Motivation Quote by Abe Lemons

"There are really only two plays: Romeo and Juliet, and Put the darn ball in the basket"

Abe Lemons, Coach

About this Quote

Abe Lemons lands the joke like a coach drawing up a simple set: the whole world is melodrama, and basketball is the antidote. By pairing Shakespeare's doomed lovers with the blunt imperative to "put the darn ball in the basket", he reduces human storytelling to two genres: tragic romance and practical execution. It works because it’s funny and because it’s true in the way locker-room wisdom often is: most people overcomplicate what’s in front of them, then act surprised when the scoreboard doesn’t care.

The line is also a stealth critique of sports culture’s love affair with narrative. Fans, media, boosters - everyone wants a Romeo-and-Juliet arc: fate, heartbreak, heroes, villains, destiny. Lemons swats that away. Your team doesn’t need a plot; it needs a layup. The phrase "darn" matters, too. It’s not profanity, it’s a wink: folksy restraint masking real impatience. He’s scolding without sounding cruel, the classic coach move.

Contextually, Lemons coached across an era when basketball was getting bigger, faster, and more mythologized, while the coaching profession was turning into performance and PR. His quote deflates all that. It’s a philosophy of attention: stop auditioning for tragedy, stop trying to be literature, stop narrating your own struggle. Make the shot. Then make the next one.

Quote Details

Topic	Witty One-Liners
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About the Author

Abe Lemons

Abe Lemons (November 21, 1922 - September 2, 2002) was a Coach from USA.

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