BU off-season workout regimen

[doug shank's crossover]

One of the distinctions between Coach Les and previous coaching regimes appears to be the establishment of a very rigorous off-season work-out / practice regimen. Does anyone have any insight as to what is allowable under NCAA rules, and what structure may exist for the kids after school lets out? Just curious....I recall when I was a student at BU seeing Barney Mines and a handful of other players "shooting around" at the old Hausler Hall....I'm sure things have changed as D1 athletics is now a year-round deal...

[audacious_aficionado]

i believe the players had one week off completely after the season ended. they are just about ready to start their lifting and staying in shape (no conditioning). the players know what they need to do and they have captains to help keep accountability. i would be interested to hear insight as to what the new players do when they first get here over the summer.

[ph]

I think there was a more recent (JL era) NCAA rule change that allows more individual workouts between player and coach during the off-season..

[BradleyBrave]

Coach Mo's players worked out as hard as JL's players do. They just didn't tell you about it as much. Yeah, some things in the program are done differently now. The nuts and bolts of a Division I basketball team aren't done much differently.

[Samd2]

You sure couldnt tell by the way Mo's teams played that the workout was the same. Seems like a lot of wasted ability if thats the case.

You can tell watching Les teams that we very seldomly are the team that gets tired first.

Those kids are in great shape from the start of the season to the end.

Keep working guys !!! We appreciate it !!!

[dogsrus]

[QUOTE=Samd2;129473]You sure couldnt tell by the way Mo's teams played that the workout was the same. Seems like a lot of wasted ability if thats the case.

You're kidding correct.....

[it's boogie time]

Pollard and Funches certainly had no problems finding the weight room. Just find some before and after pictures of Bayo or AP and tell me that these guys took it easy over the summer.

Mo was a defense coach that stressed defense first. There are a lot of things you can knock about the Mo era (athletes over shooters), but the players not being in shape or built isn't one of them.

[BradleyBrave]

You sure couldnt tell by the way Mo's teams played that the workout was the same. Seems like a lot of wasted ability if thats the case.

You can tell watching Les teams that we very seldomly are the team that gets tired first.

Those kids are in great shape from the start of the season to the end.

Keep working guys !!! We appreciate it !!!

Really? Then why have JL's teams traditionally been poor at defense and rebounding - two areas that are direct reflections of strength and conditioning? Also, no one in the JL era has been as big or strong as Marcus Pollard, Duane Funches, and arguably Deon Jackson. Did you ever see any pictures of Bayo Akinkule his freshman year compared to his senior year? Yeah, that just 'happened', there was no offseason conditioning to take him from an AT-like frame to an all-league player and Defensive POY. If anything, Coach Mo's teams were too high on strength and conditioning, and too low in skills like passing and shooting.

I don't know where you came from SamD, but you need to do some homework on your BU hoops history.

[BuAlum03]

Really? Then why have JL's teams traditionally been poor at defense and rebounding - two areas that are direct reflections of strength and conditioning?

I agree with you 99% of the time, BB, but not on this statement. Defense and rebounding are as much about positioning and size as they are strength and conditioning. We have struggles in both areas due to us going with nontraditional small lineups and then playing the passing lanes in an effort for deflections and steals (leaving us out of position). I won't deny that strength and conditioning are important to defense (primarily in the post) and rebounding, but I don't think that a lack of strength and conditioning is why our teams have been weaker in those areas than we'd like.

[BradleyBrave]

I agree with you 99% of the time, BB, but not on this statement. Defense and rebounding are as much about positioning and size as they are strength and conditioning. We have struggles in both areas due to us going with nontraditional small lineups and then playing the passing lanes in an effort for deflections and steals (leaving us out of position). I won't deny that strength and conditioning are important to defense (primarily in the post) and rebounding, but I don't think that a lack of strength and conditioning is why our teams have been weaker in those areas than we'd like.

It's not the primary reason we've traditionally been poor on defense and rebounding (I agree with your assessment that our small lineups and poor positioning contribute), but strength inside (as you said) is a significant reason we have been bad at defense and rebounding. Honestly, it goes back to the silliness of the statement that Mo's teams were inferior conditioning-wise to our current teams. That statement is just dumb.

[SFP]

BTW...Playing D the way Mo's team played spoke volumes of their conditioning. Anyone who plays the game will tell you that D takes a lot more out of you.

I also believe that JL's system is made for a bigger 4-5 guys that can rebound because the guards are shooting through the passing lanes looking for steals which sometimes opens up those same lanes for the opposing teams getting offensive rebounds. There is a philosophical difference on what works. JL's system works with fast athletic players that can shoot along with a 5 that can clear the boards. It is apparent we have not had that guy since POB. Please tell me one person that we have had at the 4-5 position that has not been either undersized, under strength or lacked the will to rebound since POB. This year we were better because we had guards that stayed back and went for it. I love the will of TW and MS but both were under sized!

[leebiddlecome]

Coach Mo's players worked out as hard as JL's players do. They just didn't tell you about it as much. Yeah, some things in the program are done differently now. The nuts and bolts of a Division I basketball team aren't done much differently.

Great post BBrave. I'm more of a results oriented person than talk oriented person.

[leebiddlecome]

You sure couldnt tell by the way Mo's teams played that the workout was the same. Seems like a lot of wasted ability if thats the case.

You can tell watching Les teams that we very seldomly are the team that gets tired first.

Those kids are in great shape from the start of the season to the end.

Keep working guys !!! We appreciate it !!!

Which Molinari players was it that got tired and appeared out of shape?

[BradleyBrave]

Which Molinari players was it that got tired and appeared out of shape?

I would be curious to know the answer to that too. I would implore anyone who thinks that BU didn't condition in Mo's era to talk to Chad Kleine at the next BU home game, and ask him about the physical transformation he went through from being a player under Albeck to a player under Molinari.

[leebiddlecome]

I would be curious to know the answer to that too. I would implore anyone who thinks that BU didn't condition in Mo's era to talk to Chad Kleine at the next BU home game, and ask him about the physical transformation he went through from being a player under Albeck to a player under Molinari.

Amen. A lot of it is individual hard work. I have a friend who has been around BU hoops for nearly 30 years. In that time two players stood out for their conditioning and how hard they worked at it.

Jim Les and Aaron Zobrist.