Life is about transforming the player inside of us!

In our last article, we defined the 5 universal characteristics that a successful basketball coach possesses. Sometimes even the best coaches cannot possibly prepare for a certain player. The biggest mismatch between players and coaches in the NBA had to be Larry Brown and Allen Iverson. You could not have picked such opposites on and off the court. Larry Brown was one of the most successful coaches ever, however, he rarely stayed long with any team. In his 32 year career, he led 10 colleges and NBA teams. In most of the cases, he took a losing team and converted them into winners, with his emphasis on developing players, and putting the team first. "Come, Conquer, and Leave" was how Gary Smith of Sports Illustrated described him. Born in NY in 1940, Larry was described as a gentle and kind child. Unfortunately, his father died when he was just 6 years old. When Larry asked why the mirrors were covered

with sheets during the shiva week, his family did not have the heart to tell him until a month later. After graduating Long Beach High School, as a standout basketball player, he spent a year at a military academy to learn discipline and maturity. Then he continued at the University of North Carolina, where coach Frank McGuire focused on practicing the fundamentals over and over, along with

drilling his players on attitude, respecting each other, and unselfish play. This brand of old schooled basketball ran through Larry Brown's veins. On the other side of the bench, we have one of the most controversial players of all time Allen "AI" Iverson, born on June 7, 1975, in Hampton, Virginia. Allen never really knew his father, and the responsibility of raising him rested on his teenage mother, Ann. She worked very hard and did her best, but the family lived in constant poverty. When the bills couldn't be paid, the family often went without water, electricity, and heat. Despite doing very poorly in school, combined with his attitude issues, and problems at home, Allen still managed to do well enough in class to make him eligible for sports. He was a phenomenal athlete whos first love was football, and as the quarterback of Bethel High School, he led them to a Class AAA title in 1992. His mother, however, convinced him to pursue basketball, and he thrived

on the court. Unfortunately, Allen came to the national spotlight in a different court. On Feb.14, 1993 he was allegedly involved in a racial brawl in a bowling alley, Allen and 3 of his friends were arrested, none of the white guys in the fight were arrested. He was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail, he hopes for an NBA career and better life were over. After only serving 4 months,

the Virginia Governor, Douglas Wilder, also an African American, decided to free him. Allen stated that his time in jail taught him to show no weakness, just focus on being mentally strong. Needless to say, his tough ghetto childhood, and being convicted falsely, did not make him a big fan of the "establishment". On June 26, 1996, in the NBA Draft, Allen "The Answer" Iverson was selected first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. His friends called him "The Answer," since they felt he was the answer to basketball's conformity and was he. His appearance was gangster rap, tattoos, along with his prison-style hair, cornrows. Ghetto thug player vs. fundamental basketball, Jewish coach. Predictably they had a very combative time together, Iverson would curse at Brown on the bench anytime he

was taken out of the game. Things boiled over on Dec. 18, 1999, when the Sixers were playing the Pistons and were down by as many as 23 points, Coach Brown took Allen out of the game for the last 20 minutes, for not sharing the ball or defending. Iverson was furious in the locker room, demanding a trade, while openly criticizing his Coach. Pat Croce, the president of the Sixers had to meet with both of them to iron out their differences. Both Coach and player humbled themselves and decided to work together for the sake of the team. 

Larry was able to convince Allen that if he would pass the ball, and trust his teammates more, it would bring success, and nothing heals like winning. Allen Iverson was also understood much better, and he still thrilled the fans with his no-fear style of play. Most notably was his ankle-breaking crossover move. On March 12, 1997, a much younger and shorter Iverson, put the crossover on Michael Jordan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C977RCbuqFk . As a result of the Coach and player working together, and with a better understanding of each other, the advanced to 2001, NBA finals against the Lakers. The Sixers ended up losing the series 4-1, but Game 1 was one of the highlights of Allen's career, with a game-high 48 points, leading to an OT victory, 107- 101. We must also mention his classic "Step Over" on Tyronn Lue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAZvvaT79g8. In the end, their relationship became a real friendship based on mutual respect and appreciation. As a beautiful tribute, Allen asked Coach Brown to be one of the people to present him into the 2016 NBA Hall of Fame. Larry Brown and Allen Iverson realized that if they would stop criticizing each other, and instead work on their issues and shortcomings, it would be a win/win on and off the court.

If you think about it every one of us inside of us this coach vs wild player relationship. One side of us reminds us of the coach. He knows cognitively what's good for us and only wants to make the right decisions. This side of us dresses clean and wears a tie. This side of us is respected by peers and community leaders. Then on the other side, we have a wild player. This side of us can have the worst thoughts possible. This side wants to break loose and run wild. We walk around all day long with these split personalities inside of us. What we have to remember is that our objective in life is that the coach wins the fight and the wild side of us learns how to express his desires in a healthy constructive manner. 

Yom Kippur is a special day in which the coach and the player stand side by side in front of their creator. The Infinite one understands very well the struggles that both the coach and the player are going through. The point of this special day is to help improve the relationship between these two sides. Each one of us is unique in our personalities. Each one of us has our amazing potential to bring out to the world. Yom Kippur was created to help us return to our original unique plan before we got sidetracked. A day that reminds us not to measure ourselves to others but to measure ourselves against our potential. We pray on this day with apologies for getting sidetracked from our pathway to perfection. We sincerely ask forgiveness for letting the player inside of us play a bit too long and too wild. We ask that for the upcoming year we will be granted all the opportunities to improve and develop to become what we were meant to become. 

Wishing you and your families a Gmar Chasima Tova and a blessed year! 

Joe Shapiro and Yitzchak Friedman