"No Excuses" has become an integral part of the culture that Barry Odom and his staff have brought to UNLV.
That was evident not only with the team's 9-win campaign in his first season breathing new life into the Rebels program, but also his consistent refusal to make excuses in the few instances his team didn't come out on top in the win column last fall, including in their late season loss to San Jose State that would have positioned them to play in the Mountain West title game.
Earlier this morning Odom shared a deeper dive into what "No Excuse" means for the Rebels and it carries a specific no-nonsense tone.
Here's a few highlights from it.
- "Any excuse for non-performance, however valid, softens the character."
- "When a man uses an excuse, he attempts to convince both himself and others that unsatisfactory performance is somehow acceptable."
- "The world measures success in terms of results alone. No man is remembered in history for what he would have accomplished."
- "History has never asked how hard it was to do the job, or how many obstacles had to be overcome. It never measures only effort. It counts only one thing - RESULTS."
- "We all have a supply of excuses. The more we use them, the lower our standards become."
- "The next time you want to defend your sub-par performnace, own up to it and say "NO EXCUSES."
A lot of this will ring true with both coaches and parents about the young men we are trying to build.
Read the full message below.