When you’re playing do you ever look at the scoreboard. I do, all the time. But I never really look at the score. At the end of the game I never know if it was 85-74 or 63- 60. But I usually know how much we won by.

When I look at the score board I see the point separation. I see a six point lead or a five point spread. I see the distance between the two numbers.

Numbers on the basketball court are critical. Ask anyplayer, when you get down by ten it’s a tough deficit to come back from, at any point in the game. And with two minutes to go its its pretty much over.

I always work in groups of five. Its easier that way. After the first few minutes of a game-the feeling outprocess-I always try and go up by five. This is usually easy to do if the team makes a concerted effort to go up by five.

In any time out, or on the court, I try to get the team to go on a five point run. It’s easy to get two defensive stops and a couple good offensive sets and you’re up by five. Time out.

If the momentum is still good we try go up by ten. Another five point run. This one’s a little more difficult, but if you push hard for a two to three minute stretch it’s a done deal. The opposition will try to fight this one, but keep focused on ten.

Look at the scoreboard and keep pushing it to a ten point gap. You want to get this at least by half time. It’s a huge psychological advantage to go into the locker room up by ten. This is more so for the team down by ten, which at this point will be struggling to look for answers to get back into the game.

A good start to the second half is also important. Fend off that first attack and start using their fouls to put your opposition in a position which it can’t come back from.

A couple minutes in, maybe five or six, make another push to go up by fifteen—another five point run. If you get it to eighteen the game is done. Players get beat when the lead gets close to twenty. They give up. Simply put they give up.

The scoreboard reads a big gap. More than 15 and more than twenty is hard to come back from. Just keep the game in your control, without show boating, and you’ve got yourself another “W”.

So when you look at the scoreboard, see what I see. See the gap and see the win.

Keep Hoopin