The Smart Take from the Strong: The Basketball Philosophy of Pete Carril
by Pete Carril, Dan White
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dan White, Pete CarrilIntroduction: Bob Knight
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-10-01
ISBN: 0803264488
Number of pages: 205
Publisher: Bison Books
Book Reviews of The Smart Take from the Strong: The Basketball Philosophy of Pete Carril
Book Review: 'Using El Coco' to Master Basketball and Life
Summary: 5 Stars
In The Smart Take from the Strong, legendary Princeton coach and Sacramento Kings bench adviser Pete Carril offers an assortment of aphorisms jotted and compiled over the course of his college career. Ranging from one sentence (e.g., "Overcoming Certain Obstacles: A good mind has never handicapped a player") to 6 pages ("You Never Tire of Making Shots"), Carril's end product is part Quotations of Chairman Mao, part Clausewitz, offering dozens, if not hundreds, of pithy insights that are as useful to a successful life as they are to success on the basketball court. He is Yogi Berra turned upside down (or right-side up): elegant, yet intellectual, in utter simplicity.
In early sections of the book, Carril sheds biographical light -- and, in an unassuming style, makes light of it -- on his life growing up in industrial Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The son of Spanish immigrants, Carril learned from his father how craftiness can overcome physical talent. "Every day, before he left for work, [Father] would remind my sister and me how important it is to be smart," Carril writes. "Then, as he was going out the door, he would point his finger at his head and say, 'Use El Coco'"(17). As a young player standing only 5'6, Carril took the simple message to heart -- and, around it, developed an entire doctrine of coaching that guided Princeton to 13 Ivy League titles, an NIT tournament win in 1975 (the only by an Ivy League school) and a classic upset of defending champion UCLA in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. That he did it all in one of America's elite academic institutions, without offering a single scholarship, makes his accomplishments even more remarkable.
Contemporary, NBA-focused readers of Carril's little masterpiece will also come away with a better understanding of the style of basketball that transformed the Sacramento Kings from NBA doormat into a perennial playoff team (and, in the early 2000s, arguably the "greatest show on court", in the words of Sports Illustrated). Sections entitled "Play without the Ball (and the Coach)" and "Cut with Credibility" underscore the primary objective of a good offense: to move the defense. He touches on details ("Every little thing counts. If not, why do it?") such as bounce-passes and jump balls; he discusses his love of the three-pointer and good passers; he considers at length the value of mastering fundamentals such as dribbling, pivoting and layups. Carril is a basketball fundamentalist without hestitation. But, in an interesting contrast to the Kings teams he has helped to coach (with former Princeton star pupil Geoff Petrie), Carril is also a tough-minded, defensive-oriented coach who denounces the "three car garage guys" -- players who come from the rich side of town. "I liked to find players from schools whose names begin with 'bishop' or 'monsignor' -- city Catholic schools -- because they have learned discipline and because they tend to be shrewd, tough, hardworking, loyal to their friends and families" (169). Judging by the struggles with which the Kings have had on defense and rebounding in recent seasons, one wonders whether Coach Carril is still getting enough say in team huddles.
Ultimately, the gold nugget in Carril's treasure is perhaps his simplest point. He writes, "The most important thing you can do is to DO what you are doing well. The word 'focus' does not carry the same weight with me...When you play, PLAY...When you study, STUDY. Then it's not hard to separate the two" (191). In a world of information overload, pressure to multitask, and need to exceed beyond any realistic expecation, it is a valuable lesson for any competitor in life.
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