Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: Miles To Go
September 25, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Carolina concluded preseason conditioning with the mile run.
By Adam Lucas
With all the technological advancements in sports training and conditioning, with all of Jonas Sahratian's research into new techniques, there's still only one way to end the Carolina basketball preseason conditioning program: the mile run.
The alternately loved and hated annual test (mostly hated) had a new location this year, as construction on campus forced the Tar Heels to a nearby high school. The combination of class schedules and recruiting plans for the coaches meant the event happened as the sun came up, with the team assembled well before 7 a.m.
Everyone involved realizes the players aren't going to run a consecutive mile during games. It's as much about toughness as about building for the season, and it's also about tradition. This is where Phil Ford once dove across the line on the concrete to make his tough time—tough times are based on size and ability and making them exempts a player from post-practice conditioning during the first week of practice—and prompted Dean Smith to say, "I think we might have something here."
"Let's make it a wonderful day," Roy Williams told the team as they gathered at the starting line. "Know your pace and stick with it."
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Managers scattered around the track to call out time and keep players on the appropriate pace. Brad Frederick—the all-time Carolina mile record holder at 4:36—called out each player's time as they completed each lap.
Some players arrive fixated on beating their tough times. Walker Miller's older brother, Wes, had told him multiple times in recent weeks, "No Miller has ever failed to make his tough time." You can now add Walker to that list, as he beat his tough time by two seconds.
He wasn't fast enough, however, to defeat the perennial champion, Luke Maye. The junior finished in 4:59 and shaved seven seconds off his time from last year.
As Williams watched Maye immediately burst to the front of the pack and then hold that lead position for the rest of the run, he nodded his head. "Everything we've done this summer and in conditioning," the head coach said, "Luke has won it."
Maye obliterated his tough time by nearly half a minute. Joel Berry showed the biggest improvement in time from last year, trimming eight seconds off his mark and making his tough time. Andrew Platek was the fastest freshman, clocking a 5:05 and keeping pace with Maye for most of the morning.
Most players needed a minute or two to collect themselves when finishing the run. But when Shea Rush saw a teammate struggling to finish, he sprinted to the opposite end of the track and tried to pace the player across the line. There are no team repercussions for a player failing to make the required time—the player is simply required to repeat the exercise at later dates until they achieve the time—but Rush wanted everyone to succeed.
After post-run stretching, Williams gathered the 2018 Tar Heels on the track one last time. He'd called out times for every player, praising them when they beat their tough times and cajoling them when he wanted more effort.
"We're going to push you," he told the team. "We've got big-time dreams and big-time goals."
After the traditional season-opening Fast Break Against Cancer breakfast, practice begins one week from today, on Oct. 2.
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With all the technological advancements in sports training and conditioning, with all of Jonas Sahratian's research into new techniques, there's still only one way to end the Carolina basketball preseason conditioning program: the mile run.
The alternately loved and hated annual test (mostly hated) had a new location this year, as construction on campus forced the Tar Heels to a nearby high school. The combination of class schedules and recruiting plans for the coaches meant the event happened as the sun came up, with the team assembled well before 7 a.m.
Everyone involved realizes the players aren't going to run a consecutive mile during games. It's as much about toughness as about building for the season, and it's also about tradition. This is where Phil Ford once dove across the line on the concrete to make his tough time—tough times are based on size and ability and making them exempts a player from post-practice conditioning during the first week of practice—and prompted Dean Smith to say, "I think we might have something here."
"Let's make it a wonderful day," Roy Williams told the team as they gathered at the starting line. "Know your pace and stick with it."
Â
Managers scattered around the track to call out time and keep players on the appropriate pace. Brad Frederick—the all-time Carolina mile record holder at 4:36—called out each player's time as they completed each lap.
Some players arrive fixated on beating their tough times. Walker Miller's older brother, Wes, had told him multiple times in recent weeks, "No Miller has ever failed to make his tough time." You can now add Walker to that list, as he beat his tough time by two seconds.
He wasn't fast enough, however, to defeat the perennial champion, Luke Maye. The junior finished in 4:59 and shaved seven seconds off his time from last year.
As Williams watched Maye immediately burst to the front of the pack and then hold that lead position for the rest of the run, he nodded his head. "Everything we've done this summer and in conditioning," the head coach said, "Luke has won it."
Maye obliterated his tough time by nearly half a minute. Joel Berry showed the biggest improvement in time from last year, trimming eight seconds off his mark and making his tough time. Andrew Platek was the fastest freshman, clocking a 5:05 and keeping pace with Maye for most of the morning.
Most players needed a minute or two to collect themselves when finishing the run. But when Shea Rush saw a teammate struggling to finish, he sprinted to the opposite end of the track and tried to pace the player across the line. There are no team repercussions for a player failing to make the required time—the player is simply required to repeat the exercise at later dates until they achieve the time—but Rush wanted everyone to succeed.
After post-run stretching, Williams gathered the 2018 Tar Heels on the track one last time. He'd called out times for every player, praising them when they beat their tough times and cajoling them when he wanted more effort.
"We're going to push you," he told the team. "We've got big-time dreams and big-time goals."
After the traditional season-opening Fast Break Against Cancer breakfast, practice begins one week from today, on Oct. 2.
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Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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