Athletic Fortitude Show
Athletes all over the world endure countless mental physical and psychological adversities over the course of their careers. We are here to bring you the solutions to those adversities with some of the top professional athletes, coaches, and sport and performance psychologists around the world!
Athletic Fortitude Show
Coach Q (Fred Quartlebaum)- Championing Culture: The Kansas Basketball Way
Coach Q shares his personal philosophy on positivity and growth, revealing how family experiences with cancer shaped his resilient outlook and commitment to process-oriented thinking. He explains how maintaining optimism during life's challenges requires finding your "compass to get back to center" and focusing on continuous improvement.
• Developing a positive mindset starts with daily gratitude and seeing each day as an opportunity
• Finding balance between positivity and acknowledging difficult emotions requires buzzwords like "focus," "reset," and "gratitude" to recenter
• Culture is the heart and soul of any organization, fueling connection, commitment, and trust
• Kansas basketball builds culture through showing up, taking ownership, and creating positive experiences
• Players carry culture cards and participate in regular culture classes to reinforce program values
• "Energy charts" track intangibles like deflections and effort plays that don't show up on stat sheets
• Trust between players and coaches allowed Kansas players to suggest defensive strategy in final moments of 2022 championship game
• Successful leaders invest in people first, understanding that results follow when relationships are prioritized
If you want to connect and talk more about leadership and building winning cultures, find Coach Q on Twitter @FFQ212 and Instagram @Qfit50.
Yeah, man, your vibe just like lights up a room. Have you always been like this positive, or did? You have to develop that.
Speaker 2:You know, I think over time, Colin, I think to some extent, I think it's a part of a little bit of my DNA. I think my mother is 80, 81 here in August, but she bowls like twice a week. She travels around the country in the summer. I mean she's so energetic and she's a energetic and she's a breast cancer survivor bro, and I remember when I was 13, what she was going through and just to see her spirit, her energy and hope that she was going to get through this man. And this is back in the day, this is the 70s, where, like the big staples going right through her shoulder, all the way through her breast, I mean it was, but it just never stopped her, never stopped her and fast forward.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't know if you knew this, but my son was diagnosed with cancer last year and he was going through the military, you know, and unfortunately he now has to take a step back. But the silver lining of it is cancer-free. We got the word on Christmas Eve. He still had a one year left to play college basketball so he put his name in a portal. He had like six or seven D2 schools reach out, so he's committed going to Rollins College. So it's just a blessing. But I think you practice it because obviously we always talk about circumstances and we're all going to have those in our lives, but it's just how we deal with them, and usually how we deal with them will determine our outcome. So that's kind of been my thought process each and every day Just attack everything with great energy, great hope and understand that you know we're all going to have our challenges and our setbacks, but it's how we deal with them is the most important thing.
Speaker 1:Does it always feel natural to you or do you have to force it?
Speaker 2:sometimes you have to force it sometimes. You know it's almost natural because I think now I'm in an environment as Kansas basketball where you have to be a process-driven person and you also have to have a next play mentality right, because every game, every practice, so on and so forth, the expectation, the standards are pretty high and if you're not a process-driven individual and understanding it's the long game, you're going to hit those patches throughout your journey and you're not going to be able to navigate as much as you would if you have a good mindset about positivity.
Speaker 1:How do you maintain that in those moments you find out your son has cancer? Like what? What is the conversation going on in your head where you can take something that's just atrocious news and then be able to channel your energy and your actions into this positive light?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I think it starts with having an empathetic mindset, you know, and obviously it's your son that's dealing with this, but we also understand that it's a family dynamic and how can we make the best situation, the most comfortable situation, the most relaxing situation for him? And that starts with your mindset and your attitude. But actually the table was twisted because while I'm feeling that anxiety, I walk into the house. There's my son, mason, who is of age, has a Miller Lite sitting right on the table, and his first few words for me were well, dad, I just found out I have cancer. Might as well chug a beer.
Speaker 2:From beginning to end. He didn't want any pity parties. He didn't want anyone feeling sorry for him. He knew that type of energy was not the energy he needed to get to the other side. He wanted all positivity, all good feelings, and that's how we had it around our house. He had his ups and downs through the process, but he just wanted an energy that was going to bring him joy and to continue to push forward the hope and the faith that he needed during that time.
Speaker 1:Are there any process type things that people can do to increase their even just general positive levels, like what can they do day to day to increase their positivity?
Speaker 2:I think it starts off with and everyone handles their beginning of the day differently I start off my day just with a dose of gratitude. You wake up and another opportunity to impact others, another opportunity to grow a little bit better than you did yesterday, and that to me, that's exciting. That's the joy of life that you have.
Speaker 1:You have another opportunity, right, and it's just how you deal with it. You know how do you make it to your advantage without jeopardizing someone else's growth. Do you ever feel like, in these moments of positivity, that you're neglecting?
