MARCH MADNESS: WHEN MENTAL TOUGHNESS MATTERS MOST

Mental toughness and a warrior mindset are often key to athletic victories, and no where is this as true as in the NCAA tournament where teams are fighting to get to the Final Four and then to win the whole thing.

In describing the lowest scoring NCAA Final Four game in history (UConn over Butler 53-41 in the 2011 Championship Game), the word “ugly” was used by sports writers about a gazillion times. Well… it WAS a low-scoring game (22-19 at the half – there are football games with higher scores than that!!) Yes, both teams played tenacious defense, but in a second half where Butler shot 6-for-37 (and just 2-for-18 two-point shooting – that’s 11.1%!!!) I believe it was more than the aggressive UConn defense that made the difference.

While UConn did manage to shut Butler down, the Butler players DID get many decent looks in the second half – the shots just didn’t fall. Any team – and any player – can have an off night where that is going to happen.  But I suspect that in large part, Butler had a hand in its own poor showing.

Consider the comment made by UConn guard Jeremy Lamb, whose solid second half play helped his team to a decisive pummeling of Butler. Lamb noted afterwards that after his own difficulties in the first half where none of his own shots were falling, he got a boost of confidence when he made his first two free throws in the second half. “Feeling the ball go through the net really helped,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the opposite dynamic was happening for Butler. As shots didn’t fall, the frustration kept building, and the disappointment kept growing. I suspect that guys’ mental/emotional state (stress) started to take its toll, and when it did, muscles tightened up, shots got rushed, and they began to force their game.

A few years ago in a second-round NCAA Tournament game, CAL Berkeley, known for its strong defensive play, faced Pitt, another defense-minded team. When California’s offense went four minutes without scoring, the team started to get into a rut. Soon their defensive effort went downhill as well. The dry spell on offense led to frustration, which in turn stymied their defensive play. It was a hard-fought game, and Pitt never let up, but in many ways CAL beat themselves when they let a few bad moments take them out of their game.

I am certain that Butler coach Brad Stevens (currently head coach of the Boston Celtics) came up with well-crafted plays to help his guys get back into the game. But I suspect that they were struggling to regain their competitive fight.  It was there - as much as in the X's and O's - where Butler could have used a re-set button. 

Thomas, a post player I worked with, had been struggling throughout much of the season, missing shots he knew he should have been making. We had been working together for two months when he told me about one game he had played.

“I missed a lot of easy shots in the first half – my coach was yelling at me, my head was going crazy. But at half time I listened to my body; it was tight.  I took some deep breaths and relaxed, trying to let go of all the stress and get back the two things you and I have talked about – playing with conviction … and having fun.  I then went out in the second half and finished two shots around the rim and hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter.  I ended up with 25 points and 10 rebounds, including going 5-for-8 from 3-point range.”

Few athletes would seem to possess the unshakeable confidence of a top athlete like NBA star Vince Carter. One season while he was still with the Raptors, Carter returned to the rotation following a five-game absence due to injury. It was clear during the first few minutes of play that his game was suffering, his shot flat and off the mark. He missed a number of baskets until he finally banked one in off the backboard. I got to speak with him after the game and asked him about it. 

“Well, I had my mom and my agent and everyone telling me not to try to make up for five missed games right away, and just to take it easy, but I kept thinking about that and couldn’t help myself, so I was pretty hyper for the first few minutes although after a while I settled down. Thank goodness for that three-pointer I shot going in, even though it was off the glass, or else I would have really felt embarrassed.”      

Of course, every athlete has to find his or her own rhythm, but Carter was, by his own admission, feeling beset by the demands of the moment to the point of a lapse of confidence, and consequently waiting for that first shot to drop to get his confidence back.

I know that most athletes share Carter’s view (I once argued the point with tennis great Andy Roddick, who similarly professed that – even with all the championships under his belt – having a rough patch brought down his confidence). I nevertheless believe – and tell the players I work with, “DON’T BASE YOUR CONFIDENCE ON HOW YOU HAVE BEEN PLAYING IN THE PAST 10 MINUTES (or worse – the RESULTS of those past 10 minutes).  BASE YOUR CONFIDENCE ON WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THE PAST 10 YEARS… ON WHO YOU ARE AS AN ATHLETE. ”

Helping Thomas (the player I was working with) keep that in mind was a critical part of getting him back to consistent top level basketball as the season went on.  When the Butler players needed it most, their confidence gave way to stress and disappointment. As a result, they allowed their performance to determine how confident they felt, rather than find the confidence to dictate their performance.

“DON’T LET YOUR GAME DETERMINE YOUR ATTITUDE - LET YOUR ATTITUDE DETERMINE YOUR GAME” is how professional golf champion Davis Love III puts it.

It’s likely that UConn was the better team on this particular night in any event.  But Butler’s inability to match up with UConn in the second half was – I believe – in some measure, a failure in the mental area. After all, momentum in games does have a way of shifting.  But MENTALLY, where the Butler team seemed to be in the second half, put that possibility MORE AND MORE OUT OF REACH as the clock wore down. After the amazing run Butler had all season – and especially throughout the tournament – it was unfortunate to see it come down to that.

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“When the pressure is on in big game situations, whoever is able to relax and enjoy the moment is the one who is most going to be in control.”

--Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett