Learning lessons from a champ

The Seahawks were treated to an evening with a pretty special guest following yesterday evening’s practice.

Basketball legend Bill Russell, who now lives on Mercer Island, was invited by Mora to talk to team, and the Seahawks coach said his team was riveted listening to the Hall of Famer talk. Russell won two college championships at the University of San Francisco, a gold medal in 1956, and a ridiculous 11 NBA titles with the Celtics.

“The guy is the ultimate winner…” Mora said after this morning’s practice. “He was a five-time MVP in the NBA and never averaged more than 20 points per game. If you read his books and you read about his philosophy of team, it just matches with what we want to be. He’s selfless, he’s just all about team, he sacrificed his ego for the team, and wanted our players to hear those messages from a guy that’s a legend. He came in, he told funny stories, he was compelling, he hit the messages right on point, and I think it was really good for not only are players but our coaches and other people in the organization just to hear his message, because that’s what we want to be about: team more than individual.

“You could hear a pin drop in there. The players were leaning forward in their seats. They knew they were in the presence of greatness and they took advantage of it.”