest leader I have ever seen in team sports. There is nobody in basketball I respect more than Avery Johnson."
On how he focuses on building relationships with his players:
"I have a bowl in my office with the kid’s names in it. Every day, I draw a name out of the bowl, and then try to get to know that kid better that day. I’m really proud of it. Relationships are what set us apart from other schools, I take a lot of pride in that. There were two first ballot hall of fame coaches here at Tech. There were countless really good teams and really good players, yet they have yet to win a Big 12 championship. I came here to win a championship. I didn’t come here to get fourth or fifth. I’ll never be the coach that Bob Knight or Tubby Smith were, but I want to be known as a player’s coach. Good players want to be coached hard. I think being a player’s coach is a great thing, because it is all about relationships. I don’t recruit guys that I’m not comfortable with. There have been many talented guys that I have passed on because I did not click with them. I want the players I coach to know that I have their back."
On how he defines a great shot, how he wants his players to go about shot selection:
A: A great shot is the right guy taking the right shot. Keenan Evans is a guy I want taking the most shots. He can score on all three levels. That is the kind of guy you want taking the most shots a game. Depending on your talent, we try to get the ball into the hands of the right guy at the right time. We want to set them up for success. We don’t just shoot; we shoot with a purpose. This year we had some good shooters, not great. That is something we have to work on. WE have the green light club. To shoot a three on our team, you have to be in the club. You have to make three hundred threes a day. Our guys can usually do this in around thirty minutes, thanks to our managers help. Shot selection is definitely based on the individual
So, my man @Kolt Rogers transcribed some of the noteworthy parts for you guys.
On his time at Tech as an assistant, relationship with Coach Knight:
"Every coach would agree; you have some real breaks in coaching. My nice break happened to be getting the privilege to work for Coach Bob Knight. It was like getting a PHD in coaching every single day, not just only on the practice floor but during games as well. I just learned a lot about how to run a program year round. I have so much respect for Coach Knight for so many reasons. One of the things that stuck out was the graduation rate, I don’t think Coach gets enough credit for that. Every single player that played for him for four years, got their degree. I’ve been proud that we have been able to duplicate that. Our four seniors from this year’s team all graduated, and that’s something I’m proud of. Secondly, the ability to win at the highest level for many, many years with no problems from the NCAA or violations of rules, is something special. Coach Knight was able to win consistently the right way, and graduate all his players, and that is something I really respect."
On meeting Coach Knight for the first time:
"It’s a long story, but I’ll give you some of the highlights. I was actually coaching JUCO ball in Oklahoma, there were no cellphones or text messages, just an answering machine next to my bed. I actually had a message from someone saying it was Karen Knight, and that she wanted me to give Coach Knight a call. I thought it was a prank call. I didn’t return the call. Later that afternoon, I had two back to back calls from both Karen and Bob Knight. I recognized Coach Knight’s voice so I returned the call quickly. It was great working with him. One thing I tell players and people at clinics is about one of the first or second times I met him. I drove him to the Oklahoma City airport, and I was waiting at a table with Coach Knight waiting for him to get on his plane. He was narrowing it down to which job he would take. He had not taken the Texas Tech job yet. I told myself whenever there was an opportunity that I would tell him that I would love the chance to work on his staff. I told him if there was a chance for me to be on his staff that nobody would outwork me. He looked at me and told me, “Chris, I’ve never been too concerned with working hard, that’s a given. What I look for are coaches that can get things done.” That advice has stuck with me over the years. What separates winners and people who are trying to win, is the ability to get things done."
On his teams rarely turning the ball over, how he goes about stressing that:
"It’s something that we really preach all the time. It’s in our core philosophy on how to win games. You can’t be great at everything. You must pick a few things to try and be great at. You must have an identity. Shot selection is always been something I’ve been obsessed with. If you don’t turn the ball over and you give yourself a chance to score on every possession, that is really how you win games. Our players deserve all the credit; they have really bought into that over the years. I’m always seeking that game where we can play forty minutes with no turnovers. There are consequences to turning the ball over in practice. We call it accountability. It’s the accountability that is gonna help us win games. If you turn the ball over, it is usually something simple like taking yourself out of the game and doing five push-ups. We really value turnovers. I don’t want our guys to play scared or timid, but that comes with talent. A lot of our guys are talented and smart enough to play hard and take risks while not turning it over."
