Houston practiced Thursday night, the last time before heading to Waco. The schedule typically on the day of a road trip is to watch film, then load the bus and leave. The team usually has a practice/shoot-around at the arena.
After a shortened practice, most of the team shot some free throws while others went to rest their legs. It was a short post-practice by Houston standards. Within 40 minutes or so, the floor was empty. Kelvin Sampson says he doesn’t like the term “load management” that is popular in the NBA, but shorter practices and less post-practice work is as close as it gets in the college game.
Earlier this week, I attended my third staff game, usually held the day of a home game (no road games). It’s actually a lot of fun. The coaching staff and grad assistants play a hyper-competitive game to stay in ‘playing’ shape, trash talk, and clear their minds before a game. The games are first to 11 (buckets count as one, threes count as twos), and they typically play five games. I’d noticed some slippage in the defense and asked about it.
Watch: Emanuel Sharp on not listening to outside noise, L.J. Cryer on his return to Waco, Kellen on JoJo, staying in the moment, and the staff game.
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