“Stanford players buying into Dawkins' philosophy - San Francisco Gate” plus 1 more

Stanford players buying into Dawkins' philosophy - San Francisco Gate

Posted: 13 Jan 2011 12:15 AM PST

Not long before the season started, Stanford basketball coach Johnny Dawkins said his heralded freshman class was "light years" away from being effective defenders. Apparently the newcomers are now at least within the solar system.

Two of the freshmen, forward Dwight Powell and point guard Aaron Bright, are starting, and a third, forward Anthony Brown, is part of the regular rotation. Meanwhile, defense has helped Stanford become one of the early-season surprises in the Pac-10.

The Cardinal (9-5, 2-1 Pac-10) have a 7-0 record at Maples Pavilion, where Stanford teams have gone 47-11 over the last four seasons. That home-court domination will be put to the test against 17th-ranked Washington (12-3, 4-0) tonight at 7.

Stanford is giving up a league-low 60 points per game and ranks 28th in the nation in that category, so Dawkins' preaching of the value of defense has taken hold. The Cardinal have already held five opponents under 50 points.

"We've improved defensively," Dawkins said. "We're still not where we want to be yet, but it's exciting to see, especially with the younger group. There are so many new faces, and they've really bought into the importance of defending." The defense, in fact, is "ahead of our offense," he said.

The 6-foot-9 Powell admitted he had to work a lot on his defending. Dawkins "was definitely not satisfied with my defense," Powell said. "There was a lot to learn about things like body angles on plays off the ball."

Bright was inserted into the starting lineup four games ago, taking over the point duties from Jarrett Mann. Mann remained in a three-guard lineup that also includes Jeremy Green, who at 15.9 points per game is the team's leading scorer. Dawkins said the lineup may change, depending on the matchups.

Bright is more of a natural point guard than the slashing Mann. "He was exhibiting leadership in practice," Dawkins said. "He earned the opportunity to be out there, and he's making the most of his opportunity."

Stanford won the first three games that Bright started before losing to Arizona 67-57 on Sunday. McKale Center is a notoriously difficult place for visiting teams, but the young Cardinal were down by just five points with four minutes left.

"We didn't win the game, so there's no real consolation for us," Dawkins said. "I thought we handled the unfortunate circumstances well."

The game had been postponed from Saturday because of the shootings in Tucson.

Forward Josh Owens averages 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds after returning from a year's absence caused by an undisclosed medical condition. "He's just scratching the surface on how good he can be," Dawkins said.

Briefly: Freshman center Stefan Nastic returned to practice Tuesday after being out four weeks with a foot injury. ... Green was just 2-for-19 from three-point range in three games last season against the Huskies, who won all three decisively.

Pac-10 standings

Team	Conf.	All
Washington	4-0	12-3
Arizona	3-1	14-3
Stanford	2-1	9-5
USC	2-1	10-6
Washington State	2-2	12-4
Oregon State	2-2	7-8
UCLA	1-2	9-6
Cal	1-2	8-7
Arizona State	1-3	9-7
Oregon	0-4	7-9

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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Bloch puts his philosophy into a TV documentary - Kansas City Star

Posted: 12 Jan 2011 09:16 PM PST

By JOYCE SMITH

The Kansas City Star

Mentoring. Quality builds client loyalty. Henry W. Bloch. Co-founder of H&R Block Inc.

H&R Block co-founder Henry Bloch helped build a national business empire by preparing tax returns.

But a big part of his legacy — and hopefully an inspiration to future area entrepreneurs — is proving that creating a successful company can be done from the ground up, and it can be done here in Kansas City.

A new hourlong documentary, "No Shortcuts: The Entrepreneurial Life of Henry Bloch," showcases his philosophy and entrepreneurial path. It will air at 9:01 tonight on KCPT-TV.

The title is based on a Bloch quote: "You need to work hard. You need to work overtime. You need to take care of your customers and avoid shortcuts."

The Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City commissioned the documentary so its students would know more about Bloch — as an entrepreneur, and as a benefactor of community and educational endeavors. But "No Shortcuts" also is designed to appeal to a broader audience as a case study of entrepreneurship.

Bloch thinks there's something of interest for small-business owners, for people interested in Kansas City history and for people interested in charitable causes.

"They said they wanted to show it to the students. I told them I could just talk to the students," Bloch said in an interview Wednesday. "But I know why they did it. I'm old and I won't always be there."

Brothers Henry and Richard Bloch started H&R Block in Kansas City in 1955. In 2010 the company prepared more than 23 million tax returns in more than 11,000 retail offices.

"The customer is the most important person," Bloch said. "And the customer is always right even when they are wrong. If they are not happy, they will go somewhere else."

To reach Joyce Smith, call 816-234-4692 or send e-mail to jsmith@kcstar.com.

Philosophy

Thursday, January 13, 2011