God's Coaching #93

God's Coaching #93

The 1983 University of Houston basketball team loved to dunk so much that it earned the nickname Phi Slama Jama. The Cougars were known for fast-breaking and slamming the ball through the basket. But in the NCAA championship game, Houston got dunked by underdog North Carolina State 54–52.

Houston entered the contest as the top-ranked team in the nation and felt they would crush the Wolfpack. NC State barely made the NCAA tournament and already had 10 losses during the season. Before the finals, Houston coach Guy Lewis said his team was so overconfident that it had its worst practice of the year. Then Houston started the game lethargically and trailed NC State 33–25 at halftime. In the second half, Houston played better and went on a 17–2 run to take the lead. However, Guy told his team to slow the pace, and the Wolfpack came back. NC State started fouling Houston, and the Cougars missed their free throws. With a minute to go, the score was tied 52–52. Four seconds were on the clock when NC State guard Dereck Whittenburg was forced to take a shot from 35 feet from the basket. The shot was obviously short, but nobody boxed out NC State forward Lorenzo Charles. Lorenzo caught the ball with two seconds left and jammed it through the hoop for the victory!

What’s the Score?

Little things added up to result in a huge defeat for Houston. The Cougars were overconfident and didn’t practice hard before the biggest game of the year. Then they started the finals slowly and fell behind. Even when Houston started playing better, the coach decided to slow the pace instead of push ahead. Finally, the Cougars didn’t make their free throws and failed to box out on the game’s final shot.

Houston found out that a lot of little things make a big difference. Nearly 3,000 years ago, King Solomon warned us to guard against the little things that can mess up our lives. He said to catch the little foxes before they can ruin the vineyard (Song of Solomon 2:15). In other words, little things can have a big impact. Watch out for the little things—such as white lies, talking negatively, or having a bad attitude—that can eventually ruin your life.

On the Ball

Do you have any “little foxes” in your life? Ask God to help you identify the little things that could hurt you. Then pray to him to help you get rid of them.

Coach’s Comment

Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard. Song of Solomon 2:15