University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: The Carolina Mile
September 26, 2014 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Let's be honest: it's entirely possible that no one on North Carolina's 2014-15 basketball team will have to run a mile without stopping ever again once their Tar Heel career is over.
It's simply not a basketball-specific exercise. But it's been the capstone for Carolina's preseason basketball conditioning ever since the Dean Smith era, and it was contested again on Friday morning at a misty Fetzer track.
The mile marks the end of preseason conditioning and officially signals that the next event on the UNC hoops calendar is Late Night with Roy Williams (one week from today, on Oct. 3), which is followed immediately that Saturday morning by the first real practice, which is followed soon thereafter by media day, which is followed by an exhibition game, which is followed by the season opener, and before you know it the team is gathered at Roy Williams' house eating brownies watching the NCAA Tournament selection show.
Running a mile early on a Friday before classes begin won't help identify an additional outside shooter or determine which of the Tar Heel big men--a group Williams has repeatedly cited as the key to this year's team, and he mentioned it again on Friday--makes the most progress this season. But it didn't take long before the value of the run became very obvious.
It just so happened that the all-time UNC basketball mile run record holder was on hand for Friday's events. Director of basketball operations Brad Frederick holds that distinction, and he quickly rattled off his time--4:36--when asked. "I went up to 4:38 as a senior," he lamented, "probably because I was as heavy as I've ever been."
How heavy was that?
"A swole 208," he said with a grin.
There are two components to the mile. Every player must make his required time, which is based on his size and ability. Nate Britt, for example, had to make 6:05, but Joel James only needed 6:50.
The real competition comes for the tough times. Any player who makes his tough time, which again is geared to size and ability, is exempt from post-practice conditioning during the first week of practice. "Coach Smith made the tough times even tougher," Frederick said as he looked at a list that included a tough time of 5:45 for Britt and 6:15 for James.
Times matter, and the players remember them. Smith famously loved to tell the story of Phil Ford diving across the finish line to make his tough time as a freshman. "I think we might have something here," Smith recalled thinking about Ford.
As the staff watched this year's group run, a discussion began about the last freshman to win the mile run. Bobby Frasor was mentioned as a candidate, which prompted director of player development Eric Hoots to call Frasor for verification. This year's Late Night host instantly recalled, even at 8 a.m. in the morning, that he had indeed won the mile his freshman year, posting a time of 4:54.
"I'm not saying I don't believe that," Williams said with a smile, "I'm just saying I'll need to check it."
Frasor's exploits turned out to be relevant information, because freshman Justin Jackson led the pack for most of the mile. He and walk-on candidate Spencer Dalton (four players are in the hunt to fill walk-on spots) battled for most of the final lap, with Dalton making several attempts to pass the freshman. But Jackson eventually turned in one final kick and edged Dalton at the end with a time of 5:08, well under the tough time of 5:40.
In all, 12 of the 18 players who ran made their tough time, with the heartbreak award going to Stilman White, who missed it by one second. Everyone made their required time. Britt trimmed five seconds off his time from last year by posting 5:28, J.P. Tokoto was seven seconds faster than his previous mark, and Kennedy Meeks took a whopping 23 seconds off his freshman time.
After Jonas Sahratian ran the team through a post-run stretch, Williams gathered the team on the track. He reminded them of some details the team discusses regularly, including the timely message of highlighting the need to treat people the right way in every aspect of their lives. Then, the head coach explained exactly why the mile run still matters.
"I like guys who compete," he said. "I really like the way Spencer and Justin competed. That was a really good competition down the stretch. You push the other guy, and you make him push a little harder. It makes us tougher."