Speaker 2:some of your other emotions, or how do you address those while remaining positive? Well, you know, as a positive person, so to speak, you know you're also going to have those times of doubt, those times of, you know, uncertainty. You know we all go, we're all human. I always try to find a I call it my compass to try to get back to center. Right, love that phrase, get back to center. To get back to center, because in our world of coaching or whatever it may be, there's a lot of imbalances that go along. You sacrifice family time, sometimes you sacrifice personal time. So I think it's important that you try to find your way to get back to center, and maybe it's buzzwords that maybe can kind of get you back to okay, focus, reset, gratitude, thankfulness All those words are part of my DNA to kind of get me back. When I start to veer off a little bit to the right or, you know, I'm definitely in left field.
Speaker 1:I think one thing I had to learn in a harsh truth was because I used to be a really negative person and I would like to believe now I'm much more positive. But a harsh truth I had to realize was no matter what goes on or what happens, the world still continues. Tomorrow's still going to come, and so for me it was. I had to learn the process of just because I'm going through something or something tragic may happen or something that may feel like it's a tragedy that doesn't have to derail the other elements and components of my life. So, knowing when and how to give certain areas attention without letting it bleed into other areas of my life, and giving me those repeated bad days, I like to say if you can have a bad day for no reason, or if you can have a bad day for a reason, you can have a good day for no reason or a good day for a reason.
Speaker 2:I like that, colin. That's a great way to matter of fact, while we're talking, I'm actually, you know, I'm a note taker and you know, in this conversation, you know you had some things that definitely resonate with me as well that I again to take along the journey. You know, I'm still in that growth and process mindset. I always say that we're, I'm getting a little closer, I'm just not there yet and tomorrow I will say the same thing. Right? They always say that you know, the important thing about courage is you just continue to move forward, regardless of the outcome, regardless of not being able to see the light. Right, that's the courage, just to continue to move forward even though you can't see the finish line.
Speaker 1:I think that's what's really, at least to me, exciting about growth and getting better. There's no ceiling to it and it's just this constant chase and game of just getting better and exciting, because every day is like a new challenge. Where I think that can become challenging is for really outcome-driven people who are looking for like a finite finish line, but you yourself are never finished until the day that you die. So it's like for you even like in just any general endeavor how do you balance that like relentless, you know competitive energy with being able to let go of outcomes?
Speaker 2:Well, I think it's just think. I think it starts with your mindset, and you said that you know your destination is when it's done right. There is, and in life there's going to be a beginning, a birth, there's going to be a middle and there's going to be an end. And the middle piece of that journey, which we call the process, and giving your utmost all to whatever that end goal may be, if it's being a good person or if it's wanting to graduate, or it's winning a national championship, it's the middle ground that's going to allow you to persevere and the commitment and the dedication that's going to need it to get to that end. And if you can stay habit-driven. I just see behind you.
Speaker 2:I think you have Atomic Habits by James Clear right behind you. Shout out to my man, James Clear, a great book. And I think what we're talking about right now is that process, right, we use the, you know, trophies, national championships, titles, they're all going to fade, right, they're all going to fade, right, they're all going to fade. But it's that journey, it's that process that you reflect back to how I got there or how we got there, and to me, that's the most exciting thing about life's journey it's the process to get from one to the other and just dive yourself and just pour yourself into getting a little bit better each day.
Speaker 1:It's hard to explain. I feel like to your everyday person who see the Michael Jordan, tom Brady things and they want to say you're only measured by your championships or whatever. It lacks just a lot of nuance and it lacks the mentality that if I can let go of an outcome, you're saying I don't care. That's not the truth. It's not that I don't care. It's that the measurement of my success and well-being goes beyond just the W in the win column or the L in the loss column. It is much more than that. And to sleep peacefully at night, if I gave everything that I possibly could, I can sleep peacefully at night because if I give everything I possibly can and lose, to me that is more fulfilling life than taking a shortcut and winning.
Speaker 2:Great, great, great point, colin, and I think it goes back to having some self-awareness for your path to your purpose. For me, understanding who I am to my core, I know I'm someone who uplifts, someone who impacts, someone who positively influences the people around me. I just happen to do it through my platform of basketball right? So my focus is always going to be the same helping people see their value right, just trying to stretch their vision and align, you know, their effort with their greater purpose. Because for me right now, I've been in college coaching now for 30 plus years. So yes to your point, wins are important, but if I want to leave my legacy, it's going to be built through relationships, and that's the scoreboard that I'm playing for right now.
Speaker 1:How do you measure that Like, how do you know your process is working?
Speaker 2:I know it's working. At least it's going in the right direction, based off the interactions and the relationships and the connections that I have with others. That's the energy that I feel. You know, today I'm on the treadmill man and I'm thinking about this and I don't know if it even connects. But I said that culture without connections equal confusion and chaos, equal confusion and chaos. So culture without connections equal confusion and chaos. I don't know if it means anything, but it meant something to me. So if I'm not connecting and I'm not building relationships, then I'm not sure if my purpose is being fulfilled. Right? I think coach beeline said this, great, great coach West Virginia, I think he shared this one with me on a recruiting visit. He said to me Q rules without relationships equal rebellion. That's exactly what he said. Rules without relationships equal rebellion. That's exactly what he said. Rules without relationships equal rebellion. So if it goes to co-op connections, man it goes to.
