Of all the kids I've helped make the leap from high school basketball to college basketball, Kelly Herbert is the one who had the farthest to travel. Her high school career-despite four years on varsity- was unremarkable at best. I don't have her high school statistics nearby, but I doubt if she scored 300 points in four seasons-and, that is averaging roughly 32 games per season. Needless to say, college coaches weren't blowing up my mobile phone trying to recruit her. What Kelly did, in her first year past high school, was feverishly train and study. She lifted weights, watched tape and we worked on her offensive game for one solid year. The next season, she walked on at a local four year college and averaged seven points and six boards per game in her first season as a collegian. I watched her, in a summer league game, score 25 points against a squad that was comprised of six scholarship athletes from TCU.

And this was coming from a kid who was reluctant to take an open twelve foot jump shot in high school.

How did she do this? It's simple-she just outworked everyone else. We set a goal to shoot ten thousand jump shots and eight thousand free throws from Independence Day to Labor Day. We kept accurate, diligent records of her progress and it yielded great basketball dividends. Kelly became a student of the game.

As I observe my coaching colleagues, I conclude they demand the kids work hard to get better, but rarely ‘take that medicine themselves.' Kelly's work ethic and diligence made me a better coach because I recognized that I must work just as hard at becoming more proficient at teaching, understanding and articulating the game.

I dedicated seven hours a week to studying, scrutinizing and analyzing game films-I taped Euroleague games from NBA TV and watched them repeatedly, making notes on the nuanced difference in how the international players performed and interpreted fundamentals.

If you-as a Coach-are demanding your players work, train and immerse themselves in the game, consider that you must do the same. Every hardworking player deserves a coach who is working just as hard to refine and expand their game knowledge.

Outwork your kids-then, outwork your colleagues. This, often, is the difference between success and mediocrity. There are many truly gifted coaches who don't need to study the game. I am not one of them...I love the game, but I've had to dedicate lots of time to know it well enough to be able to teach it simply. As the good Dr. Naismith said, "Basketball is easy to learn, but difficult to master." A truism for players and coaches.