Gratitude
Okay, at this point it sounds like Monty Williams ran out of principles, but five sounded like a nice round number compared to four, so he Googled, “principles,” and picked one.
Gratitude seems like a strange thing to have to teach men, and on the surface isn’t basketball-related, but if I tilt my head at the right angle, I think I get it.
Tying into the previous principle, sharing the ball is more than about giving the ball up to your teammate, it is also to be grateful when he gives it up to you. That is called playing for each other and one of the hallmarks of a successful basketball team.
Then again, that is some serious reading between the lines and applying this term to other things good coaches have said in the past. Who knows? Maybe he wants to drive home the talking point every player ever says after a big game, “I just want to thank my teammates, without them this wouldn’t be possible.”
Having said all that, “gratitude” isn’t nearly as bad as Charlie Strong’s (former head football coach at the Universities of Louisville and Texas and current head coach of South Florida) core principles at one time, which were (and this is true), honesty, no hurting women, no drugs, no stealing, no guns. While “honesty“ was a good start, his list devolved quickly from actual principles to specific crimes to avoid.
I digress, because more than anything, Suns fans are grateful for Monty Williams. He has brought and applied all of his principles with success to a team that desperately needed some success. While it didn’t translate into the number of wins they wanted, Williams now has this team on the right path to make Suns fans show him even more gratitude in the future.