I haven’t been following college basketball too closely this year. But when I watched Duke lose their opening game in the tournament, I couldn’t help but notice how physically weak their team looked. Did anybody else notice this? Or am I way off with this observation?
I wonder what’s going on with their strength and conditioning program…does anybody have some inside knowledge?
schier, the freshmen from illinois is really skinny
born that way. he will take a couple years to fill out. its not neccesarily the duke s and c that makes him skinny. its genes
he is 6’9 220 or something
Scheyer is 6’5" 180
Well, I think Duke got beat by a team that wanted it more. Duke looked disappointed to be there at all, almost like it was the NIT or something.
Also, is it me, or does Duke have a disproportionate number of white dudes on their team? I mean, I feel like Duke relies on white athletes even more so than a school like BYU. It seems to me that white basketball players tend to be especially devoid of muscle tone relative to their black counterparts. Generally speaking, the white bigs seem to look a little chubby or smooth and the white guards seem to be skinny with no muscles.
I think that the lack of enthusiasm combined with a team full of skinny white dudes made Duke look like they lost because they were a weaker team.
[quote]eic wrote:
It seems to me that white basketball players tend to be especially devoid of muscle tone relative to their black counterparts. [/quote]
Well, there’s a reason you don’t see pasty guys on a bodybuilding stage…
[quote]tpa wrote:
I haven’t been following college basketball too closely this year. But when I watched Duke lose their opening game in the tournament, I couldn’t help but notice how physically weak their team looked. Did anybody else notice this? Or am I way off with this observation?
I wonder what’s going on with their strength and conditioning program…does anybody have some inside knowledge?[/quote]
More times than not, it’s not the S&C coaches fault, but there’s probably 100 other factors out of the S&C’s coaches control that are really the cause of the problem.
Having said that, I have no clue what Duke is doing for their training, and it very well may be a joke, but you have to consider all the factors like the age of the athlete, are they getting enough calories from clean sources, are they more concerned with chasing tale late night than sleeping, is Coach K running them too much, etc.
They’ve looked decent in the past, so I think it’s the age of the players and probably their body types more than anything else. It’s pretty hard to do a lot with a guy that’s over 6’5" and doesn’t weigh 200 lbs…that’s not an ideal body for strength training, that a long term project!
I’m pretty sure Coach K does not advocate a lot of weight training for his players.
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
Well, there’s a reason you don’t see pasty guys on a bodybuilding stage…
[/quote]
That’s a really good point. I agree that the majority of the problem is that the definition, if any, doesn’t show up well. But beyond that, it seems like the white dudes on Duke’s team tend to be rocking more of the Tim Duncan body than the David Robinson body, even after accounting for their pale skin.
[quote]eic wrote:
jtrinsey wrote:
Well, there’s a reason you don’t see pasty guys on a bodybuilding stage…
That’s a really good point. I agree that the majority of the problem is that the definition, if any, doesn’t show up well. But beyond that, it seems like the white dudes on Duke’s team tend to be rocking more of the Tim Duncan body than the David Robinson body, even after accounting for their pale skin.
[/quote]
That’s one reason why UNC has become the king of the ACC lately 
I actually do agree that Duke isn’t a very phsyical team, but I can’t really make any comment on the S&C program. It’s probably more a function of recruiting, since so many of the starters don’t stay for 4 years at the big programs anyway.
I will say this, if you look at where J.J. Redick was his freshman year and where he was when he graduated, just in terms of physicality, there was a world of difference. He was definitly in better shape, more athletic and with noticeably better body comp. So whether that can be attributed to him or the Duke S&C program, that is one example of a recent Dukie who definitly improved physically during his time there.
Agreed! J.J. Reddick left lighter/leaner, stronger, more agile, more skilled… better overall.
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
eic wrote:
jtrinsey wrote:
Well, there’s a reason you don’t see pasty guys on a bodybuilding stage…
That’s a really good point. I agree that the majority of the problem is that the definition, if any, doesn’t show up well. But beyond that, it seems like the white dudes on Duke’s team tend to be rocking more of the Tim Duncan body than the David Robinson body, even after accounting for their pale skin.