Speaker 2:So I thought about it yeah, you can have all these rules, but if you're not building relationships, then what are we doing? How are we impacting the growth of others? So that's what I think gives me some type of a barometer to know if the gap is closing in terms of connecting and building those meaningful and intentional connections.
Speaker 1:Culture is such a fascinating discussion, I think sometimes it gets hijacked. How do you define culture?
Speaker 2:In my words, I think culture, what it does is, I think it's the heart and soul of any company, organization or team. Right, because I think a few things. One, it fuels connection and commitment and it creates a sense of belonging and it creates a sense of trust. And when people feel seen, right Colin, they feel valued and they feel part of something better and bigger than themselves. Right, that emotional connection. Now I think it drives deeper of a commitment and a deeper sense of ownership.
Speaker 1:Does that make sense. The key words that you hit on to me right are commitment and trust.
Speaker 2:So true, but you know what it does too. It also powers resiliency and a momentum, and it drives performance. It drives performance because energy is contagious and in high stakes or high stress environments like Kansas basketball, a culture full of optimism and drive definitely helps teams like us bounce back faster. Right, we adapt quicker, and I think it allows the team to go in this direction, especially when results don't come your way or as quickly as we want them to be.
Speaker 1:The thing that I love about this right is like that commitment, trust, peace, the. You know the energy. That's why can I think of the word you just said, right, the. No, the contagious energy. I couldn't think of the word contagious. The contagious energy is.
Speaker 1:It all comes down to those things make you care more. When you trust someone and you know that they care about you beyond your capabilities of dribbling and basketball, you know that they do want to win as badly as you do. But that's not all that matters. It's you begin to buy in and you're like okay, I know I'm getting this back. It's not just one-sided. I know that. It's not just someone trying to make a fool out of me. They're trying to make me better. And when you can get that back and forth, it makes it easier to show up to the harder workouts, right. It makes it easier in those moments, the pressure moments, where it's like, okay, if I do miss this shot, I know my coach still has my back, I know my teammates still have my back and you're fostering this environment where it's not okay to fail, but you're providing a platform where it's I can miss, and the mentality is going to be like hey, we got you, let's come back the next day.
Speaker 2:So true, you know, we have these. Well, two things to your point, To get to that end goal, whatever it may be, each and every different team, each and every different team or person, I think that connection and commitment and communication used to work. Caring, you have to nurture those every single day. And when I mean every day, Colin, you have to find ways to nurture, to be better connected, to care a little bit more, and what that may be you have to find. Again, it goes to relationships how do I get such and such to care or want to care a little bit more? How do I meet them halfway to that point, right? So we spend a great deal of time in those spaces and and we, you know we have these non-negotiables we can talk about a little bit later, but you know, regardless of how you feel, regardless of what took place prior to you walking to that locker room, we talk about what showing up means for Kansas basketball.
Speaker 2:Ownership is the second word. That's extremely important. Once you put on the jersey or you sign to come to Kansas, you now are a caretaker, You're a contributor, you own stock in the brand of Kansas. And the last and most important thing we talked about is experiences. Experiences is probably the most important thing, and right behind me if you see our results pyramid a little bit at the bottom of the quadrant is experiences. We feel that if we enjoy and we add value and we energize one another each and every day, you come into practice.
Speaker 2:How can I make a teammate better? Well, what's going to happen is it's going to drive your belief system right and then it's going to drive your alignment system. And if you notice, those three in the blue quadrants are the biggest three pieces of that pyramid, because we feel that we're connected in those three areas. The results, whatever that may be, for us it's win the national championship and grow each and every day. That's the smallest part, but if we're not taking care of the last three quadrants, results become even harder. So we want to be an experience-driven team versus a results-driven team.
Speaker 1:They're like behavioral psychologists over there, just changing behaviors of everybody.
Speaker 2:Hey well, working for Coach Self, you definitely will get your PhD in those areas. There's no doubt about it. There's a reason why he's a Hall of Fame coach.
Speaker 1:Well, I do want to dive into him in a moment here. But how do you guys maybe deal with people who come in and don't buy in to the Kansas brand, and how do you get their behavior to align with? Or is it one of those things where if something isn't a right fit, it's hey, here's the door. You have the opportunity to go somewhere else if you want.
Speaker 2:Sure, kyle, that's a great question. It goes back to the framework of culture, at least the framework of culture here at the University of Kansas, and every day it's about how do we drive it, how do we discuss it and how do we defend it daily. How do we discuss it and how to defend it daily? And for to your point, our framework starts back when they first arrived here on campus in the summer. So we have an eight week summer program where the student athletes are weight training, they're practicing, they're doing individual workouts, they're doing summer school. We also have culture classes here. So we have eight weeks of culture where they understand or get to know what showing up means. As a Kansas basketball player, they understand a little bit more of what it means about ownership, understanding how important experience is in our environment. So I think it starts as soon as they touch down.
