You Handle Animals. You Deal With People.

I Can't Stand A Ballplayer Who Plays In Fear.

You've Got To Avoid Overcoaching. You've Got To Avoid Talking Too Much. You've Got To Avoid Showing Players That You're The Boss Every Time. You Don't Have To Do That. They Know You're In Charge.

You See, In Sports You Have So Many Things That Aren't Expected. There's So Much Uncertainty. So When Players Find Themselves In A Situation Where Management Has A Great Deal Of Integrity And They Can Depend On My Word Or Anybody Else's Word In The Organization, They Feel Secure. And If The Players Feel Secure, They Don't Want To Leave Here. And If They Don't Want To Leave Here, They're Going To Do Everything They Can On The Court To Stay Here.

I Never Took A Position We Were Going To Be A Good Ball Club. I Took The Position We Were Going To Be A Winning Ball Club.

And I Have Been Very Blessed, Having Coached Some Of The Greatest That Have Ever Played The Game. But If I Had To Start A Team Today, The Greatest Player And The One Guy I Would Take Would Be Larry Bird.