Set higher standards for your own performance than anyone else around you, and your only competition will be with yourself
Rick PitinoRead
When you coach Russ Smith, you have a nervous breakdown on every possession. He's not from a different country. He's from a different planet.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the intense and unpredictable nature of coaching a talented, yet challenging player.
In this quote, Rick Pitino humorously describes the intense pressure and constant stress that comes with coaching Russ Smith. He emphasizes that Smith's unique playing style makes every moment on the court a source of anxiety for the coach, likening his talent to that of someone not just from another country, but from another planet, illustrating how extraordinary and unpredictable he is as a player.
Themes
CoachingStressBasketballPerformanceCompetition
In practice
Example use cases
In a sports commentary about the challenges of coaching.
More from Rick Pitino
All quotes →Similar quotes
Maybe you're not having a thousand times more injuries, but there's an aspect to the purity of the game and the quality of the game that is played on grass that is different on turf.
Megan RapinoeRead
I played everything. I played lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer, track and field. I was a big believer that you played hockey in the winter and when the season was over you hung up your skates and you played something else.
Wayne GretzkyRead
You get these moments in the ring that live forever. That's what Muhammad Ali accomplished, and I hope that I have, too.
Sugar Ray LeonardRead
The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all.
Lou GehrigRead
I cannot but feel that the one man, above all others, who deserves the eternal thanks of his own race, and all thinking people, for bringing about baseball’s greatest reform, is Jackie Robinson himself…Certainly baseball people should be eternally grateful for the contribution he made to his own people, and to the game.
Ford FrickRead
The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, place I've always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It's been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It's a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.
Michael JordanRead