Shortly after the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship, I interviewed one of the staff members. He attributed 70% of winning the championship to their uncommon level of trust, cohesiveness, unity, mutual respect, understanding and genuine care coaches and players all had for each other. In other words, the human dimension or quality of relationships! He only attributed 30% of their championship win to their talent. After all, everyone has great talent. Unquestionably, it is how well the talent plays together that makes all the difference. Most Division 1 NCAA sports teams have access to similar resources - offensive and defensive plays, the latest equipment, best science for training and recovery etc. The only thing that cannot be replicated are the quality of the relationships, connection and how well they play together. 

At the University of Incarnate Word Men's Basketball, we helped them triple their conference wins and achieve one of their most successful seasons in school history. Some programs will invest tens of millions of dollars in salaries, facilities, equipment, NIL, and each season, every program invests over one thousand hours training, lifting, practicing and watching film. Investing in team building and building uncommon relationships is the defining difference for the success of any program. 

Why This Matters Now?

With the significant changes within the NCAA,  to consistently compete at the highest level and win, most programs are recruiting older, experienced players who have only one or two years of eligibility. At the high-major level (like SEC and ACC tournament teams), over 50% of key rotation players have transferred. Movement and a lack of continuity are the new norm. These changes dramatically elevate the importance for coaches to master the human dimension or their ability to build meaningful relationships and accelerate the unity, cohesiveness and performance of their team. Simply put, it is the single most important variable that will determine the success of the team more than anything else.