KU Basketball Boot Camp Journal: Sept. 23, 2016
photo by: Nick Krug
Kansas head coach Bill Self watches as the players rapidly shuffle across the court during Boot Camp in the practice gym on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 just after 6 a.m.
photo by: Nick Krug
Kansas head coach Bill Self watches as the players rapidly shuffle across the court during Boot Camp in the practice gym on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 just after 6 a.m.
You’ve heard the stories, read the accounts and probably even imagined what it’s like.
But to see it is a whole different experience.
Boot Camp, Kansas basketball style, is not for the faint of heart and on Friday a handful of local media members were invited in to watch the Jayhawks run through one of Bill Self’s signature preseason conditioning adventures, which ran for 50 minutes and left the veteran KU coach very pleased with the effort put in by his team.
The following is a blow-by-blow account of exactly what went on.
5:15 a.m. — The first players began arriving at Allen Fieldhouse a little more than 45 minutes before the action began. Most were looking to get their ankles taped and minds and bodies prepared for what was to come. Others were simply there early making sure they were awake, aware and ready for the grind.
5:50 a.m. — The Jayhawks hit the floor for some pre-Boot Camp stretching. Strength coach Andrea Hudy leads while Self’s assistants and a slew of managers and trainers are on-hand, ready to help assist the players through the fifth session of this year’s Boot Camp. Given the early hour, it’s a little surprising to see so many smiles and so much energy this early, but that seems, as much as anything, to be proof of the fact that making it through one of Self’s Boot Camps is as much about what your mind will allow as it is what your body can endure.
photo by: Nick Krug
Kansas freshman Josh Jackson gets stretched out before the Jayhawks' fifth day of Boot Camp in the practice gym on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 just after 6 a.m.
6:00 a.m. — Self huddles the team at mid-court in the Jayhawks’ practice gym at exactly 6 a.m. After a brief talk outlining the day and sharing a few laughs, the team breaks with final words from senior forward Landen Lucas about finishing the week strong.
6:02 a.m. — Two minutes of jumping rope. The players alternate from one leg to two legs and back to one leg without stopping for two minutes straight. All the while managers and assistant coaches are standing in front of them all the way down the sideline on the north side of the gym, clapping and shouting encouragement to keep the energy up.
6:04 a.m. — Full-court run. This is nothing more than a way to get the body loose and the legs going. The real running will come a little later and there will be plenty of it. Two minutes of down-and-back type running with next to no rest in between.
6:06 a.m. — Dynamic warm-up. This includes everything from short, side-to-side bursts and box jumps to standing and jumping in place. Again, the clock expires after two minutes and, by now, it’s clear that the heart rate is rising and the bodies are getting into the proper position to handle what comes next.
6:08 a.m. — The first sounds of discipline from Self come complete with one of his favorite words. “Come on, guys. A little juice,” he says. For the next two minutes the Jayhawks work on slow and methodical defensive slides.
6:10 a.m. — Close-out drill. From 8-10 feet, the players work on closing out on shooters and shuffling their feet. While the drill appears to be designed with defensive principles in mind, Self says later that Boot Camp is not about fundamentals but rather about survival. So these types of close-out drills, though part of fundamentally sound defense, merely function as a way to disguise more cardio.
6:12 a.m. — KU assistant Jerrance Howard, who played for Self at Illinois, hops to the front of the group and leads the team through a defensive stance and slide drill. Moments earlier, with the team still getting going, Howard walked by the media and joked, “Boy, I’m glad I don’t have to go through this any more. Clap and yell, clap and yell.” To kickstart this drill, Self even shouts Howard’s way early on in the drill, making him start things again because he was not loud enough to be heard in every corner of the gym. Howard obliges with a strong growl and the drill gets under way. Lots of energy, grunting, call-and-response type encouragement from players and coaches all over the gym.
photo by: Nick Krug
Assistant coach Jerrance Howard waves a towel as he signals movement from a player during Boot Camp in the practice gym on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 just after 6 a.m.
6:15 a.m. — The action shifts to eight minutes of station work and the players rotate between four stations, some with more defensive stance and slide work, others with simple but endless backboard and rim touches.
6:19 a.m. — It’s here, when the players are switching from station to station, that the first signs of exhaustion start to show up. The breathing gets harder, guys are bending over and there are scowls and grimaces on a few faces. Except Carlton Bragg’s, of course. Somehow, the KU sophomore managed to keep a smile on his face from start to finish, even while in the middle of some high-intensity drills at times.
6:23 a.m. — More slides. The team, in a make-shift, single-file line, works full-court slides, angling their way from one side of the court to the next all the way down and back. The clock starts with 3:00 showing but the drill ends after 90 seconds because the Jayhawks executed it flawlessly.
6:25 a.m. — Turn, run and recover. More close outs that are followed by a run-and-recover exercise, which Self says simulates those times when you’re beat by your man and you have to get back in front of him on defense. Same thing as before — the clock showed 3:00 but the drill ended after 2:00 because of solid execution.
