Though some coaches try to complicate it, even in practice, basketball is a simple game and should be kept that way. You must have patience, and you must make your players understand what they are doing wrong and what they are doing right.

The fundamentals have always come first in my practice thoughts, and I think this is essential for everyone. Mere knowledge of the basics is not enough. They players must execute properly, and even that's not enough: they must also execute quickly. The better coaches are those who can get across their ideas better; they know that keeping everything as simple as possible makes it easier to understand.

We try to run a very well organized practice. We don't want to waste any time. We don't want any playing around. We want the players thinking only of that particular practice session and of improving themselves and the team. "The only way of improving the team is by improving yourself."

We start on time and stop on time. Until our first game, our players may come up at three o'clock. My assistant and I will be waiting for them and will give a little individual work to those who get there early. We'll suggest that certain players do get there early to get a little individual attention.

About five minutes before three thirty, we let them go on their own. At about 3:29, I blow the whistle and we start our organized practices, which will run until 5:30. That is our time schedule from October 15, our first day of practice, until December.

I do not want my players to feel that they have to give up their weekends. They know I'm not going to intrude on their time away from practice, and I feel we get more out of them during practice because of that.

For the same reason, I do not like to practice on Sundays, unless we have a Saturday-Monday game situation, where we're on the road and we need to work out a little. We might also do this after the game. I believe a little loosening up at this time is good for you.

So we might work on Sunday, but I don't like to do it. I will also never have my players come in and practice on Saturday. We practice Monday through Friday, and we want those two hours on the floor to be organized as much as possible.

When our pre-league games come around in December, we cut down our Monday practice by a half-hour – we're off the floor by five o'clock. Wednesday and Thursday, we'll practice until five thirty, again two hours. The day before a game, we'll practice only until five. This usually will happen of Fridays, since we nearly always play on Saturdays.

Once we get into our conference games, we practice from three-thirty until five. Our players know this and they also know that I wi ll not get upset at them and keep them late. I'm more likely to let them go early than I am to keep them late.

I don't believe in punishing players in any physical manner. I'd rather punish them in a more mental manner. I believe you can make them think a little more by saying, "All right, if you're not going to work, practice is off for today." When things aren't going right, when you're not giving the attention you should, when the players don't feel like working, it is better to just call it off for the day. "Now, let's come back with the right attitude tomorrow."

Things of that sort are better than ordering "a dozen laps" or "run up and down the stairs." I never do that anymore. I did in my younger days, but it's something that I've learned as a coach