Program Culture Case Studies: Four Programs, Four Models

Program culture case studies from Obradovic, Dean Smith, Kelvin Sampson and John Beilein: the rules, routines and enforcement each one used, side by side.

These program culture case studies take four coaches, Zeljko Obradovic, Dean Smith, Kelvin Sampson and John Beilein, and lay out the identity, the written rules, the daily routines and the enforcement each one built, then show where the four disagree and how to borrow one device at a time.

Program culture case studies take a real coach's culture apart into the rule he wrote, the routine he ran every day and the person who enforced it. This page takes four programs and lays each model out whole, so you can see how the parts fit before you borrow one.

The four are Zeljko Obradovic's European pro teams, Dean Smith's North Carolina, Kelvin Sampson's Houston and John Beilein's Michigan. The themes they share, few standards, written roles, a common language, are taught on basketball team culture, and the whole program build is on how to build a basketball program.

Every model here does three things: it states who the program is, it writes a short set of rules before the first problem, and it decides who enforces them. They differ most on that last part.

How to Read These Program Culture Case Studies

Read each case for four things: the identity the coach states, the rules he writes, the daily device that carries them, and who holds players to them. Look at the whole model before you take a part.

Three are college programs and one is a European pro program, so a high school coach will scale some pieces down. The case studies tell you what each coach did, not what will work in your gym.

Take the idea, then fit the size to your program.

Zeljko Obradovic: The Code and the Team Run

Obradovic's model starts before the players arrive and runs on discipline, which he calls the key word.

Identity. He makes the team's philosophy public so the right players, agents and general managers come to him. "Everybody knows how Panathinaikos plays." He recruits against four criteria: character to survive a long season, hard work, the fundamentals of the player's position and hunger for titles.

Rules.

A code of ethics. Set in preseason, explained in detail to newcomers and enforced from the first session. It covers the sleep and rest schedule and punctuality for meetings and practice.
Staff roles first. Each assistant's duties are stated before the first preseason practice.
Fair pay. Overpaying one player against the market unbalances the locker room, even when the player deserves it.

The preseason.

Seven weeks. One to two weeks of testing in the home arena, two weeks at a mountain camp and three weeks with the full roster.
Conditioning to basketball. 70/30 in weeks 1 and 2, 60/40 in weeks 3 and 4, 50/50 in weeks 5 and 6 and 20/80 in week 7.
Small install. Only 2 to 3 new concepts per side at the start, with returning players used as the examples for newcomers.
Meet the newcomers. Repeated individual meetings with every newcomer through the first months, to merge his goals with the team's. Skipping them surfaces misunderstandings late in the season. The staff is available to newcomers around the clock for apartments, logistics and family needs.

Daily device. No-dribble 5-on-5 for 5 to 10 minutes every practice, because, he says, nobody moves without the ball. Expect many turnovers at first.

Program culture case study diagram: no-dribble 5 on 5, the ball moves only by the pass

No-dribble 5 on 5. Nobody may dribble, so the ball moves only by the pass.

Enforcement. When one player makes a mistake, the whole team runs. "They talk to each other, not to me." The team carries the standard, not the coach's voice.

Write the code before camp, then let the team enforce it.

Dean Smith: Unity Rules

Smith's model is a set of 19 team unity principles, and most of them shape how teammates treat each other.

Rules and routines.

No yelling at a teammate. No player yells at another.
Point to the passer. The scorer acknowledges the passer by pointing at him.
The bench stands. Bench players stand and applaud team plays and subs coming to the sideline.
Sprints for pride. The team runs because it believes it is in better shape, not as punishment.

Program culture case study diagram: the scorer points back to the passer after a post feed

Point to the passer. 2 feeds from the left wing, 5 scores on the left block and points back to 2.

Roles. The Blue Team is subs 8 through 12, who always enter as a unit, always in the first half, and play at least one or two minutes. They know when they will play, and the first team rests and comes back harder.

Mistakes. Never substitute on a mistake when the player is trying. If he is trying, what more can you ask? The same list adds one limit: a player seen loafing comes out.

Enforcement. The seniors carry it. Smith told his seniors it was their team: they make the rules and the coaches enforce them, with no phony rules. He let seniors bring him problems, not names, and held that players want to be disciplined.

Reward the pass and the effort in public, and the team starts to police itself.

Kelvin Sampson: Two Non-Negotiables

Sampson's model is short: two standards, held the same every day, and a coach who owns the teaching.

Standards. His non-negotiables are attitude and effort. They do not change after a great practice or after a home loss before a road trip. Touching every line and being on time are the metaphor: you cannot skip lines and have a culture. His line: "How you do anything is how you do everything."

Program culture case study diagram: a line sprint where touching every line is the standard

Touch every line. A line sprint where touching every line is the standard. 1 sprints from the baseline to the free-throw line and back, then to half court and back.

Daily habits.

