Coach Mosley details how a celebratory practice bell fosters defensive grit and explains why bringing his proven Orlando staff to New Orleans is vital for building winning culture.
After Jamahl Mosley finished his introductory press conference on the stage with the team, local written media got the chance to sit down with the coach to speak to him and ask some questions that didn't come up during the press conference.
The rave reviews of Mosley from his press conference made it clear that he did a good job of conveying his goals to the fanbase. That continued down from the podium.
Here are a handful of quotes from the meeting that stood out to me:
On why he didn't take a break after the Orlando Magic job...
Quote: There absolutely was [some thought of a break]. I mean, when you, for whatever reason, get let go, you take time to reflect in that moment. Like, what could I have done differently? What worked? What didn't work? All those things are very key pieces for any coach. And I also had other coaches text me and say, 'Welcome to the NBA. You're now an official NBA coach. You've been fired.' But there was a thought there. And then you talk to Joe [Dumars], you talk to Troy [Weaver], you talk to Jordan [Dumars], you talk to Mrs. [Gayle] Benson, and you just say, 'like wow.' You know Joe D and what he's done in his career, and his leadership to me is unbelievable. He and I talked when he was in the league office and I had listened to some of his podcasts about leadership. And so when you get on the phone with him, and you're talking about the direction of the team, what you have there, the accountability that you're holding guys to, the defensive standard, the daily habits, it made it easy to walk back in.
From a question about a bell in practice to celebrate something good happening...
Quote: Celebrate success. It's actually funny, I was watching film, and it was actually a bell play opposite [the Magic]. So Derik Queen is playing defense on Tristan Da Silva in the left corner, in front of the Pelicans bench at the time. He gets a steal. The entire bench jumps up to celebrate DQ for getting a steal. Next possession down on defense, he's picking up Da Silva full court. He sits down and guards. So the bell is like a reminder. We've had a form of success doing something right defensively, and now let me do it again. Let me celebrate the success. That's the bell. Charges, blocks, diving out of bounds like the little hustle plays that changed the game.
From a question about bringing over God Shammgod, Bret Brielmaier, Dale Osbourne, Randy Gregory and potentially more assistants from the Orlando Magic...
Quote: I think when you've done something as a staff that's worked, you want those same people with you to say, 'here's how it worked.' So they know the ins, the outs, the things that you're going to bump into and you've been through hard times together. I mean, you go from 22 (wins) to 34 to 47, 41, 45, with the same group, you've been in it. Those early ones were not easy. They weren't fun. But you have a group of young men and young coaches that: they're positive, they're energetic, they work, they're teachers, they really want the best for each one of these guys, and they're just as heavily involved in the community as anyone I've been with. And that's important as we move forward for us and for them.
