University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Tough Times
October 13, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Halfway through Carolina's final pre-practice conditioning test Wednesday evening in the Smith Center, something occurred to Roy Williams.
The Tar Heel head coach was watching the second of three groups--which included David Noel, Reyshawn Terry, Marcus Ginyard, and Danny Green --run their sixth "33" of the day. A 33 is simple: players run the length of the basketball court, touch the line, run back, and then repeat the process twice more. It's essentially six times crossing the court and the conditioning drill requires that it be completed in less than 33 seconds in 12 separate repetitions.
About 16 seconds into the group's sixth dash, Williams shouted, "Hey David, this is your last running test!"
Noel, who never altered his pace the entire time, looked over at his coach, gave a small smile, and raised his left hand in a thumbs-up gesture while never breaking stride.
The Tar Heels completed the annual Carolina Mile last Friday, with every player making the required time and several clearing the "tough time" barrier. The coaching staff sets the tough times individually for each player, taking into consideration their fitness level and position. The time for Byron Sanders, for example, is higher than the standard for Quentin Thomas.
The same sliding scale applies to the dozen 33's. Players run in three groups--Group A features the guards (Wes Miller, Bobby Frasor, and Thomas), the above-mentioned Group B includes the wings, and Group C is the Sanders, Michael Copeland, and Tyler Hansbrough post trio.
Williams barked his signature greeting, "It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood," as the players toed the line for the first time. Steve Robinson, C.B. McGrath, and Jerod Haase watched the baselines carefully to make sure every player completed every detail.
For everyone except Copeland, it's the culmination of a long summer spent working with strength and conditioning coordinator Jonas Sahratian. Several of the returning players were on campus all summer; four of the freshmen arrived in July for the second session of summer school. It didn't take them long to make an impression.
"This freshman class is probably the best freshman class I've ever had in terms of guys being willing to work," Sahratian says. "A couple times this summer I told them to meet me at 7 a.m. and they'd be here at 6:45 raring to go."
Copeland joined that group late, which means his conditioning is considerably behind that of his teammates. He's still learning some of the nuances of a college strength and conditioning program that his classmates discovered before the exhibition trip to the Bahamas.
"A lot of stuff you have to teach them is technique," Sahratian says. "Sometimes there are flexibility issues. A guy like Tyler, for example, had a weightlifting background but he had done a lot of upper-body work. Now he's coming to the realization that you play basketball with your legs and hips. We've made that emphasis with him and I think he's starting to feel it pay off."
But even the most well-conditioned freshman is, well, still a freshman. That's a lesson Green learned first-hand Wednesday night on a Smith Center floor that now is under three brand new 2005 banners (one for the ACC regular season title, one for the national title, and one for the number-one final ranking) that are coincidentally placed directly in the line of sight of the visiting bench. As Group B approached the line for their 12th and final sprint, Noel had already announced his intention to complete the repetition in a blazing 28 seconds. As soon as McGrath blew his whistle, Noel was off, running while shouting, "This is what I do! You see me!"
Green tried to maintain the pace. "I'm right there with you!" he shouted.
Not for long. Noel's four years of strength training experience, plus an excellent set of genes, soon took over, and he crossed the baseline in 27.45 seconds. Green still made his tough time, but he can't yet keep up with Noel.
Several other Tar Heels also made their tough times. For Quentin Thomas, it came down to his last 33. In order to make his tough time--and be excused from two weeks of energy-sapping conditioning drills during practice--he had to cross the line in less than 32 seconds. With the clock ticking just over 30, the sophomore point guard did the only thing he could do: went into a full-length dive across the finish line, clearing it with tenths of a second to spare.
In a heap on the Smith Center floor, he looked up at McGrath, who had appropriately chosen a shirt emblazoned with "Carolina Returns To Number One" for the occasion.
McGrath gave a half-smile. Two weeks of running depended on his stopwatch.
Then he said four words that made even a completely sapped Thomas crack a smile:
"Q, you made it."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
