COACH/TEACHER PETE NEWELL

Beyond his many championships, both in college and Olympics, Pete Newell will best be remembered for his passion for, and skill in, teaching the tall player, particularly in the offensive area. Those of us that had the privilege of knowing him will remember him also for his love of student learning. I didn't write, "teaching." I wrote "student learning," so you'll understand Coach Newell got really excited when he saw one of his pupils "get it."

His favorite story concerns when he was teaching Pervis Short moves from the wing. During his rookie year, Pervis was successful shooting jump shots from the forward area. That is, until defenses began guarding him tighter and discovered he had no counter move after he caught the basketball. That's when he called on Coach Newell. Newell showed Pervis how to quickly reverse when guarded tightly after receiving the ball. That one move created layups, but more importantly, created space for Short to shoot the shot he loved. Newell gave Pervis a renewed life at the forward position.

I've heard Coach Newell tell this story more than four times and I never got tired of it. That's because of his smile, each time he gets to the part where Pervis "gets it." I could just see the joy on his face. And joy is all he ever got paid by the many pros he coached, and joy is all he ever wanted. As a result, Pete will live on in the minds and hearts of all those he provided skill for, and received joy from.

Over one year ago, Coach Newell and I published "Playing Big," a complete presentation of post play, something he has been wanting to do for decades. To prepare the book, he must have sent me more than a dozen, hand-written, articles he wrote but never published. That was some of the richest text I had ever read. From that, it was not difficult to compile a book. When it was finished and hit the bookstores, I felt so amazingly satisfied becasue I helped this wonderful man, with an amazing passion, preserve what he knew that so many were not able to hear. You see, until the book was written, the only way to really understand his knowledge of post play, was to go to one of his camps.

When I write a blog posting, I always have a lesson. I don't think I have one here, unless it's that you have got to love what you do as a teacher. Coach Newell gained the passion for post play by studying it as deeply as he could. If you've been around him, you will have heard him say many times, "Tell then 'the why'". What he meant was, don't just tell players how to do something; tell them why it works. One can only do that if he or she dives deeply into the subject. Pete did, and that's how he became increasingly interested and passionate about post play.

I am privileged to have known him and privileged to have my name under his as co-authors of a book that will help preserve the tremendous genius of this great man. May he rest in peace.