Speaker 2:And the great thing too, colin, is we have returning players that are like ambassadors of our culture. So they're the ones who are the safeguards or the gatekeepers in the locker room, back in the community, back in the dorms or in the court community, back in the dorms or in the court. So they're comfortable enough to say hey, colin, that's not a part of the standards. We don't do it that way here Because there will be defining moments in those spaces, in the practice court or in the community, where you see maybe one of your team members, maybe not aligned, if you will, and those are defining moments to really stand on business, on your culture. Either you let it go, you don't say anything, right, well. If you don't say anything, well then, that's the standards of your culture. So that's what we talk about addressing those things early. So we have, we have a framework.
Speaker 2:So to your, to your point, you know we have summer classes, as I mentioned. We, we have culture cards, right, our guy, every player has a culture card. Every player, every manager, every coach, every academic advisor, everyone in our soul, anyone who has a handprint on Kansas basketball has one of these culture cards and they're defined too. They understand what the meanings of promoting growth and no side streets. So every day, we are driving it, every single day. So we'll go on field trips to learn about culture, leadership, team leadership, in other spaces, whether it be a fire department, whether it be the military. So we're constantly, when you talk about driving it, defending it, discussing it. We find ways every single day to make sure there are no holes or leaks that get into our boat.
Speaker 1:Talk to me a little bit about how you allow players to be themselves and who they uniquely are, while also getting them to embody that culture as well, or is it? Hey, it's this or you're gone, type thing?
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, you know you'll have the good thing about what we do, colin. For the most part we don't have much drawback or fight back. The reason being is because what we do every single day, we drive it. They see it, they feel it from us. They don't just hear it, they feel it. And when you get young men that are coming into our program that may have come from a different school, right or high school, and they're used to different you know, they're different language, so to speak, but they understand.
Speaker 2:And I've heard this before from a guy named Phil Beckner. He said that we don't want nothing from you, but we want everything for you. So we don't want nothing from you, but we want everything for you. So when showing up for us means something a little bit different than you're used to, we understand it takes a little bit, a little time right. But again, if your standards are your goals or your outcomes, your results, you want to be the best version of yourself, whether it be as a student athlete, collectively win a national championship or be the best individual you can possibly be. Well, there are criterias that go along with that. So if we're aligned and I'm going to continue to push you to show up, even when you're having a bad day, when you're going through that every single day. They know that the relationship. He doesn't want nothing from me, he just wants everything for me. And if you say that, boom, and then everything is pushed by action.
Speaker 2:So we can't talk culture and you don't have a culture meeting in two weeks. You can't talk about culture and your coaches aren't, you know, showing up the way they need to show up. And the great thing about here is that there's an open dialogue here, colin, so I can go to Coach Self or he can go to me, or I can go to a manager or a manager can go to a coach or a player, et cetera, and go Coach Q, you showing up today. Coach Q you showing up today. Coach Self, you showing up today. Coach you taking ownership today.
Speaker 2:So when that's fostered and promoted every day, it's not just something on the wall right, this is something we drive, discuss and defend every single day, defend every single day. And when you look at the overall resume of Coach Self in Kansas basketball, why are they always one of the top teams, year in and year out, to being discussed, to get to a Final Four, a national championship or win the Big 12? Why? Well, this is the byproduct. But every single day you have to drive it and it's no guarantee. But I guarantee you we're going to get as close to our ceiling as possible if we follow the non-negotiables.
Speaker 1:Incredible. The part of that conversation and why I always ask that question to coaches in particular is I get frustrated with the conversations of oh, that person is just being uniquely them or they're being themselves. Well, sometimes just being yourself is being an asshole and that's not okay and you can't just let yourself run around unchecked. And so this conversation about what is accepted and what isn't is awesome, because I'm just becoming a Kansas fan through this.
Speaker 2:Well, colin, like I said, it does take a lot. It does take a lot of work. I feel that about it, and you mentioned earlier, you may have again student athletes that are just not accustomed to our standards here, right, and a lot of people aren't, and it's not built for everyone, it really isn't. But I think when you have a group that can pass it on or pass the torch down and that's what's so great about Kansas, that we've had great leaders, we've had great ambassadors, and everything starts with our head coach, bill Self when he's living the standards and he's living the expectations, and his actions are showing how important these things are you almost have to fall in line, colin, otherwise you do look like an asshole, because you're standing out, right, you're the one who's standing out when you have 15 other guys doing what they need to do, because that's what successful people do. They don't live in their feelings, they don't live in their moods, and when you live in your moods, you're only going to be inspired. When you feel like it. Showing up is doing the things that you don't want to do. When you don't feel like it, Showing up is keeping those inconvenient messaging where no, I don't want to do it. But you know what, selflessly, I know it's going to impact me, which is going to definitely impact our team right. So that to me is the most important. To me, that's probably the hardest thing is keeping inconvenient commitments. Hardest thing is keeping inconvenient commitments because when it's convenient for you, right, but there are going to be a lot of times where it's going to be inconvenient and you have to be able to keep them regardless of the circumstances. And I know we're chopping it up, man. I'll give you an example showing up. I'll give you an example showing showing up.
