Pat Riley and Phil Jackson on Leadership

During one championship game against the Bulls, Pat Riley erupted. Two quick technical fouls sent him to the dressing room, necessitating a long walk from one end of the floor to the other, right past the Chicago Bulls bench. With every step Riley took, Bulls Coach Phil Jackson's face tightened. He tried to look down, then away. Jackson was trying not to laugh and everybody could see it. As Riley finally passed the Bulls and disappeared, Jackson could not help himself any longer. He laughed. Actually, it was more like a giggle. They still cannot play nice, Jackson and Riley, even after all these years, all those championships between them.

Riley now coaches the Miami Heat instead of the New York Knicks, but the rivalry between the two appears as charged as ever. Later, Jackson called the laugh a moment of relaxation and suggested it was a reaction to the absurdity of a truly absurd game. But there is no running from the subplot here, the psychological games being played between these two. Even in code, they are every bit as quarrelsome as Miami's Alonzo Mourning and Chicago's Scottie Pippen, which is saying something.

The rivalry between Jackson and Riley had Michael Jordan shaking his head

. . .
, many coaches--like Pat Riley--are controloholics. For these people, everything must flow from the top. Bishops afflicted with this syndrome write letters to priests decreeing that, upon a bishop's arrival for confirmation, priests must vest in a separate room. Pastors give lengthy directions on the proper administration of the Eucharist or on how high the processional cross should be held. Jackson is different. He not only positions the spokes of his game plan, he pays attention to the spaces between the spokes, just the way great composers are mindful of the silence between notes. He understands that no vision can become a reality until it is owned by every member of the group. In Jackson's words: being aware is more important than being smart (Jackson, 1995). He gives his players freedom to discover what works and what does not, to think more for themselves. Citing Carlos Castaneda's The Teaching of Don Juan, he instructs his players to look at everything closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary, Castaneda suggests. Then ask yourself: Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good. If it does not, it is of no use. Jackson is a Zen Christian. He uses such Zen-like words as
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Christian Zen-like, Pat Riley, Pat Riley--are, Phil Jackson, Jackson Pat, Effort CBE, Heat Riley, Phil Jackson's, York Knicks, Riley Patton, pat riley, jackson 1995, phil jackson, bryant 1996, pat riley phil, riley's book, phil jackson's, eastern conference, alonzo mourning, basketball world, bryant 1996 d1, riley phil jackson, chicago bulls,
Approximate Word count = 1757
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)