Michael Cooper Quotes

How do you win? By getting average players to play good and good players to play great. That's how you win.

You can't win unless you have good people with great attitude. They are the ones who won the games. I didn't win any games. You never saw a coach make a tackle anywhere. My philosophy was to get the best players and then try to do something new with them.

There's always room for quality players in a team. The trick as a manager is to figure out how to bring the best out of your team.

I look at the group I've got and then I decide what strengths and weaknesses they have and then I formulate an appropriate way the players can work in order to be collectively successful.

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.

Of course managers win ball games.

You have to have great players and great coaches working with you.

I have to put people in the right spot so that if they execute, we win.

You can only win if you have good players.

I always try to field the best team.

Good captains know the strengths and weaknesses of their teams and make decisions accordingly.

I think communication is massive in football and in all sports in general.

Talent is what wins games.

As a manager you're going to put out the player you think is going to best help you win the game.

The key ingredient is talent - you've got to have talent. If you look at the regular season, they've got the best record in the entire league, so they've got the talent.

I have to put my team in a good situation.

People say, 'Is broadcasting the same as coaching?' I say, 'Hell, no.' Coaching, you win and lose. Broadcasting, you don't win and lose. Coaching was a lot bigger than broadcasting.

My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work.

I've been in just about every situation as a player and coach and manager. I've been in the playoffs, World Series, and I know how to get there.

You have to give guys tools to win with, and if they have success with them then they believe in you. If you don't have anything in your bag to work with, then they won't believe.

You can lead a team in a lot of different ways. It can be talking to somebody who is down or, during the course of a game, looking to penetrate and then dropping the ball off to someone else for an easy bucket.

I'll practice as good as I can, but I know that I play even better, with the qualities I have - leadership, my ability to make something happen in games, winning.

Coaching is easy. Winning is the hard part.

There are few secrets in football. So execute.

Sometimes I miss coaching, but often things are not how they appear in football.