James Purchin

Mike Tirico told me his secret.

It wasn't talent.
It wasn't luck.
It was what he does on every flight home.

A few years ago, I met him at a restaurant bar in Indianapolis during the Big Ten tournament. One of the biggest voices in sports.

He didn't lead with his résumé. He introduced himself. He asked questions. He cared about every person in the room before anyone cared about him.

Eventually, I asked him what made him great.

He said after every game he calls, on the flight home, he pulls up the broadcast and watches it back.

Listens to his own voice. Hunts for the misses. The dead air. The calls he wishes he could have over.

Every game. Twenty-plus years in.

He wasn't born world-class. He worked his way there one flight at a time.

The best in any room are usually the ones still grading themselves the hardest.

World-class isn't a personality.

It's a habit.

Players are now relying on others to work!

A lot of trainers train players to be ball dominant before they even know the difference between a read and a decision

When the only time you’re playing basketball is with a coach, you’ve taken the fun out of it.

Coaches... What skill are players most often missing when they get to you?

26-2 starter. Benched at halftime of the national title game.

Jalen Hurts stayed a full year as Tua’s backup, got better, then came off the bench to win the SEC title.

Today that kid is in the portal by Monday.

The bench is a character test. Most fail it.

Do you celebrate with your teammates or yourself?

Tom Brady found his O-Line and his teammates after every touchdown.

“I wanted everyone to feel like they were part of the success.”

He had no patience for players who celebrate themselves first. His words: “It’s not about winning.”

College coaches watch your kid the same way.

Here is some truth 👇

By the time a college coach is sitting in your gym, they already know you can play. That’s why they came.

So they’re watching everything else.

Who you point to after you score.

What your body language says when you get subbed out or make a mistake.

Whether you’re on your feet for teammates on the bench.

How your parents act in the stands.

Geno Auriemma put it plainly: if your body language is bad, “you will never get in the game. Ever. I don’t care how good you are.”