People, especially young folks, test authority.

That in itself is not good or bad or right or wrong. It just is. It is reality.

Questioning authority under the right circumstances is important and necessary.

But it can often be detrimental in a structured, group environment where everyone is supposed to be striving toward a common goal, like in a military unit. Yes, another perfect example is an athletic team.

When a leader has to deal with a lot of challenges to his or her authority, it takes away from progress, not to mention harmony. Whatever form this might take in the workplace, classroom or locker room, these days we tend to identify the result of these challenges as "distractions."

Every now and then you see a team that succeeds despite plenty of internal distractions; the Oakland A’s in the early 1970s and the New York Mets of a decade later come to mind.

High school and college teams, in general, need harmony. How is harmony most easily achieved? Through discipline, defined as a set of rules (not a long one) that everyone must follow. And if the rules aren’t followed, there need to be consequences.

This is all pretty elementary stuff, right?

It seems simple, but so many teams fail because they don’t have it. And it goes back to what I said at the top: Young athletes test authority.

I think Eran Ganot, the new University of Hawaii basketball coach, is a smart guy. And even though at 33 he is young for a head coach, I think he’s been around teams long enough — as a player and a coach — to understand this basic dynamic and to have seen both sides of it.

The concept of discipline is different now than when, say, Bobby Knight was a successful coach. Screamers don’t succeed anymore. They don’t get respect, they get tuned out. And they might get videotaped, exposed and fired.

The other side of this is you can’t be soft, either. Some young players, if enabled, will cut every corner possible and eventually the coach loses control of the team.

As Ganot puts together his staff of assistant coaches, he will surely keep these simple but all-important concepts in mind.

Sure, he needs teachers who know basketball technique and can transfer skills to the players.

But the staff also must command respect — especially if his plan includes turning the relatively loose style of last season into something more structured. Hopefully, don’t lose the exciting ball-hawking defense, but improve the halfcourt options. And maybe even what might seem like little things off the court, like the team eating more of its meals on the road together.

As with other sports, I believe it’s important to have some assistants who have been with the program as players. That brings with it a certain amount of credibility. It’s one reason why someone like Tim Shepherd — a former UH forward and operations staffer — would be a perfect fit. I don’t know if he’s interested or available, but I hope Ganot gives him a call.

Shepherd knows basketball. I think he can coach big men. And if you’ve met him, you know testing of his authority would be ill-advised.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.