#142 Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Terry Stotts: Sweat equity, professionalism, and trust (RCS)

1.     What did he look for in putting together his staff when he was head coach in Portland? Complementarity. “A little bit of everything.”

2.     Enjoying time with his staff in Portland. “The best part of my days were the coaches meetings. We enjoyed talking basketball and having a good time…The staff had a good blend of work ethic and sense of humor and knowledge and camaraderie. And I think the team felt that as well.”

3.     Differentiating roles on coaching staffs. Learning from Rick Carlisle. More and more teams specializing on staffs.

4.     Off-season time with the staff. Taking breaks. Giving autonomy. Making sure the gym was covered.

5.     Connecting with players at least once during the summer at their locations in order to develop relationships. “It definitely is more about relationship building. And, they are getting good work in too.”

6.     Routines with the staff during the season. Staying consistent so staff could organize their days.

7.     What is unique about Milwaukee? “It’s a first-class organization.” The facilities and arena “send a loud message to everyone…it speaks to the professionalism.”

8.     The importance of the physical design of the building in shaping how people interact in a team organization. (Propinquity.)

9.     “Sweat equity.” Tim Grgurich, pioneer of player development. “You’re building trust so that down the road you’re able to coach them better.”

10.  Differentiating relationships with players and coaches. “Some of it is organic.”

11.  Giving players space to vent. Assistant coaches as confidants. Players going through assistants to get message to the head coach.

12.  Coach Grgurich: “Players knew they could trust him.”

13.  “It’s nuanced. You have to do it your own way.”

14.  The personality of the team. In college, based on the coach. In the pros, based on the best players.

15.  Using humor. Playing games on the court. Keeping things loose. Reading the mood of your team.

16.  Mentoring. George Karl. “A lot of what I learned was from him.”

17.  The value of asking questions. “A lot of young coaches want to show how much they know rather than how much they want to learn.”

18.  Learning from different types of coaches and at different stages of your career.