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04/29/2004: "Coach Brown Perseveres for the Pistons"

From Chris McCosky at The Detroit News, Coach Larry Brown successfully led Rip Hamilton to the next level:

[...]
Forever considered a one-dimensional player, Hamilton has blossomed into a complete player seemingly right before our eyes in the last month or so.

“I just think it’s more evident now,” Brown said. “I had a meeting with Rip (Hamilton) and Chauncey (Billups) about 25 games into the season and I talked to them about what I expected. Rip right away told me he was going to get it done, and I think he’s really made an effort.
[...]
There was a time early in the season when Hamilton, struggling mightily, came out of a meeting with Brown utterly frustrated, with red and wet eyes. There was a stretch at the end of December and well into January when the team was winning games seemingly in spite of him. He was struggling to get shots and make shots, and the more he tried to force the issue, the more he turned the ball over.
[...]
The light didn’t come on for Hamilton until March 4. The Pistons were on the West Coast, and he had flown home to have surgery to repair his broken nose.

He sat at home and watched the Pistons destroy Portland, Denver and Seattle, holding each to fewer than 70 points. He watched all the things he had heard Brown preaching the previous five months come to life right before his eyes.

He saw for the first time what “playing the right way” really meant.

“When you sit back and watch the team, you actually see what the team needs to do more of,” he said. “I learned by watching those guys. I seen how Lindsey Hunter pressured the ball and I figured if I pressure my guy as much as he does, I can get easy steals and things like that.”
[...]
Again, Hamilton heard Brown’s words echo in the back of his head, “Give it up. The ball will always come back to you.”

Hamilton had 28 assists over the last three regular-season games and has continued to share the ball in the postseason. His reward: He is the leading scorer and Brown has made him the No. 1 option in the fourth quarter.

“Coach has a lot of confidence in me and I have a whole lot of confidence in him,” Hamilton said. “When you understand a coach and understand a system, and understand that his purpose is just to win games, it makes your job a lot easier and you are a lot happier going out and doing it.”

And, it would appear, a lot more successful.

As a team leader, it can be difficult to instill better habits in your team members. Sometimes members resist because they are too stubborn to learn, other times they don't believe that they can succeed. Either way, it is a battle of wills. It is a good thing that Coach Brown was stubborn enough to prevail in this battle of wills.