6:29 a.m. — Full-court close and slides, down and back. It’s more of the same for the next minute, this time with two previous drills combined into one. It seems as if this is designed to test the mental strength of the players to put multiple skills together while maintaining toughness, energy and execution without breaking down or slacking off. It worked and the 3:00-minute drill ends with 2:00 still showing on the clock.
6:30 a.m. — Time for some sprinting, which the Jayhawks will do basically for the final 20 minutes of Friday’s Boot Camp session. First up: 22s. The Jayhawks are split into guards and bigs and asked to go full-court, down and back, down and back in 22 seconds. The guards make it in 18 or 19 seconds each time. The bigs make it in around 20 seconds. After three sets, the team moves on.
photo by: Nick Krug
Kansas head coach Bill Self gives some encouragement to newcomer Tucker Vang during Boot Camp in the practice gym on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 just after 6 a.m.
6:34 a.m. — Wave drill into a sprint into motion offense and back cut simulation. Self explains clearly and carefully that if his guys do this one right and go hard, they’ll only have to do it once. “Do it right, you do it once,” he yells for emphasis. The first group of six makes it easily — Clay Young, Tyler Self, Frank Mason, Lagerald Vick, Landen Lucas and Svi. Self’s pleased and challenges the second group to match it. Led by Devonte’ Graham and Josh Jackson, they do, with Dwight Coleby, Evan Maxwell, Carlton Bragg, Mitch Lightfoot and Tucker Vang joining them. In all, each group needs just 75 seconds to get through the drill.
NOTE: Malik Newman (back) and Udoka Azubuike (groin) were held out of Friday’s action for precautionary reasons. Something tells me there’ll be a day when they make up for it. Self said Azubuike had done great all week leading up to Friday. Self said neither injury appeared to be serious in any way.
6:40 a.m. — After a short rest — its worth noting that Self is more than fair about giving these guys adequate time to rest and catch their breaths. He’s not going to make it easy and it’s going to be a challenge, but it’s not like he’s unreasonable in any way — the Jayhawks hit the final session of the day: Suicides. The format follows a 3-5-7-9-7-5-3 cycle and starts with down, back and down in 17 seconds. The Jayhawks make that with ease, which Self knew would happen. He told them the first two were basically gimmes. Make it and move on to the next. Miss it and do it again. If any one player does not make it in time or fails to touch the line, they all run again.
Next up, they move on to 5 lengths in 29 seconds. Again, they make it easily. Now for the tricky ones. The veterans who have done this for a while now know how to steal a few extra seconds of rest by wandering off the line or making conversation with Self or the assistant coaches. Self knows what they’re doing and gives them the best of both worlds — enough of a leash to get away with it a couple of times, but also enough of a warning to let them know that he’s on to them.
The seven-sprint portion is timed in 43 seconds and again the Jayhawks make it. It’s getting tougher and the stress and pain in their faces is starting to show more and more between sprints. After making nine lengths in 60 seconds, Self gives his team good news for the homestretch: “Now it’s easy,” he says. “You know you’re gonna make it.” Easy? Not exactly. But do they know in their minds that the times and goals are attainable? Yep. And it’s clear that they understand that.
For the second set of seven lengths, Self adds a second to the time and instead of 43 seconds they have to make it in 44. Moments earlier he explained that his sheet said they should’ve done nine lengths in 57 seconds but he added three seconds because they’ve had a good week. They took it and used it.
The final set of seven is finished and between this one and the set of five, Bragg can be found still smiling, even while bent over gasping for air. The team makes the round of five in 29 seconds, same as before, and moves on to the last sprint — three lengths, this time in 15 seconds. The reason for the two missing seconds? Howard kindly reminded Self earlier in the day that, back when he played, they used to have to do the set of three in 15 seconds.
photo by: Nick Krug
Kansas forward Carlton Bragg laughs with his teammates as he stretches out before the team's fifth day of Boot Camp in the practice gym on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 just after 6 a.m.
Self emphasizes that if they do it right this will be it for the day. But that means every player touches every line and every player makes it easily. If they miss, an assistant coach or manager is going to put a hand in the air to signify they’re doing it again. On the second trip down the court, a hand goes up. And then another. The Jayhawks are doing it again. And they’re not happy. A variety of players yell encouragement — even friendly threats — before the next sprint, all to the effect of, “It’s not that hard, fellas. Just do it right and we’ll be done.” Self chimes in with his thoughts, as well. “This is where you win games in the final five minutes. Everyone just do your job.”
They do and they make the final sprint with ease. It was incredible to witness how you could actually see these guys dig a little deeper and find more to go all-out on the final sprint. They ran this one harder and with more focus than any they had done all day.
6:50 a.m. — Huddle up. Self’s pleased. He told them they did a great job and had a great week. After outlining what’s to come the rest of the day and reminding them to get to class on time, the players break and leave the gym. The coaches and support staff hang around the south wall of the practice gym and swap stories and laughs from the morning session.
Four more days of Boot Camp left.
photo by: Nick Krug
The Jayhawks come together at center court before the start of their fifth day of Boot Camp in the practice gym on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 just after 6 a.m.