He Set Himself Apart
“I remember this graduate assistant coach who worked tirelessly for Coach Larry Brown during the day, then attended my 3 hour graduate Sport Psychology class at night.”
David Cook, reflections from KU during the NCAA Championship game, 4/4/22
The National Championship Basketball Game this week was a deep time of reflecting on my career. I was 27 years old when I showed up at KU as the Director of Applied Sport and Performance Psychology in the Department of Exercise Science and the Director of Sport Psychology for the Athletic Department. I remember three distinct things. First, the first coach at the University to call me was Larry Brown. He showed up in my office within a few weeks of my arrival. He had an issue with team cohesion with his new freshman class and was seeking answers to this major issue in coaching. Though he was 25 years my elder, he was humble enough to seek information. He knew he had a talented young team, but wanted to learn the secrets to building team unity. We spent several hours together in our first meeting and created a plan that built these young players into an eventual National Championship Team 3 years later. I expound on this story in detail in my book greatness. Coach Brown was a lifetime learner… He immediately set himself apart…
Secondly, one of his freshman phenoms shows up in one of my classes on day one. As the class was about to begin, several young ladies walked into a standing-room-only classroom and had nowhere to sit. I asked if any of the men in the room would be willing to give them a chair. None of them did, except for one. Danny Manning stood up and said, “One of them can have mine and I’ll go across the hall and grab a few more chairs for the others.” What a class act… what a great young man… he immediately set himself apart. He became the eventual leader of KU’s first NCAA Championship.
And lastly, I taught a 3-hour evening graduate class on the Psychology of Coaching. During introductions, one of the students said that he was a new graduate assistant coach for coach Brown. His name—Bill Self. Bill worked tirelessly at the bottom of Coach Brown’s pecking order of coaches then showed up to my class ready to learn, devouring the information I had the privilege to teach. Coach Self was the only graduate assistant coach in the class…he immediately set himself apart.
Three years later those three each took part in KU’s first NCAA Championship in which I served as the team Sport Psychologist. This week Coach Self brought the 4th Championship to KU, and Danny Manning was the biggest cheerleader in the stands. What a night. My heart was full as I felt a distant part of this great legacy of Basketball at KU.
"To learn the truth you must long to be teachable."
- Proverbs 12: 1 (TPT)
Join Dr. Cook in the locker room, behind the bench, and in the boardroom as he shares the hidden principles of greatness. This unique vantage point and the stories that unfold will inspire and equip you on the journey to your dreams. greatness is open to all but only pursued by a few. It is the space beyond success where calling and legacy meet and a noble heart is required.
Get the book for yourself or as a gift and invite your loved ones to discover the space beyond success, the place of their true calling.