Today marks the end of the first summer workout schedule, and the start of the official countdown to the season, which begins with fall practices in October.
In the meantime, players will head home for a much needed break. University of Minnesota basketball players began to leave campus earlier this week. By the end of Friday, they'll all be done and headed for a three-week break, the longest stretch they get all year.
They won't, however, be without basketball "homework" on their escape. Strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown created take-home packets for each individual player, based on the resources available to them in their home towns (some have health club memberships, while others would be lucky to find a good place to run). Generally, the assignments include running, chin-ups and weight lifting for each player.
Awaiting them upon their return will be immediate tests – such as a timed mile run -- to cut through any white lies about how much working out they did on vacation.
"You're going to tell when they get back," Brown said. "So it's kind of like fishing. You throw a line in the water and hope to catch something. If they don't [work out enough while they're gone], the only thing you can do is punish them with more work for the time they lost."
A few notes on the early summer workouts:
*After gaining a lot of "good weight and muscle" early, point guard DeAndre Mathieu has leveled out around 175 pounds, Brown said. That gain represents about 23 pounds since last September, when the Knoxville native first arrived on campus. Along with the gain have come increased strength levels for a guard that was already extremely compact. "I do this for a living, so I know when guys move certain weights, they're pretty freakin' strong," Brown said. "And he is one strong dude." Brown also pointed out that Mathieu is among the most flexible and agile on the team as well.
*One off-season after dropping 60 pounds, center Mo Walker has been tasked only with maintaining. The Gophers were happy with the weight at which he finished the season, preferring for the more fleet-footed Elliott Eliason to be the "lighter center." Said Brown: "He's got a range to stay in and he does it."