Speaker 2:I'll give you an example of showing up. Kj Adams was a below-average free-throw shooter. We're playing the national who ended up being the national champion, uconn, a few years ago, and we're playing them in Allen Fieldhouse, I believe. I don't recall offhand, but we were, I think we were down to maybe up one and he's probably shooting going into the game. He's probably under 50%. So for UConn they're probably like this is the guy we want on the line.
Speaker 2:And my point of showing up is on Friday KJ Adams made two free throws to help us beat UConn. On Saturday morning he and a bunch of coaches had to fly down to Texas. So when I'm talking about showing up, regardless of how you feel, regardless of your circumstances, regardless of it's inconvenient, he knew at that moment how important those free throws were for him, our team and everybody that follows Kansas basketball and he had to get up the next morning to bury his mom, follows Kansas basketball and he had to get up the next morning to bury his mom. So when you share those stories with newcomers, they understand, okay, showing up is just not showing up here at Kansas. They really don't care how. I feel, it's about the team, it's about putting others first, and I think that's something that we talk about just being fully present, coming to practice to work, coming to practice to grow, and that because that's how successful people operate, so we try to put them in those type of situations in practice. So when the moments do present themselves, they are best prepared.
Speaker 1:I would do a lot of work in identity. That's actually pretty much where all my work comes in and talk about earning the identity that you want, earning the values and characteristics, and I always give a precursor be careful of the type of person you wish to be, because there's a cost that comes with that. So true, and so you can't ask to be courageous and live an easy life. And so the full circle moment becomes when you get put in these hardship moments or these challenging things that you have to show up for. That's a time for you to earn who you said you wanted to be and that's exactly what you asked for. It may not come in the manner that you had hoped, but it came, and now it's your time to earn it. And that story there's no doubt in that kid's life. Anytime he goes to do anything, he'll be able to say that showing up for others is exactly who he is. That's exactly who he is, and there'll never be a shred of doubt in his mind. There'll never be a shred of doubt in his mind.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It still brings me a sense of pride to be a part of his life and to be. You know, we won a national championship together. We buried his mom together. I mean, you see how important of a young man that he is in the light, that he's going to be able to help so many, many people that go through struggles and go through challenges and he obviously went through one that we all were there for him during that difficult time him during that difficult time.
Speaker 1:Now people like him. Are they harder to find in the transfer portal NIL era? Have we lost that in our athlete community, or is it still out there?
Speaker 2:I think it's still out there. I really do. I'm a big believer of taking a high road. I just think you may have to vet a little bit more to really dive in to those spaces. Colin, what helps us here in terms of identifying potential Kansas Jayhawks? We do what we call an energy chart here. What that is, it's all the stats that don't show up on the stat sheet Deflections, 50-50 ball, dive on the floor charges, offensive rebound attempts. Those are some of the intangibles that are big to Coach Self in our basketball program. So it just may take a little bit more diving.
Speaker 2:Obviously, you all want to see how talented that young man is shooting the basketball rebound, whatever it may be. But then you want to see is okay, what did he just do when the shot went up, even though there was probably a 30% chance that he was going to rebound the ball? But you know what? Watch this. Wow, he just went after the ball he couldn't get. He actually got his fingertip on the basketball.
Speaker 2:Is he a second, third effort guy? Is he a guy who really cares? Is this a guy that's sort of bringing tangibles to impact, winning he goes wow. That's something that we believe in. So you just got to have to dive in a little bit deeper to vet exactly whether he is a fit for your program. And I think guys like that when we talk about culture and when you watch the little, small little things that they do that don't soap in the stat sheet. Stat sheet they adjust a lot quicker and a lot better than maybe someone who may take cut corners, as you said, or maybe not give the second and third effort. So you look for talent but you also want to see do they have a motor? Do they do the things that don't show on the stat sheet as well?
Speaker 1:How do you balance on-court character versus off-court character? And the way I describe that is exactly how you just described the guys who are relentless on the court effort guys. But sometimes you get people who are like that, who are committed to the game, but in their own personal life they're not as committed to doing the right thing. So it's where does that stack up and how do you accurately measure that?
