"I'll Make It"

Unlike its Hoosiers version Hickory Huskers, the 1954 Milan team it was based on did not barely scrape by teams it had no business being in the gym with; it steamrolled through a playoff run that included  double-digit win over a Crispus Attucks tam that featured a certain sophomore named Oscar Robertson.

In the very fist book I ever read on the subject, over 25 years ago as a high school junior, I remember reading that Milan coach Marvin Wood spent most of halftimes giving his players oranges and reading them poetry to calm them down for the 2nd half. This article on Lions coach Jim Caldwell reminded me of that:

He recites poetry and proverbs, draws from Nelson Mandela and Joe Torre, discusses humanism as naturally as he would a hitch route. He does not scream. He does not get angry. He does not curse, nor, longtime friends say, has he ever. If he cannot communicate his point without swearing, Caldwell reasons, then that is his fault.

Sounds like an interesting dude, a la Woody Hayes' endless reciting of Emerson.