Masters of Mind Games

0 Comments | Insight on the News, March 26, 2001 | by Bob Cohn

Hamilton, who came to the Wizards after rebuilding programs at Oklahoma State and Miami, believes there is little difference between motivating college athletes who play far fewer games for free (presumably), and pros who withstand a brutal 82-game schedule and make a lot more money than he does (and he's making $2 million a year).

"Human beings are human beings," he says. "You try to treat people with respect and hold people accountable and try to be fair.... I don't think I'm doing anything different from what I've always done. I've always been concerned about the individuals, their mind-sets and approach."

Yet every coach worth his reserved parking space, including Hamilton, has occasionally fallen back on "Us vs. Them" (and its twin brother, "No One Gives Us Any Respect"), which often employs a resource known as bulletin-board material. "What people say and what people write, sometimes that's motivation," Hamilton concedes.

When he was at Georgetown, White played for perhaps the leading proponent of "Us vs. Them," John Thompson, the creator of Hoya Paranoia. To Thompson, "Them" seemed to be the whole world. White explains it thusly: "We were all playing for a common goal. We were all in the same boat together, and everything out there is trying to keep us from our goal. So we have to stick together and accomplish what we have to together."

But Thompson's motivational skills went well beyond that. "Coach Thompson was a great motivator because he dealt with each of his players on a personal level," White says. "He was a father figure to most of the players. They looked up to him, and they hung on his every word. He wasn't just a coach but also a teacher. After practice, he'd sit you down and talk about life. You felt he loved all his players."

Years ago, the Los Angeles Rams played the Giants in New York in the final game of the year. A playoff berth was at stake for both teams. That week, Rams coach George Allen distributed some newspaper clippings that seemed to suggest the Giants were taking his team lightly (the "No One Gives Us Any Respect" ploy). At least that's how Allen saw it. And he wanted to make sure the Rams saw it the same way, even though Allen had written in his book, Inside Football, "Never use the news media as a propaganda or psychological tool."

The Rams beat the Giants 31-3. After the game, Deacon Jones, future Hall of Fame defensive end for Los Angeles, was asked if the clippings had an effect. Oh, yes, he said. The Giants shouldn't have insulted his team. And what might the score have been without the clippings. Replied Jones, "Thirty-one to three."