Light Blue Reign #3

As I make my way through the book Light Blue Reign, I notice the three influential coaches all have many positive aspects about them that are very similar and define how they have become successful. The first characteristic that is most evident is their respect, for themselves and for others. Respecting other people such as their players enables other people to respect them back. This in turns makes it easier for them to complete their duties, for example running practices. Having the players’ respect makes sure that practices are run as smoothly as possible with little interruption which makes the teams more prepared and successful.

The next characteristics are their humility and in contrast their cockiness. Their humility is key as it does not draw negative attention to them and allows them to be sincere. With the humility they posses they can admit to their mistakes and make further progress to becoming a better person and coach. Even though they are humble, they have a presence that can be seen as cockiness. This is used at the right time to solidify their presence.

Even though these are characteristics that helped make them successful as basketball coaches, I feel like these are valuable aspects that are important to be successful in life. These three coaches, McGuire, Smith and Williams, were more than good coaches. They were great people and that is the reason they were and are successful in their careers.

Light Blue Reign #2

“Players win games and coaches lose them,”- Dean Smith (p. 154)

This a famous quote made by legendary coach at UNC, Dean Smith. This was passed onto him by Frankie McGuire, the man who created North Carolina basketball as the world knows it today. Simply by reading this quote you get a sense of how brilliant these men were that briskly walked the sidelines for many years. This reveals the amount of trust these two magnificent coaches had in their players. The coaches also held themselves to a higher standard taking blame for the negatives. Since McGuire and Smith were the head coaches and the bosses, everyone looked up to them and recognized the obvious success each of them had. Since they held themselves to such a high standard it would seem like the right thing to do to mimic the two coaches’ styles and philosophies.

By Dean Smith and Frank McGuire stating this it shows the confidence and swagger that they posses but at the same time their modesty. Taking the blame for losses allows the players a sense of comfort knowing the coach has their back through thick and then. This is what separated these two coaches from the average coaches. Without these two men Carolina Basketball would not take the outstanding form that it has today. The foundation these two men laid was so solid that it has withstood fifty strong years and will continue for years to come.

Light Blue Reign

“Having three times explained that “we’re fricken’ bad at it,” he accidentally dropped the f-bomb in his next answer. He apologized repeatedly for the remainder of the press conference and immediately called his athletic director and chancellor and apologized.” (p. 10)

This passage in the book, Light Blue Reign, talks about the current North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams and how he lost his temper in a post game press conference. After Roy Williams used inappropriate language, he took it upon himself to make up for his inappropriate actions. His excessive apology shows the respect that Roy has developed over the years as coach, and reveals the true meaning behind Carolina Basketball. The respect comes from the two main figures, Frank McGuire and Dean Smith, who built the program from nothing. This is a measure of the standard that has been set by the two previous coaching legends. Without the respect built in the program, remorse of Roy’s wrongful action would not have been felt. In comparison if the same actions were to be made by a university coach somewhere else in the country, nothing would be thought of it. By Roy Williams reacting the way to his action shows that he is grounded and understands that role that he has been put in as head coach. He is a leader to young men that look up to him for guidance in basketball and life. This apology shows how North Carolina has become a world renowned basketball and sporting program of greatness from a mere activity for a few men to enjoy.

On page 19 Frye states that "A writer's desire to write can only have come from previous experiences of literature." I agree with this statement because if literature is something you have not come across before writing would not a possibility. There would be no sense of beginning middle and end. The ability to create a story would not be able to form. It is us seeing models and previous works of literature that allows our mind to evolve what we have to say into a story. Literature from other writers helps other writers develop their own. One thing that I disagree about with this statement is that the original creator of literature had no model to base his literature too. So until literature was developed around the world, writers made their own sense of literature.

evolution of literature

“Literature doesn’t evolve or improve or progress.”

In this quote Frye trys to point out that literature is out there in its finest it is just up to human beings to unlock its full potential. Literature does not evolve although the human beings and the way we present it and interpret might change. I agree with this quote because there are plenty of examples that relate to this such as Shakespear. If literature progresses Shakespear would not be looked upon as such a masterpiece as it is today. This quote has connection to McCullough's speach, all books are new to a person who is reading it for the first time.