That’s one reason why UNC has become the king of the ACC lately
I actually do agree that Duke isn’t a very phsyical team, but I can’t really make any comment on the S&C program. It’s probably more a function of recruiting, since so many of the starters don’t stay for 4 years at the big programs anyway.
I will say this, if you look at where J.J. Redick was his freshman year and where he was when he graduated, just in terms of physicality, there was a world of difference. He was definitly in better shape, more athletic and with noticeably better body comp. So whether that can be attributed to him or the Duke S&C program, that is one example of a recent Dukie who definitly improved physically during his time there.
[/quote]
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
eic wrote:
jtrinsey wrote:
Well, there’s a reason you don’t see pasty guys on a bodybuilding stage…
That’s a really good point. I agree that the majority of the problem is that the definition, if any, doesn’t show up well. But beyond that, it seems like the white dudes on Duke’s team tend to be rocking more of the Tim Duncan body than the David Robinson body, even after accounting for their pale skin.
That’s one reason why UNC has become the king of the ACC lately
[/quote]
Its cause Dook always recruits scrawny, bitchy, white boys.
There are strong white players in college, look at Hansbrough
This is all I have to say about Duke
The problems with the Duke basketball team is pretty indicative of college basketball as a whole. I have seen a ton and I mean a ton of blubbery skinny 6’8" and up players playing this year. It’s the mentality of alot of basketball players and programs to run way too much not maintain strength levels throughout the season etc… The players that do start lifting really start destroying those that don’t, unless other physical factors prevent them from being better in the end. Height etc…
I dont know if Hansbrough is a great example, he is a big aggressive kid anyway. Ben Gordon and Udonis Haslem are both great examples. Gordon is a beast, and Haslem was fat at florida until he started hitting the weights, now he is ripped and in the NBA.
That had to be the funniest video clip I’ve seen on T-Nation.
I think Duke just doesn’t have the talent that they are used to. Scheyer is a guard I’m sure they want to get his shooting up before they worry about his strength although they will probably increase both.
Duke was never a team that took 1st and second year players to championships. They always had at least about 3 seniors. VCU has more upperclassman, they will look bigger. Go to your average college campus and look at the body types you can usually tell the difference between freshman and seniors.
Except Oden which looks like he is about 45.
Duke will have to work even harder on recruiting. The days of Grant Hill making WoJO look like a future NBA player is over.
That was a funny ass video for sure. Definitely true about S & C work for most basketball players, but I gotta say it benefits me as being one of the few “enlightened ones” about resistance training and how it applies to basketball. I’ve put on 30 lbs muscle and not only am I faster/more explosive/stronger, I am more resistant to injuries and am better technically in bball skills. God Bless Weight Lifting.
[quote]DukeBoSox wrote:
That was a funny ass video for sure. Definitely true about S & C work for most basketball players, but I gotta say it benefits me as being one of the few “enlightened ones” about resistance training and how it applies to basketball. I’ve put on 30 lbs muscle and not only am I faster/more explosive/stronger, I am more resistant to injuries and am better technically in bball skills. God Bless Weight Lifting. [/quote]
Amen to that.
[quote]DukeBoSox wrote:
That was a funny ass video for sure. Definitely true about S & C work for most basketball players, but I gotta say it benefits me as being one of the few “enlightened ones” about resistance training and how it applies to basketball. I’ve put on 30 lbs muscle and not only am I faster/more explosive/stronger, I am more resistant to injuries and am better technically in bball skills. God Bless Weight Lifting. [/quote]
Glad to see lifting is working for you!
As for a comparison of UNC vs. Duke strength and conditioning I think this pretty much sums it up
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/091406aaa.html
There is a small picture on the left and a photo gallery. I couldn’t get the photo gallery to work but this is on my work PC which doesn’t have flash or anything like that.
edit: oops. By “left” I meant “right”. Anyway, when there was a bigger photo (which may still be available in the photo gallery) you could really see the defintion in Hans’ arm while McRoberts’ arm looks scrawny.