No apologies necessary
Skiles' demanding style reflects quest for excellence
by Truman Reed / special to Bucks.com

Skiles is known for his tough practices and defense. His mentality applies to more than just basketball. (Getty)

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October 27, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- Just about any coach who has enjoyed any degree of success will develop a following of apologists. They will scramble for alibis or excuses whenever the coach in question falls under scrutiny.

Here's hoping Scott Skiles never gets into such a line on his own behalf.

Shortly after he began his first training camp as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Skiles was questioned about his demanding coaching style.

Skiles related that, at times during the course of his career, he has sensed that others have expected him to apologize for the demanding manner in which he does his job, or perhaps even lighten up.

And we wonder how and why so many of our professional athletes -- and really, our society in general -- have gotten so lax.

Skiles may be one of the youngest coaches in the NBA, but he has been around long enough -- and been perceptive enough -- to see this trend both inside and outside of the basketball arena.

Complacency and a lack of motivation can be seen all over. Accountability needs to be enforced.

“It’s not just a professional-athlete situation," Skiles said. "It’s a human-being situation. A lot of people don’t work hard at their jobs or get excited about going to work. Now if those people are crass enough to think, ‘Well, if I just made more money, then I’d be excited,’ I don’t think that’s very common sensical.

"NBA players are just like everyone else. I think the large majority of NBA players play hard almost all the time. The truth is, there are some that don’t. But the vast majority of them do. I think if you looked at the percentages, it’d be the same as any other profession, or even better.”

Skiles believes he inherited some of his intense inner drive from his father, Rick, who thrived on competition during his own playing days. Rick Skiles also became an ardent admirer of those who strived for excellence, and he came to understand and appreciate the discipline and drive required to achieve it.

"My dad was a big (Vince) Lombardi fan," Scott said. "He took our family on a trip up to Lambeau Field and we toured the hall-of-fame museum there."

Rick Skiles' son grew to share many of his perspectives, and they would prove valuable as he chose his career path.

"I always wanted to play, and I knew I wanted to coach from a young age, so I paid a lot of attention to coaching," Scott said. "And it wasn't just basketball coaches; I paid attention to all different kids of coaches.

"To me, the coaches that stand the test of time or have any long-term success are asking for effort, asking for compliance, cajoling and doing whatever they have to do, and if they have to, they demand it. That's sort of the last resort. That's not the starting point."

Skiles has applied this philosophy off the court as well.

"To me, it's analogous to being a parent," he said. "It's very similar. Not that players have the maturity level of kids, but it's the same thing. First, you talk, you reason, you show why this is right; then at some point, you've got to demand right action.

"That's the way I look at it."
Skiles also acknowledges how beneficial it was for him to grow up in Indiana, where communities are so riveted to their athletic teams. They revel in their victories. They mourn and, in many cases, scrutinize their losses.

"I don't think I would have made it as a player if I had grown up anywhere else, at least as a professional player, because with my lack of size and athleticism and speed, I had to do other things to make up for it," Skiles said. "Growing up in Indiana, in an envrionment where the games are always so big, and every possession is always so big, even though it's just a high-school game, or a junior-high game, it seemed to have so much importance.

"It obviously had a profound and positive effect on my game, because I took it so seriously. If I hadn't taken it so seriously, I probably wouldn't have been good enough to play professionally."

Now don't think Skiles is softening his stance if you catch him smiling or giving one of his players a pat on the back during a game.

Bucks swingman Adrian Griffin played under Skiles for two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. And Griffin is quick to point out that, as demanding as Skiles truly is, he does reward players when they are deserving.

And Griffin saw how positively those players responded in return.

At the same time, don't be surprised to see more sparks flying along the Milwaukee Bucks sideline than you've seen in a long time now that Skiles has entered the picture.

Let's hope those sparks ignite the kind of fire so many of us have been waiting for.