Indiana forward Miller Kopp became the all-time leader in Big Ten games played during the 2022-23 season.
And with all of that experience came a wealth of knowledge according to the Houston, Texas product.
On his Twitter page, Kopp posted 100 things he learned over the course of his five year college career that included three years at Northwestern and two at Indiana.
The list ended up being a few short of 100 as a few items didn’t seem to make it over from Kopp’s list to Twitter when he had to break them down into individual posts to meet the character restriction.
Here’s what Kopp had to say:
I’m the all time leader in Big 10 games played. 5 years. 157 High Major D1 basketball games (Started 144). Here are 100 things I’ve learned through it ALL: (Touches on big10 coaches, lessons, media these days, tips for players/parents etc)
///HOOPS THREAD///
1. College hoops takes a toll on your body (longest season in NCAA/travel)
2. Best ability is availability. Straight up
3. BIG 10 is the most grueling conference by far (I stand by this for many reasons)
4. Your role as a player can and will change as the years go on.
5. As you get older, winning becomes more important than when you were a freshman. You grow up
6. As a freshman the only goal was to find a way on the floor (Kellen Sampson gave me INCREDIBLE advice before I went to NU that sticks with me today)
7. Get in the weight room
ON COACHES
9. Coaches want to win. It’s how they feed their family
10. Coaches will play who they trust
11. Be early. To absolutely everything
12. Doing extra is not extra, it should be the standard
13. Stick to your guns no matter what. Be unapologetically you
14. It’s easy to make excuses, easy to blame a coach or situation. It’s a lot harder to ignore and put your head down and work.
15. It’s never as good or as bad as it seems
16. Routine routine routine. Find one &stick with it. (Stretching, lifting, shooting) Helped. Consistency
To PLAYERS
17. Ask your seniors questions. They know more than you lol
18. Be a great teammate
19. Love your teammates
20. Hold teammates accountable
21. Always be in the gym
22. Write down goals and attack
23. Don’t be afraid to talk to your head coach 1v1. Walk into his office
24. Be a pro
25. You can still help your team even if you aren’t playing
26. Get over yourself
27. Decide what you want in a school and go there because of that. (I wanted different things at NU and IU)
28. The people matter the most
29. You can and will be replaced. How it is
30. Take advantage of the games you get to play against guys your staff tried to recruit over you. Keep receipts
31. It’s okay to be a little crazy
32. Ask yourself “what would you do if you weren’t afraid? If you were immune to fear?”
33. Stay in shape. Always
Be a SAVANT
34. The basketball Gods are real (Collins taught me this one lol)
35. Can’t cheat the game ^^
36. You can get on the court by knowing where everyone is supposed to be
37. Watching film on player tendencies will help 1v1 defense. Majority of time guys catch the ball in the same situations, go to same moves. etc
38. Find the little things that have a big ROI and keep doing those
39. Sleep more
40. Nutrition will set you apart
41. College basketball is a production, it’s an event and truly entertainment
42. NIL changed the portal and recruiting
43. Media is only getting bigger and bigger
44. People will talk about you regardless, might as well give em a show
45. When you go home for summer break, Christmas break, etc, you have to workout. Have a gym and weight room locked in
46. Coaches form opinions on players the first week they’re on campus and rarely change those opinions
47. There are more good guys than bad guys out there
48. Start twitter beef with Portnoy
49. March Madness wins are so awesome
50. Sweeping Purdue is sweet
51. Losing sucks
52. NU classes aren’t as hard as people think
53. It’s the people and experiences that matter most
54. The same coaches and programs win every year for a reason. It’s no surprise
55. Culture and talent is what every program should be striving for. Need both
57. Coach Woody is obsessed with hoops. Could talk for hours. And does
58. Young kids need to go to find a situation that fits them
59. If the head coach isn’t recruiting you then forget about it
60. Ask people questions
61. You have to believe your way is the best.
62. Truth should be told whether you like it or not
63. Schools that recruit NY and Texas seem to win a lot of games
64. Playing at a blue blood is not the same as any other school. For a million reasons
65. Saying “yessir” is a lost art.
66. Only 5 can start. Talent vs Production. Have to outwork
67. There are a lot of things out of your control
68. Put the coach in a position that he has to play you
69. Understand your coaches goals and philosophies on a day to day basis
70. Pray
71. Shake Izzo’s hand hard
72. Juwan Howard does a good job hiding his play calls
73. Purdue has play names that only Jon Gruden could come up with
75. Micah Shrewsberry is a guy dudes love to play for. Gives them ultimate confidence
76. Ben Johnson probably consumes 100 cough drops during a game.Talking
78. Some teams have teams have offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators. Kinda weird to me
79. When we do scouts we go so in depth they know which way a dude wipes when he’s on the toilet
80. College basketball coaches never sleep
81. Grad Assistants never ever sleep
82. It’s a different animal being a head coach
83. Basketball is simple
84. Politics are real
85. 99% of twitter doesn’t know hoops. Dont buy into it. Prob couldn’t name ghost screen, floppy action, ball-screen continuity, sweep action, etc. Even the “basketball guys” . Few
86. Rent is due every day
87. Toughness can’t be taught or coached. Needs to be recruited
88. Only focus on what you can control
89. Grass isn’t always greener, but it certainly can be
90. Most kids are put a role before they even get on campus
91. Winning cures all. Seriously
92. 82 game NBA season has to be roughhhh on the body
93. You should steal reps in practice and workouts
94. You’re competing ever single day for playing time
95. You better stay ready because you might get thrown in the fire
96. Trust your gut
97. Live on the edge. Its better
98. Trust your coaches and teammates
99. Call your mom
100. It all ends eventually
If you made it this far I appreciate you
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