The Only Way to Win

For an NCAA basketball fan of a certain vintage there is a lot not to like about the new way of doing things in college basketball. The money now being paid to athletes through NIL has changed the whole culture of the sport, and the combination with the transfer rules is killing the team ideals of unity, skill development on a year to year basis, and team building. Allowing players to transfer as often as they want has taken player freedom to heights that makes it hard to see what team you are cheering for. And why are almost 40% of NCAA athletes transferring so much and often? Chasing the almighty dollar. It's like the recruiting process is continual, and filled with people with personal wealth and personal agendas.  Some players play at four different schools over the span of the careers! They are playing the selfish pro game in an attempt to someday become a pro. For some it works, for many it doesn't. To be honest I worry about the long term mental health issues once the cheering stops.

 Congratulations to Michigan for winning the Championship, but it feels weird that the Wolverines started 5 transfers. And the TV coverage made it like that's a good thing.

In this crazy time of free-agency in the college ranks there always are great people that we get to meet as we  follow them through their journey of the season and  the hype leading to the tournament. The great UCLA Coach John Wooden, whose whole manner of coaching involved an honest approach to success and failure, was a role model for generations of coaches. The building blocks in his Pyramid Of Success that he created in 1948 included everything a person, or a team, needs to have success.  He led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, all using the basic rules of life he learned from his dad on the farm. It wasn't just that his teams won so much, it's how they won, with sportsmanship, skill and character. 

A mirror of that era exists in Spokane, Washington.

In the four years it took to follow the Gonzaga career of Kevin in writing Can't Miss: The Kevin Pangos Story I got to experience a little bit of being around one of the best programs in the country, and loved how they seemed to be following a Wooden-like approach to the process. What amazed me was that it was a  group of people who shared a common values-based belief system. It was so cool to witness.  Just honest, down to earth people who just happen to be very good at basketball. You work hard and the results will come. Coach Mark Few, the son of a preacher, is a basketball lifer whose belief in family, and making his players part of his family has kept him in Spokane for 37 years, 27 as head coach. When asked why he never left Gonzaga, Few is quoted as saying "Don't mess with happy."

 He was just inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame.

For 22 of those 27 years Few's lead assistant was Tommy Lloyd. A lot of the success at Gonzaga, especially the impact of international players, can be directly attributed to Tommy Lloyd. Kelly Olynyk and Kevin Pangos are just two examples. 

 Tommy loved life in Spokane and often thought that it was great being an assistant coach and envisioned staying until Coach Few retired and he would take over. It was actually in his contract that the job was his when the time came. In 2021 that all changed when the dream job came up. Arizona came calling,  Tommy answered. 

When I first had the idea of writing Can’t Miss I saw Kevin as a bit of an outlier as he had just been in Europe with the national team, the youngest Canadian to ever wear the Maple Leaf. He seemed destined to continue to do great things. And I was right.  I wanted to explore the factors behind his success.  It wasn't just Kevin's journey but the impact of so many people on Kevin's path to success. I was looking at Kevin’s trajectory from his time at Olympia Sports Camp to one of the best age-group players in the world, (named to the all-tournament team at the U17 World Championships) to all his success with the Canada Basketball teams and with his hometown high school Dr Denison to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Kevin's journey has some amazing stories, from grandparents emigration from war-torn Europe who instilled a hard working  family-first belief,  to the myriad of quality coaches that had an imprint on his path. 

 

What I didn’t know at the time was the impact that Gonzaga, and specifically Bulldog Assistant Coach Tommy Lloyd, would have on Kevin.  All the work, and coaches, and travel, and world experiences prepared Kevin for this stage and Tommy Lloyd was the perfect mentor. I remember Tommy giving me a goals sheet that he and Kevin prepared in his first year. They mapped out the entire 4 years. Got a goal? Now something to work toward. The level of detail, with personal and team goals gave Kevin direction through to his Senior year when he was named WCC Player of the Year and third team All American. Tommy Lloyd was a huge part of that.

I always was amazed at the physical similarities between Spokane and the Muskoka region of Ontario. Lots of lakes and lots of trees. Just beautiful. I also was amazed once I got to know the people at Gonzaga of the similarities between the Olympia message of "take the bat off the shoulder" and the lessons Kevin was learning thousands of miles away in Spokane. 