On his 4:1 philosophy and how it got started:
"It actually started at Fort Scott. I was young and overconfident, and we took our team to a tournament and got popped. We ended up going 0-3 in that tournament. We got beat mentally and physically. Coach Knight actually brought up the 4:1 part to me later after all of this. He always told all his players that the mental to the physical is as four to one. It really stuck, I just really believe in it. The difference between being elite and average is mental toughness. It is just one of our core values, mental toughness helps you in all phases of life, not just basketball. The board idea I got was actually from Coach Saban. I actually study football coaches more than I study basketball coaches, I love college football. The idea of winning on the road is something that I really got from Coach Saban. We did not do a great job of it this year, but we will correct that moving forward. Walking on a board seems easy, until you have to do it in a place that makes you uncomfortable. Winning on the road is a lot like that."
On how he gets his players to buy in on a daily basis:
"It is a day to day process. I’m not a guy with a five to ten-year plan. We build the program with some vision during recruiting, but I’m just a guy who focuses on having a day to day plan. I try to execute during that day and I don’t worry about anything else. I learned so much from my professional coaching opportunity. I absolutely love professional basketball. Our biggest thing is recovery, getting a good night’s sleep. There are a lot of players in the world that work really hard but do not get enough sleep. There is a fine balance there. You’re almost being counterproductive by not getting enough sleep. We value sleep and having a day off. We also value having the right nutrition. I think we have the best nutrition in the country. We talk a lot about being an unselfish unit. Everything we do involves humility. Respect all people that came before us, and execute everything we can to the best of our ability. I have never coached a successful player that takes four hour naps. You have to be disciplined and consistent. Sleep and rest is very important to our players and our staff. The Spurs are really big on nutrition and sleep and we have a Coach on staff, Coach Ogden, who is really good friends with a member of their staff. We try to model our approach to things like the Spurs. When I was at Incarnate Word, the Spurs used to practice at our gym. I got to see how Popovich runs things, and got to see guys like David Robinson and Avery Johnson. I actually named my daughter after Avery Johnson, that’s how much respect I have for him. He is the greatest leader I have ever seen in team sports. There is nobody in basketball I respect more than Avery Johnson."
On how he focuses on building relationships with his players:
"I have a bowl in my office with the kid’s names in it. Every day, I draw a name out of the bowl, and then try to get to know that kid better that day. I’m really proud of it. Relationships are what set us apart from other schools, I take a lot of pride in that. There were two first ballot hall of fame coaches here at Tech. There were countless really good teams and really good players, yet they have yet to win a Big 12 championship. I came here to win a championship. I didn’t come here to get fourth or fifth. I’ll never be the coach that Bob Knight or Tubby Smith were, but I want to be known as a player’s coach. Good players want to be coached hard. I think being a player’s coach is a great thing, because it is all about relationships. I don’t recruit guys that I’m not comfortable with. There have been many talented guys that I have passed on because I did not click with them. I want the players I coach to know that I have their back."
On how he defines a great shot, how he wants his players to go about shot selection:
A: A great shot is the right guy taking the right shot. Keenan Evans is a guy I want taking the most shots. He can score on all three levels. That is the kind of guy you want taking the most shots a game. Depending on your talent, we try to get the ball into the hands of the right guy at the right time. We want to set them up for success. We don’t just shoot; we shoot with a purpose. This year we had some good shooters, not great. That is something we have to work on. WE have the green light club. To shoot a three on our team, you have to be in the club. You have to make three hundred threes a day. Our guys can usually do this in around thirty minutes, thanks to our managers help. Shot selection is definitely based on the individual
