University of North Carolina Athletics
Paige Views: Early Season Grind
November 24, 2014 | Men's Basketball
by Marcus Paige
Now that I'm a junior, I've learned that you have to pace yourself for the grind of an entire season. You don't pace yourself in the games—in those, you go as hard as you can all the time.
But everything that falls between the games, from practices to taking care of your body to managing schoolwork, is something that will help you prepare for the end of the year if you do it the right way. You can get worn down very easily if you're not conscious of what you're doing from day to day to maintain your body.
As a freshman, I had no idea how important that was. I just prepared from game to game. My sophomore year changed my perspective, because I was playing almost every minute of every game. Now, I've learned how to see the big picture of the season at the beginning of the year. I know this week we'll have to play three games in three days in the Bahamas, and then we'll have the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, and then we go to Kentucky.
That off-court awareness is definitely the most significant change from high school basketball to the college game. Basketball is harder in college, but it's still the same game. But everything else in your life is at an entirely different level in college. If you don't stay on top of it, it really hits you, and even more importantly, it's tough to recover from it.
When we go to the Bahamas, I know people will say that we're 20 years old and we shouldn't get tired playing a basketball game. That's true to a certain extent, but that doesn't mean you just jump in and play. Last year in the Mohegan Sun tournament I was doing soft tissue stuff every day, and using the hot tub and cold tub. No matter how old you are, with the intensity with which we play, when you don't have a full day of rest you can get behind very easily.
There's also the mental side in addition to the physical requirements. Leading up to the opener, the only thing on my mind all week was the two games. It doesn't matter who the opponent is, because it's finally a chance to play a meaningful game. The day of the game is when I start to feel the jitters and excitement. Certain games have a different feel to them, obviously, but every gameday is special.
When I come out of the tunnel before a game, I'll throw up some rainbow shots and 40-footers. I come out relaxed. Once it gets closer to the time for our first meeting, I try to dial in and get focused, and break a sweat. I've found that if I do that too early, it can waver when you really want to be focused. So I try to get dialed in around 30 minutes before tip. Some guys like to stay more relaxed or stretch a lot; everyone has a different pregame routine. I have to get focused and get my shot feeling right.
After the game, we have food in the locker room, but I usually don't eat, because I'm so tired and exhausted physically. But mentally, my mind is still racing. I'm still replaying plays that were important or little things I can remember to mention to a teammate in the future. My brain doesn't stop racing until the middle of the night. I usually have a tough time sleeping the day before or the night of a game.
Some people unwind by watching the highlights on TV. My routine depends on how we play. If it was a fun game, and we won by double digits, it's fun to watch the highlights and see us in a good light. But sometimes I can't watch it. If I played poorly or the outcome is not favorable, I try not to watch it. Of course, there are also those times you can't help but watch, because you want to see a J.P. dunk and see if it made the Top Plays on SportsCenter.
At first, it was a little weird seeing myself on the highlights. My freshman year, I was super excited anytime I was on there, and I would text all my friends. Last year, it was weird continually being on SportsCenter, but it eventually reached the point that I was used to it.
We're lucky to play at North Carolina and have fans who are so invested in our success. There are three things I always hear from them:
1. You have to beat Duke for me.
2. You have to go to the Final Four.
3. You have to win the national championship.
In some ways, I can relate. When I'm watching a team as a fan, that's how I think, too. When I'm watching the Clippers, I don't think about the 82-game grind. I think, “They're going to win the championship.”
But with our team, I know there are 30-some games before any of our biggest goals can happen. We've got to play an entire season, and it starts with these games in the early part of the year.
