Leadership on Display, Levance Fields of Pitt

I know I wrote about Pitt just a few days ago, but I just thought that last night's win over Xavier was just a great game to follow-up on, especially with the way Pitt finished the game. You know, as a coach, we always talk about building leaders, players who step up and make plays. Levance Fields of Pitt epitomized that role last night.

In the last two minutes, he made three key plays. First, he trailed the fast break and when Dixon messed up the open court dunk, Fields was there to put it back. Second, he steps up and hits a huge 3-pointer to give Pitt the lead. Third, he steps into a steal and gets the basket that sealed the win,



What I wanted to highlight here specifically is what a leader is all about. In this first sequence, when Jermaine Dixon missed the open court dunk, Fields is there to put it back. That part is just standard "doing your job" part. What I really liked to see is what Fields did right after, he immediately told Dixon to get up and get back on defense,

That's a team. That's a what a leader does. He picks up his teammates when they've made a bad mistake. He pulls them together and gets them focused on the next step. As a coach, that is what you want. It isn't about you shouting out instructions to your players, telling them what they did wrong, what to do, where to go. Your job is to educate them so that they make their own decisions, so that they know themselves what to do next. That is when you know that you've done your job as a coach.

Summary:

So far, my bracket is looking pretty good. My upsets are out, but that shouldn't be a surprise because well the favorites should be winning anyways. I think Arizona is a dangerous trap team. They are seeded 12th, but as Rick Pitino said himself on ESPN radio, Arizona has 3 NBA players, they do not play like a 12th seed. I think all the controversy surrounding Jim Calhoun and UConn with the recruiting allegations will only serve to bring them closer together, making it an "us versus the world" type of motivation. Well, should be a great weekend ahead.

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