Speaker 2:Well, kyle, I think it just goes back to our non-negotiables, because I think there's a correlation to it of showing up, taking ownership and create great experiences. Showing up ownership and create great experiences for others you can do that on the court, you can do that in life. Right, there's a correlation. So, three things I'm not asking or we're not asking for 20 show up, because that's what successful people do take ownership, be accountable, right, uh uh. Gratitude and entitlement can't coexist. Love that, right, they can't coexist. So, channel or focus on three things with your student athletes. Don't make it 20 things because you want them just to condense. If I show up every single day and I come to work, I come to learn, I come to grow, I'm showing up, okay, I'm on time for class, I'm engaged, I want to grow, so I'm going to ask questions, okay, same correlation on the court, right, I'm going to take ownership. You know, if I want to get a great grade, then I got to make sure I study. I got to make sure I go to my tutors, right, I got to make sure that if I'm having a question, I got to meet the professor after class to make sure that I understand this correctly. Ownership, experiences, experiences.
Speaker 2:You're walking through campus, everyone is saying hello to you because you just had 30, you scored 30 points the night before, and they're all patting you on the back and you say, hey, hey, man, I pretty. Hey, what's your name? Hey, what, what's your uh? What, uh, what's your major? Where are you from? What you're from, man? I mean, I, that was my rival high school, really, oh dude, wow, I didn't even know that. You, just you, just you just gained a new friend. You just created an unbelievable experience.
Speaker 2:That young person is going to walk away, or whoever it may be going. You know what? Collins, that dude just had 30, but he took time to say hello to me, ask me some questions about me. It wasn't about him. Some questions about me, it wasn't about him. You feel me, you see where I'm going. So, again, that's why and I get excited about this, because I think it will make not only our program better, but it will make our university better and it'll make our community better and it'll make our world better I'm a big believer of those things that if you just dial into a few things and you pour into it, you're able to do both on and off the court. It's a correlation.
Speaker 1:So you are like Mr Shredded over there you are almost 60 years old and the most shredded man on earth 60,.
Speaker 1:I'm getting there close. I said almost, I said almost, I said almost 12 years. So how does one I mean you look like you're like 30 over there. So it's like, how does that all play in? And where do you find the time to be super fit and healthy and do all the things that are required to be a lead in the basketball space, which time is something that isn't always there when you're in your spot.
Speaker 2:Well, kyle, I truly believe that they're both connected.
Speaker 2:Individual personal fitness, I think, aligns with a championship-driven, because, you know, they both reflect discipline, they both reflect high standards, right, and it goes back to we're asking our players to be in the best shape mentally, physically, they possibly can.
Speaker 2:You know, I just feel again I need to take action. They have to see me also taking care of myself through this long journey as well. So I think it builds resilience, it builds confidence, I think, because every adversity reveals who you are right and we're going to go through some diversity, but it also refines who you become in the process. And championship teams are built on consistency and they're built on work ethic and they're built on accountability and those are the same qualities that you develop and display through your personal fitness, right, and it elevates, you know, personal fitness. I think it also elevates, you know, your team performance and elevates your culture, because when individuals are physically fit right, don't they bring more energy? Absolutely they do. Their focus is better, they're more durable, which I think raises the competitive level, and I think it sets a tone for a relentless culture high performance team.
Speaker 1:You talk a lot about Bill Self and how he's great and how he's adaptable as a coach. What does it mean to be adaptable as a coach.
Speaker 2:Well, I'll give you an example here in a second. This is probably a little long-winded question. But, colin, I've been fortunate and somewhat spoiled to. I mean I mean spoiled. I mentioned you get your PhD here. But I've been incredibly fortunately and truthfully spoiled, you know, because I get a chance to work for and alongside the greatest team builder, the greatest culture architect builder and the greatest relationship developer in all of sports.
Speaker 2:Working for Bill, and he has taught me more than just how to win games. He's taught me how to win people. And if you ever want a masterclass on how to lead people or build belief or win the right way, just watch him work. And his adaptability is amazing because he understands the dynamics of young people, but he's also curious as well. So it's not always we're going to do it this way, but I want to talk to you and get your thoughts and value your opinion and hear your voice. He is really transparent in that way. He's very transformational with his players. They always know exactly where he stands all the time and that's the unique thing about Coach Self. Again, it just goes back to your leadership. Our culture runs through Bill Self and I've just been fortunate to be one of his facilitators to continue to promote and foster the things that he embodies, the thing that he believes in and the things that he feels gives us the best chance to win. I have an example, going back to adaptability and talking about a few words that I shared earlier.
Speaker 2:Now you're a Kansas basketball fan and I'm sure you remember that pivotal game, that pivotal game back in the first Monday of April of 2022, right and playing against North Carolina. But Coach Self, you know, was talking to our team at the last timeout of the national championship. Right and David McCormick. For you, jayhawkers, you know who David McCormick is. David McCormick has this jump hook that he's worked on 10,000 times, and he worked on it 10,000 times for that particular moment. That jump hook put us up three, and so we're on defense. We end up getting a stop.
