Big Red Car here and we are talking hoops and upsets.  But really we are talking about dreaming and making dreams come true.

And why not?  It is the time of the season for taking a lesson from the world of hoops — that insight into what life really is and can be.

So what is the lesson Big Red Car?

Very simple — anything is possible if you are willing to dream hard enough.  And play hard enough to make that dream come true.  This is true for both basketball, life and business.

Oh, yeah, and you have a plan to make it happen.  A sound plan.

Florida Gulf Coast

Everyone is abuzz with the victory of Florida Gulf Coast <<< link — who? — over Georgetown University.  Forget that Florida Gulf Coast was seeded “high nose bleed” and that Georgetown is basketball royalty.  We are talking improbable v unlikely v not gonna happen.  Haha, Big Red Car, you are just a wag.

So you know what happens, right?  Florida Gulf Coast beats Georgetown like a rented mule and does it with a smile and in a very grand fashion.

Big surprise to all?  No doubt.

But when one peeks below the covers, there is much to be seen — Miami fell to the sword of Azul the Eagle and his ballers early this season and Miami is no slouch.  Bit of foreshadowing.

Coach Andy Enfield

So who is the leader of such a great team?  Coach Andy Enfield is a coach with a plan and a team to execute that plan.  And he worked it all season to make it work every night. And to make it work this night.  This is planning, execution and success at work.

BTW, he is also the NCAA record holder for free throw percentage — hmmmm?  A bit of a disciplined chap, no?  Not a bad thing to have in a coach.

And he had a successful career on Wall Street — meaning he made a lot of money and did not get indicted?

And he’s married to a super model.  Normally this would be where the Big Red Car would say — hahahaha.  But, no, it is true.  Photo a bit cheesy but you know the Big Red Car, cheesy is my middle name.

The Coach’s Plan

Long, fast, smart and athletic players — picked to align with the plan, the power of alignment at work, a great business principle — who were committed to run at every chance and every made basket.  They won 25 games and their conference tournament.  This strategy took them to the winner’s circle once again.

They ran Georgetown out of the house.  Players win games and these players believe.  This win was no fluke.  It was the Coach’s plan executed by the team that had learned it and believed in it.

Georgetown was also a perfect opponent for this ambush.  They are well coached and have a very well regarded defense but they were not a team that wanted to be in a track meet.  And they were not — in the track meet that is.  For Georgetown to prevail they had to get the game into a methodical half court grind it out style in which footspeed and transition were not core elements.

One team had to impose its will on the other.

Timing is everything

Timing in life, sports and business is everything.  And the Eagles worked timing like a champ.  Only two years eligible to even be considered for play in the Big Dance, they struck quickly.  Perhaps yet another vindication of the wisdom of the Coach’s plan.

Well their success is obvious and apparent and striking, it is a powerful example of the necessity of being ready for success to fall onto you.  Be ready to be successful and don’t be afraid when success comes knocking.

Georgetown had been founded in……………………………..1789.  Florida Gulf Coast had been eligible for the NCAA basketball tournament for two years.

It took Harvard — founded in 1636 — almost 400 years before it won its first NCAA tournament game.  OK, I know that NCAA Tournament is not that old but you get the point, right?

So, dear readers, enjoy the rest of the tournament and root for the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast in their matchup with San Diego State at 7:10 PM EST on Sunday night.

Go, Azul, you amazing Eagle!

But, hey, what the Hell do I know anyway?  I’m just a Big Red Car!