Page 219 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Seek Significant Change
against Cincinnati and the clarifying effect it had on my thinking, 201
I said yes instead of no.
As soon as practice began six months later, I began teaching the
Press. It ultimately became a trademark of UCLA basketball and
contributed to our run of championships. The Press would not
have been used if Jerry Norman had been content to keep his ideas
to himself.
Equally important, it would not have been used if the person re-
sponsible for making the final decision had not been listening with
an open mind. That person, of course, was me.*

THE NEXT LEVEL ARRIVES
During the 1962–1963 season, the changes I have described were
implemented, and the results were quickly apparent. We tied for
first place in our conference and began preparations for the NCAA
playoffs. Led by Gail Goodrich, the Press was in place; our “seven-
man starter” system was ready; my new plan to keep the players
fresh mentally and physically was in place; and I made sure to keep
it simple—no new plays or tactics were introduced in preparation
for the tournament.
It was now time to see how these major changes worked—all of
them brought on by the revelation that UCLA could win a na-
tional championship in spite of the Men’s Gym and my subsequent
commitment to figuring how to do it.
A few days later, in the first round of the NCAA tournament at
Provo, Utah, the UCLA Bruins took on the University of Arizona.
It wasn’t even close. We lost 93–75. Nevertheless, I had seen

* I have often wondered what might have happened if I had installed the Press earlier, for
example, when Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson was a member of our team in
1958–1959. His intelligence, competitiveness, and athleticism made him a perfect player
to run the Press. I didn’t have to think about it very much. I knew I had waited too long.