The Smart Take from the Strong: The Basketball Philosophy of Pete Carril

by Pete Carril, Pete Carril, Dan White

“The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong.” So said Pete Carril’s father, a Spanish immigrant who worked for thirty-nine years in a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, steel mill. His son stood only five-foot-six but nonetheless became an All-State basketball player in high school, a Little All-American in college, and a highly successful coach. After twenty-nine years as Princeton University’s basketball coach, he became an assistant coach with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. In 1997 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Coach Carril inspired his teams with his own strength of character and drive to win, and he demonstrated time and again how a smart and dedicated team could compete successfully against bigger programs and faster, stronger, more athletic players. His teams won thirteen conference championships, made eleven NCAA Tournament appearances, and led the nation in defense fourteen times. Throughout his reflections on a lifetime spent on the basketball court and the bench, Carril demonstrates deep respect for the contest, his empathy and engagement with the players, humility with his own achievements, a pragmatic vision of discipline and fundamentals, and an enduring joy in the game. This is an inspiring and wonderful book, even for those who never made a basket.

Genres: Basketball, Sports, Biography

206 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 1997

Reviews

[Charles JunkChuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't have to be a motion offense proponent to learn from what is quite possibly the most important book a basketball coach can read--not about x's and o's, but the philosophy of teaching and coaching. Pete Carril is my basketball idol, so I'm more than a little biased, but reading this book is like getting a chance to sit down with one of the greats and just listen.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

his ideals are now outdated now - the book was written in 1997 when he retired after 25 years at Princeton University and amassing 525 wins but never the big one. I watched several Princeton games on TV - it was a time when I had joined the coaching staff at Cardinal Leger Secondary and this was the offense that was being used there at the time - high schools had no shot clock and that was what made his philosophy at the time so adaptable - we had our share of upsets of teams - a great read for basketball coaches of high school players - excellent tips on adapting

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent portrait of the great Princeton basketball coach.

[Patrick Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great lessons on basketball and life succinctly stated

[Andrew Kacala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very wise.

[Dave Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a basketball fanatic, so I didn't need much convincing to read this. Great lessons from a coach who managed to overachieve with the little he had (no basketball scholarships, full fee paying students with a full Princeton workload only). Constantly overmatched, he built disciplined teams that played to their strengths and took away the opposition's options. Sprinkled amongst the basketball insights is a lot of life wisdom -- not surprising, because so much about success in sports translates to success in life.

A good example of how Pete's teams overachieved is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwAJwe...

They almost knocked off a Georgetown team featuring Alonzo Mourning by playing smart basketball.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of stream-of-consciousness remarks about basketball and life, in that order. The hoops wisdom is highly technical, but still enjoyable for the knowledgeable fan. The more general life lessons are strict and severe and seem taken from a much earlier age. I would be very surprised to learn that Carril uses any kind of data analysis (or even email).

Still, though, you get some insight into the way the great coach thinks and the way he constructed his many teams. The reflections are easy to read and revealing from the very first page.

[Dad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently a cleaned up transcription of Pete Carril speaking into a pocket recorder, this book has some interesting ideas on how teams with smaller, slower players can still compete by working hard and playing smart.
Too bad nobody edited it or organized it into a real book.

[Mike Languay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite coaching book ever. Not for the flowing prose, because Pete isn’t flowery. He just tells it like it is and pulls no punches. His teams over achieved throughout his coaching tenure at Princeton. This is the 3rd or 4th time I have read this classic. It won’t be the last.

[Jspencer24 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Super insightful coming from a great coach, teacher and mentor that led the Princeton Tigers to one of the greatest college basketball upsets of all time over the UCLA Bruins.

[Jamie Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a basketball coach, this is a must read. He really makes basketball sound like a simple game.

[Matthew Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

[Brad Huebner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great teacher from the Lehigh Valley rises to international fame at Dillon and Jadwin gyms.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of interesting information. I don't agree with some things; he's very old school. Written sort of a long time ago.

[Jeff Mere]

Simple but sweet words of wisdom to live by.