Lessons in Heart from the Basketball Court

Hi. Welcome to Bloom Anywhere. I'm Gwen Moran, a writer, editor, author, and problem-solver. My goal is to share information, ideas, and resources to help you overcome obstacles, reach your goals, and find more joy in life, even when things are messy. Thanks for joining me. (If you got this from a friend, subscribe here: Bloom Anywhere.) I'd love your feedback and suggestions for future topics. Please send me an email: connect@bloomanywhere.com.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a soft spot for collegiate athletes. My daughter competed at an elite level throughout high school and college, earning the state champion title in discus and making her college’s Top 10 best throws list. Our family spent years traveling around the country for track meets, and I saw how much these fierce competitors sacrificed.

While I’m an avowed track and field fan, my favorite sport is basketball. I went to Syracuse University during the era of old-school Big East hoops. Legends like Derek Coleman, Pearl Washington, and (later) Carmelo Anthony fought it out in the paint, fomenting deeply entrenched rivalries with institutions like Georgetown and the University of Connecticut. Since 1939, the season has ended with the NCAA collegiate basketball tournament known as March Madness.

Lessons from the Madness

Even if you’re not a sports fan, bear with me for a bit. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments begin with 68 teams (including eight teams who play four “play-in” games to earn a spot) who compete in six rounds of games, eliminating half of the remaining teams in each round. At the end of the team, the undefeated team is the champion. The month is full of dramatic stories of athletes who have overcome enormous obstacles or hardships to reach this level of play as well as underestimated teams who beat formidable opponents with sheer talent, heart, and force of will.

The final game of the Elite Eight on Sunday has stuck with me. The Duke University Blue Devils faced off against the UConn Huskies in Washington, DC. It wasn’t exactly a David and Goliath story—while Duke was favored to win, UConn is an exceptionally talented team and was considered by many to have a shot at the title. But, as the game got underway, Duke was clearly in top form. Late in the first half, the Blue Devils went on a 14-0 scoring run and drove up their lead to 19 points. It’s hard to overcome a 19-point deficit during any basketball game, let alone when you’re playing a team that was performing as well as Duke.

Realizing What's Possible

I’ll admit that I didn’t think it looked good for the Huskies. I tend to root for the underdog, even if I had picked another team to win the game on my bracket. But the Huskies weren’t done. They kept playing like the score was 0-0, chipping away at Duke’s lead. Coach Dan Hurley led his team strategically and with intensity. In the locker room at halftime, when the team was down 15 points, Hurley reportedly told them, “We've got to swing for the fences. We've got to give it all we've got,” according to a quote by forward Tarris Reed Jr. in Sports Illustrated.

And that’s what the Huskies did. They whittled the lead down to two points with 10 seconds left in the game. It was an impressive comeback, but the game was still Duke’s to lose—they simply had to inbound the ball and keep it away from UConn while burning time off the clock. But one of their key players made a mistake. He tried to lob the ball over two players, one of whom tipped it. UConn regained possession. Two passes later, the ball landed in the hands of UConn shooting guard Braylon Mullins. With two seconds left on the clock, he shot the ball from roughly 45 feet away from the basket, earning three points and putting UConn up by one with less than a second left in the game. The improbable, jaw-dropping shot was immediately called one of the most impressive in collegiate basketball history.

Inspiration from Anywhere

Some will shrug and say it was just a game or a lucky shot. In the big scheme of the world’s problems, who cares? Some will point to the state of college sports and its ethics issues or the questionable actions of some of the coaches. That’s all fair.

But, for me, it’s about the young people on the court. UConn’s persistence in the face of improbable odds holds some important lessons. Sometimes, it looks like we can’t win, finding ourselves in a situation where it would be easy to give up, to fold. But if you build a strong, supportive team around you, prepare well for your biggest challenges, and keep your heart and head in the game—giving it all you’ve got—you can accomplish remarkable things and maybe even turn a loss into a win.

Is that painfully corny? Yes. Is it true? Also, yes.

How Do You Stay in the Game?

Was there a time in your life when you had your own turnaround? Have you built your team—the people who help you stay strong and get better? I’d love to hear how you kept going in spite of the odds. Send an email to connect@bloomanywhere.com.

Bloom Drops

Getting inspired: We all need a pep talk or inspiration to keep going from time to time. Fortunately, there are plenty of free resources to help us do that. I like Porchlight's "Change This" series, which features essays by folks like Cal Newport and Lily Zheng. What resources do you turn to for inspiration and hope? Did a friend forward this issue of Bloom Anywhere? Sign up for your very own subscription here: https://bloomanywhere.com/​