Compete, do not just play hard. Everything is a competition. In his demo two players balance on one leg, and the one who wants it most wins, not the strongest or the fastest.
Build habits. Once is an accident, twice a coincidence, three times a habit, and the job is to build good ones.
Three people never have a bad practice. The head coach, the best player and the point guard.
A team you can hear. Good teams talk, and bad teams do not.

Enforcement. The coach. Sampson says most coaches fail because they cannot hold players accountable, and get fired for being passive-aggressive and afraid of confrontation. A player with a bad attitude is the coach's fault to keep, so let him go. Teaching is on the coach too: nothing is learned until it is taught. Coach with one eye open and one ear closed, pick your battles and win the war.

Who sustains it. He establishes the culture, and it lasts because the players take ownership. His staff comes from his own circle of former players and managers.

Keep the list to two words and hold it the same win or lose.

John Beilein: The Locker-Room Constitution

Beilein's model puts the rules on the wall and the relationships under them.

The constitution. A numbered list of about 20 items hung in the locker room. It includes be on time, treat people with respect, eat right, no drugs or alcohol, we are a family, no turnovers, play unselfish, play harder, practice rules, value of education, program priorities, be prepared and be a good teammate. Each item is paired with a quote from a famous person, and the page ends with a line to sign and date.

Culture words. Unity, team above self. Appreciation. Integrity, where any crack derails everything. Diligence. Accountability, hold yourself first and then others to the same standard.

Daily habits.

How do we practice? Hard. It was a team meeting line.
Make or run. Free throws are make 20, run for every miss.
Blunt roles. Walk-ons act as managers or scout team and stay out of the key drills.

The warnings. Rules without a relationship lead to rebellion. Take your time hiring, because a staff out of step with your tone can wreck a program. Lie, cheat or steal, and the program is done.

Enforcement. Each player holds himself first, then others.

Put it in writing, sign it, and spend as much time on the people as on the list.

The Four Models Side by Side

Program	Identity	Written rules	Daily device	Who enforces
Zeljko Obradovic	A public philosophy	Preseason code of ethics	No-dribble 5-on-5	The whole team runs for one error
Dean Smith	Team unity	19 unity principles	Point to the passer, the bench stands	Seniors bring problems, not names
Kelvin Sampson	Attitude and effort	Two non-negotiables	Touch every line, be on time, compete	The coach, then the players own it
John Beilein	A family with a constitution	About 20 numbered items, signed	Make 20 free throws, run for every miss	Each player holds himself first

Read across a row before you borrow from it.

Where the Four Disagree

The four agree on writing the rules down early. They split on the parts that cost a coach something:

Who enforces. Obradovic hands it to the team, which runs together and talks to itself. Sampson makes it the coach's job first. Beilein asks each player to hold himself first. Smith leans on the seniors.
Mistakes and minutes. Smith never subs on a mistake when the player is trying. Obradovic runs the whole team for one error. A player who is not trying loses his minutes in Smith's model too.
How long the list is. Sampson keeps two words. Smith has 19 principles. Beilein hangs about 20 items.
Roles for the end of the bench. Smith gives subs 8 through 12 a fixed role as a unit. Beilein puts walk-ons in a manager or scout-team role, out of the key drills.

How hard coaches hold players and who carries it is also on accountability in your basketball program, and the player side of it is on basketball leadership.

Pick the side of each fork that fits who you said you are.

Borrow One Device at a Time

Pick one piece from one model, install it, run it until it sticks, then add the next:

A written code before the first practice. Obradovic's preseason code, explained in detail to every newcomer.
No-dribble 5-on-5. Five to 10 minutes a practice, as Obradovic runs it.
Point to the passer and stand for the subs. Smith's two public rewards, from day one.
Two words. Sampson's attitude and effort, the same after a great practice or a home loss.
A signed constitution. Beilein's numbered list with a quote per item and a sign-and-date line.

Writing your own statement first is covered on basketball coaching philosophy. Hiring a staff that fits is on building a basketball coaching staff, and toughness as part of culture is on mental toughness in basketball. One more full program model, built around running after every rebound, is on transition first program model. Single-program studies are on Michigan State basketball program culture, the Kentucky basketball program and Miami Heat basketball culture.

One device, installed well, beats five announced at once.

Questions Coaches Ask

What are examples of strong basketball program cultures?

Zeljko Obradovic's code of ethics and team run, Dean Smith's 19 unity principles with the Blue Team, Kelvin Sampson's attitude and effort, and John Beilein's signed locker-room constitution are four complete models with written rules and daily routines.

What were Dean Smith's team rules?

His 19 unity principles include no yelling at a teammate, pointing to the passer, the bench standing for team plays and subs, sprints for pride, never subbing on a mistake when the player is trying, and seniors bringing problems, not names.

What are Kelvin Sampson's non-negotiables?

Attitude and effort. He holds them the same after a great practice or a home loss, and uses touching every line and being on time as the daily proof.

How do you write a team constitution?

John Beilein's is a numbered list of about 20 items, such as be on time, treat people with respect, we are a family and no turnovers, each paired with a quote and ending with a line for the player to sign and date. It hangs in the locker room.

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