Tag Archive for 'Spurs'

Ettore Messina: an example of winning mind

How nice to hear Ettore Messina to say on his debut as head coach on a  NBA bench : “I was terribly frightened by this debut, generally I am confident, today it was different. I have not thought to be the first non-American coach who can to win an NBA game, because I wanted to stay focused on the end goal. It was great. ”

The former coach of the Italian national team, now assistant manager at San Antonio Spurs, has replaced the on bench the head coach Greg Poporvich, forced to stop for health reasons and to undergo some medical treatments: the Texan team, the defending champion, has passed the Indiana Pacers 106-100.

Ettore Messina has an incredible palmares: 4 Euroleague (2 with Virtus Bologna, 2 with CSKA Moscow), 4 Italian championships, 7 Italian Cups, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 6 Russians and 1 silver at European Championships with the Italian national team.

But he is not afraid by his feelings and even to admit them in public. This is certainly one of the main winner characteristics: to accept even extreme fear and stay focused on the end goal.

Winning through the club organization

From: http://nba.si.com/2013/05/13/nba-coaching-carousel-sixers-pistons-bucks-bobcats-suns-nets/

“Who are the most envied coaches in the NBA? The first two names that jump out are Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra, and while it’s easy to look no further than “Duncan” and “LeBron” in explaining their situations, the Spurs and Heat are constructed in such a way that they meet every coach’s possible desire.

Yes, there’s plentiful talent on hand, but there’s also a stable, winning culture behind the scenes; a proven, steady and responsive management team providing support; a track record of respect for their signal-callers; and ownership groups that are committed to putting together a quality product year after year and decade after decade. The Spurs have had this stuff down pat for years; the Heat learned their lessons more recently, putting Spoelstra in a position where he was able to survive — and thrive — through the fire of 2011 to take the organization to new heights.”