 

This brings me back to the value of values. I remember meeting with Dave Grace as I was writing about Kevin's Olympia years, and he shared a book with me that he thought epitomized the value of values in a successful career. The book, “The Only Way to Win,” by Jim Loehr, explores winning and concludes that despite winning championships is what high level sport is about,  the winning fades and  true happiness, real winning,  is winning with character. Commitment to values or what's the point. This book to me was a mirror to Dave Talk every morning at Olympia and exhibited these  ‘success’ variables that I had seen in Kevin since he was running around camp in diapers and rubber boots. That book helped guide me through the writing of Can't Miss.Thanks Dave! 

 

 Gonzaga recruited  European and other foreign players harder than most schools at the time and Tommy was the global traveller who sought players who had talent but also had character. The list of, and stories about, the players who made their way to Gonzaga because of Tommy’s efforts included, among many others, Canadians Kelly Olynyk and Kevin Pangos. The recruiting and signing of Olynyk really impressed good friends Bill and Patty Pangos and they got a sense that that’s where they hoped Kevin would go too. Tommy was so classy and thorough that the decision became obvious and path oriented. Another step in the journey was set.

 

I also remember going to watch Kevin and his high school Dr Denison play in the OFSAA semi-final game in Niagara and who do I meet there but Tommy Lloyd! Kevin had already committed to GU but Tommy showed what commitment to the process is all about by travelling to watch his newest gem play. The night before Tommy was in Vegas as the Zags won the WCC championship. How impressive is that level of commitment, and care.

 

Once Kevin was at Gonzaga and the process for writing the book was underway Tommy really showed his commitment to Kevin by showing commitment to my process. He helped me any way he could, including getting me into watch practice, media seats for games, and one year even a press pass to join post-game interviews. No false pretense, no putting up roadblocks to what I needed or asked for. Just a coach helping a fledgling author.

 

Tommy Lloyd is now in his fifth year as the Head Coach of the University of Arizona, after 22 years working with Mark Few in Spokane. The Zags will always hold a place in my heart but once Tommy headed to Tucson my allegiances got spread. This Zag For Life became a Arizona Wildcats fan mainly because I'm a Tommy Lloyd fan.  A couple of years ago I contacted Tommy as I was in Arizona on holidays and he got me 4 tickets to a game at the McKale Centre. Unreal the people we get to meet on our journey.

 

The impact of Tommy at Arizona is like it's Gonzaga in the desert. Character people running great programs. Both programs believe strongly in the process and that daily habits are cornerstones of success. Wins and losses are part of that process and have to be dealt with equally. Last week when  they won to get to the Final Four Tommy's tone didn't change. When they lost to Michigan in the National Semi Final Tommy's tone didn't change. The winning and the losing is temporary. It's character that's lasting.

 This down home approach resonates as North Carolina offered him a contract but anyone who knows Tommy knew he wasn't going anywhere. Instead he signed a five year extension at Arizona.

 He commented on his good life, or as Mark Few would say," Don't mess with happy"

Olympia Sports Camp Summer of 2026.... Here we GOOOOOOOO!!

Have an idea or direction for a blog entry? Email me at coachdools71@gmail.com and lets talk possibilities. 

A Hero’s Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp chronicles the people that make up the history of Olympia, but it does far more than that. It serves as an inspirational guidebook for readers to become the hero of their own path. In order to do this the book examines the history of the land on which the camp has been built, from its indigenous origins to the European settlement process of the 1800’s. and the use of the land by the Royal Norwegian Air Force during WWll. The book is built on a collection of stories related to mentorship, sports psychology, and community building. This book honours the 50-year history of the camp while giving us all a window into seeing a deeper level of understanding of the world and our place in it.

Books Available at: 

-  Tuck and Pro at Olympia ( ask about the coach's deal)

 - Amazon and Indigo.ca

-  Indigo, Burlington Brant Street location.

- The Different Drummer Book Store on Locust Street in Burlington\

- Cedar Canoe Books on Main St in Huntsville

- Etransfer me $30 and I'll drive it to your house ! 

- available online at aherosjourney.ca

- audiobook version is available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes 

If you would like us to come to your town for a book event or get copies into your favourite bookstore , email me at coachdools71@gmail.com. We travel well.