Diary Series: Jeremy Shyatt, Asst. Coach - Wyoming ("ADU")

Great to be back for another season of College Chalktalk!!  The Wyoming Cowboys are currently 6-1, after winning the Jim Thorpe Classic this past weekend.  We have been very fortunate in the preseason so far that our defense has been clicking on all cylinders.  To this date, we rank 5th in the nation in Scoring Defense, and 24th in the nation in FG% Defense.  It is nice to see the hard work and sacrifice of our guys starting to pay off dividends.

However, like anything else, defense is formed by habits.  Habits are formed by doing something over and over again until they become 2nd nature.  Since we arrived in Laramie in early April, we were determined to build a defensive mentality.

We inherited some terrific guys when we took over, and they have paved the way for our rookies as well.  The first question we asked them was, "What was your identity last season?"  After a long silence, we told them that they would never not know the answer to that question ever again.  From that point on, our identity would start to mold.  Aggressive.  Disciplined.  Unselfish.  Those three words were to be used everywhere.   In our locker room they are the most recognizable images.  In our huddles before we break for the day, it is always, 1-2-3, ADU!!  We even have put the letters ADU on the back of our team sweats.  Nowhere does it say "Wyoming Basketball."  Only our Steamboat logo (looks kind of like the Polo logo) and the letters ADU.  We know exactly what it means.

To back up the "talk" of what we wanted to do, we had to start the habit building process with our guys.  For the first 17 days of the preseason, we had no offensive individual workouts.  They were all individual defense.  On September 15th, when we could start to have more than four guys in a group, we would still commit ourselves to a "Defensive Individual  Day" every other workout.  We wanted our guys to be perfectly clear that on our worst shooting nights, our defense would keep us in games.

Furthermore, we instituted Practice Stats that were unique to our program.  On a daily basis, in each 3-on-3 or higher, competitive situation, our guys are evaluated.  But instead of your typical makes, misses, etc., there are different categories that we defined, "What Impacts Winning."  These are called our hustle stats.  You are awarded a +1 for a Charge, Loose Ball, Steal, Deflection, First to the Floor, Offensive Rebound, Forced Turnover, or Screen Assist.  Consequently, you receive a -1 if you have a Missed Blockout, No Floor Balance (1s and 2s), Don't go to the O-Boards (3s, 4s, 5s), Unaffected Shot/Pass, or Missed Charge Opportunity.  We also give a +2 or -2 based on a player's Assist/Turnover ratio.  At the end of four or five practices (and now games as well), the post player and perimeter player with the highest score gets a Steamboat ironed on their practice shorts.  Over the course of a season, there will be some players with 10-15 Steamboats (like a football helmet), and some with none.  It is awesome to see guys waiting with baited breath to see who wins each award.

As we progress through the season, we know that if we are to be successful, we must never forget who we are, or what our identity is.  It isn't always pretty, but at the end of the day, it's a whole lot more fun hanging numbers in the left column than the right one!!

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