Speaker 2:Okay, with gosh. I don't know, it was like four, maybe 4, four point six seconds left, I think it was. We get a stop. All we have to do, colin, is inbound the ball, hold the ball. You know game's over. They're going to foul us. Well, we do the opposite. We do get the ball in, but one of our players dribbles and accidentally steps on the sideline. Dribbles and accidentally steps on the sideline out of bounds. So we just gave the ball back to Carolina and the ball is in front of their bench and we're up three and I remember the players coming to the huddle and we have term again, talking about defending your culture, discussing it. We have terminology that we use for us.
Speaker 2:So screw a play that doesn't work or whatever it may be. Hey, we talk about next play, next play. So everybody's in the huddle saying next play. We didn't want to stay in that space where we just turned the ball. We had to think next play.
Speaker 2:And we have a saying in our program. Is we actually ask all recruits hey, would you rather be down one with the ball to win or would you rather be up one and you need a defensive stop to win? At Kansas basketball we want the latter. We want to be up one and we need a stop to win the game. Here we are to win a national championship. All the marbles are on the table, millions and millions of people are watching.
Speaker 2:So in the huddle, coach has an idea, at least a strategy. He goes in the huddle hey guys, hey, what do you think? Let's do this. Let's foul as soon as they get in, let's foul. Because you know what, if we foul them and they make two free throws, we're still up one, we're still up one.
Speaker 2:So the guys are looking at coach and you can see some hesitancy in their body language, even in their eyes, and I recall Jalen Wilson, who's playing for the Brooklyn Nets right now. I won't say exactly how he said it, but basically he says, coach, that's not how we guard. Let's guard out. Let's do what we do. Let's switch five. Hey, this not how we guard. Let's guard out, let's do what we do. Let's switch five. Hey, this is how we guard, this is the way you taught us, let's guard it this way. And I'm in the huddle going wait a minute, it's a game point.
Speaker 2:Hall of Fame coach goes okay, is it what you guys want to do? You want to guard it, okay. So he's given power to his players at game point Colin, a Hall of Fame coach that embodied the true sense of leadership because, again, he wanted their input, he wanted their voices to be heard and he valued their thoughts. Powerful of a leader, because most leaders want to do it their way, but because of his relationship with his players and the connection that they all had. They were comfortable enough to tell Coach Self at that moment Coach, let's not do it that way, let's do it this way. And for him to take a step back and go okay, all right, we're going to do it that way, we're going to switch five. And that switch five. Colin won us a national championship and, if you recall, we overcame a 16-point deficit to win a national championship, which today is still the largest comeback in men's national championship history.
Speaker 1:I remember the game too. You guys won my bracket for me that year. I had you guys picked as the national champions. So I remember all this and now getting to see behind the curtain and so I remember all this and now getting to see behind the curtain those conversations in that timeout. I mean super, just super amazing. And how long do you think I know you're speaking for him here? How long do you think it took Coach Self to get to that point where he could have that trust to have that conversation? Because, like you said, I won't pick out some college basketball coaches, but I have a feeling some are going to be like no, we're doing this, I don't want your input.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think it just goes back to, uh, the relationships. Uh, you know he coaches big on. Can I trust you? And that's the biggest thing he he wants his guys to understand and and trust in him is the small things. It's's not making the heroic play that I trust you, it's the small little details, you know. Can I trust you and I know you're a football guy In our case, can I trust you if there's a ball screen and the guy rolls to the basket and you're the tag guy, you're the helper guy, can I trust you that you're going to be in the right spot? Small things like that, can I trust you to be in the right spot? Can I trust you if you're going to run this play out of bounds, that you're going to execute because you're going to do your job? And with trust comes with coaches Just do your job, just do your job. It's the small things.
Speaker 2:But again, colin, it takes time. It takes time to get because we as coaches have been doing this for an extended period of time right. That's why it's when you have young players, they may struggle early, versus having a guy who's been in your program for three or four years because he knows what that trust level means. The newcomer is still trying to figure it out, but you got to stay with them. You can't give up on them. You got to maybe watch some extra film. You may have to do some extra reps, whatever the case may be, but coach is always watching. He always praises our players, but he also allows them to know how we need to get better and I think all our players respect that.
Speaker 1:Does your environment enable him to coach players hard too? Can they receive hard coaching?
Speaker 2:They can. They can Because, again, I think, when you're sharing and you're looking your players in the eye and it goes back to Phil's statement is you know, I don't want Colin, colin, look at me, man, I don't want anything from you, I don't want nothing, but I want everything for you. So you being here at 645 to have breakfast, so I make sure that you're fueled and your body's ready to go, because you told me six months ago you want to look like Coach Q, and they laugh. Well, this is what Coach Q does. If he's going to get his 200 grams of protein, which you said you want to, and you want to have Coach Q's shoulders. Well, that means we're going to eat five times a day and the first meal is at 645.
Speaker 2:But if you told me this is what you want to do, I'm aligned man and I'm going to do everything in my power to help you receive and help you achieve your goals. So, again, now they're hearing it from me and now I'm along the journey with them. So I'm getting up, getting you up, because I want to see you become the best version of yourself, and when you talk to young people like that, I think there's a connection. They're not only hearing you, but it goes back. They're feeling you and if you can get players to feel you, you're going in that right direction. You're going to achieve, or they're going to achieve, the goals that they want to set out for because you believe in them.
Speaker 1:It's such a powerful concept and it goes back to that commitment and trust piece that you were talking about earlier, where when a player trusts you implicitly, it's almost like it's a faith thing too. It's like I have full faith in you to give me the right advice, to tell me the right things, because I know you're here for me just as much as you, if not more, and it's so rare, and I always do my best to give the Buffalo Bills their flowers too. I was there for four days. In four days I could feel the impact of that organization. Let me remind all my listeners too they were six and 10 the year before I got there, so they're six and 10. I come in in that rookie class and ended up being a really good rookie class. A lot of those guys are still there today.
Speaker 1:Every single coach knew who I was, knew my background, knew I was from Pittsburgh, knew I was engaged. They took the time to learn about me as a player and I came from two good schools. I come from Bucknell, I came from Pitt like good coaching staffs, but I cannot state enough the difference in energy which you talked about, contagious energy. Before that, sean McDermott, leslie Frazier, was the DC at that time, bob and Bobby Babich Bobby Babich is now the DC. They were unbelievable and it you can tell when it's real and authentic versus when it's fake.
Speaker 1:And obviously it wasn't good enough at that time, but that was still the best four days of football I ever played, just because it just felt more meaningful and it's just. It's incredible, and a lot of what you're talking about just feels so similar to those guys, because I remember coming home after I got cut and telling a lot of my boys I'm like the Bills are going to win, they're going to be good, and they're like, get out of here. And five years or six years later now I'm like, hey, the next step for them is just winning the Super Bowl, but they're going to get there, I can promise you. So I just I'm in full alignment with everything that you're saying.
Speaker 2:It just it hits me, it hits home for me and it's awesome yeah well, Colin, you know you mentioned, you mentioned and you mentioned the bills. You mentioned a few things about knowing your background, knowing where you're from, knowing the schools you went to. I see your eyes lighting up. I don't see any dejection about you being cut. You're more because of those connections right that we talked about. That's the thing you're going to take from that situation, Like the Bills, you know and like us, and I mentioned, that the culture is the heart and soul of any organization or program.
Speaker 2:And when you focus on the right things, which the Bills have done and obviously your prime example is that when you focus on the people and you focus on the culture and you focus on the process, we feel that if you're faithful to all three of them the product, the result, the outcome, the win, whatever it will be it will rise and it will meet the standards that you want to attain. It will rise and meet the standards that you want to attain because when we invest in people, like you said, when you invest in people, you're building more than just a better team. You're building great relationships and you believe in those expectations because they spread right. They spread because you're creating transparent, intentional connections and relationships, man and people can just understand that it's not so much the product but it's the people. Right, Bill always talks about his dad passes.
Speaker 2:Don't worry about the mules, Just load the wagon. Don't worry about the mules, Just load the wagon. And your investment in people will allow that. Performance will keep retention, it will drive success. It will bring such an alignment, such a belief to your program or your organization to take you far and beyond that you could ever imagine.
Speaker 1:What are you most proud of in your 12 years at Kansas?
Speaker 2:I think I'm most proud so many highlights, so many highlights but I think I'm most proud is that I'm leaving the University of Kansas better than I found it of Kansas better than I found it. I put a handprint and just a small handprint on not only the basketball program but, I believe, the athletic department and the university as a whole. I've totally immersed and engaged myself outside of the walls of our basketball program, which allowed me to again develop new friendships and relationships, but also allowed me to grow. You know, away from the basketball court. You know it's put me in other spaces that I would never imagine, because of the interactions that were being forged, you know, forged throughout my 12 years.
Speaker 1:I could talk to you for five more hours. I have a list of questions. I think I asked three on here. I'm going to wrap it there. Man, what an incredible conversation. Kansas has a new fan in me, that's for certain. Can't thank you enough.
Speaker 2:If people want to reach out to you, people want to get at you if you're doing anything, want to promote, please tell us how and where we can find you. 9, 9, 4, 5, 7, 8, 5, 3, 9, 3, 9, 9, 4, 5. If you really want to connect and talk, please give me a call. I'm on social media. I'm on Twitter at F F, q, 2, 12 and Instagram at Q fit 50. I may have to change that now, colin, because 60 is rolling up on me. Mayor here a little bit, but I appreciate the time. I appreciate you allowing me to share, but also allowing me to grow man. I take notes too, and I also got a little bit better, you know from this experience. So I thank you so much, colin, for having me.
Speaker 1:Oh, I can't thank you enough, man. This has been a pleasure for me and you know I'm glad. You'm glad you were able to take some notes. It's the type of person you are which I've learned since we've connected. Can't thank you enough, listeners. Can't thank you guys enough for tuning in, download the podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Five stars only, baby. See you guys next week, thanks.
Speaker 2:Coach Q, we'll see everybody.