Brooks: June-July Important Months For Buffs Hoops

BOULDER – If members of the Colorado men's basketball team need an off-season break, May is the month to take it. In fact, it's their only month.

Come June, the Buffaloes will embark on an eight-week training program – it's a continuation of a slightly revamped postseason regimen – that James Hardy, the program's director of strength and conditioning, believes will lay a solid foundation for 2015-16.

With CU coming off a disappointing 16-18 season that ended with a loss to Seattle University in the CBI Tournament, coach Tad Boyle has emphasized a need for his sixth Buffs team to be tougher, stronger and more cohesive. Being more potent offensively and more unforgiving on defense also are prominent on his get-it-done list.

Hardy, who recently completed his sixth season (eighth at CU overall) overseeing the hoops strength and conditioning work, says his and Boyle's overall approach hasn't changed: “We're stressing hard work, toughness, being accountable – and that won't change.”

But he's hoping a tweak in the accountability process shifts a large portion of responsibility to the players and, in turn, helps fashion the team cohesiveness that was lacking last season.

When the 2014-15 season ended, Hardy divided the 12 returnees into three teams of four players each. One player on each team was responsible for filling in a daily workout sheet and holding teammates accountable for completing that day's work. The “captains” were regularly rotated, with walk-ons taking on as much responsibility as returning senior Josh Scott or other upperclassmen.

Said Hardy: “They (walk-ons) have to be able to step up and tell Josh, Wes (Gordon), whoever, 'Hey, those are the 'reps' and you missed two. You've got two more to do.' I'm hoping having these teams will harvest this culture we're trying to establish.

“The real thing is, we don't want another season like last year. From the coaches all the way to walk-ons, nobody wants to have a season like that. The guys are more pissed off; they're wanting to change this right now. The intensity has come up. I think it's working, but time will tell.”

Among the individual players singled out for dramatic off-season improvement, Hardy first mentioned sophomore-to-be point guard Dom Collier. Hardy's first recorded weight of Collier was 153 pounds, but Collier played his first collegiate season between 165-167 pounds.

COLLIER NOW WEIGHS 172, with his target weight 180-185 pounds. But, added Hardy, “If 175 is his sweet spot, that's our summer job to figure it out.”

Regardless, Hardy believes Collier, who battled injuries during the early portion of his freshman season, arrived at CU with a mindset that snares many highly recruited freshmen. Fortunately, few carry it into their second seasons.

“Guys need to get beat up in their freshman year,” Hardy said. “Everybody needs it – Josh (Scott) needed it. He's been great, done everything I've asked him to do and made great weight room improvements. But when he came in, he had the freshman mentality of 'I'm highly recruited, I'm a stud from high school so that obviously is going to carry over to college.'

“I think that's part of what happened to Dom, too. He's very skilled but when Dom went to slash at the basket he's going into some men. And Dom understands that now. He's done a really great job since the season's been over; he's been in here (weight room) every day. Even on days he didn't have to come in, he'd text me and ask if he could come in and work out.”

Hardy cautions that he isn't comparing skill levels, but he says the 6-2 Collier reminds him of former Buffs guard Alec Burks in his weight room dedication. Burks, the 12th overall pick (Utah) in the 2011 NBA Draft, arrived at CU weighing 175 and left after his sophomore season weighing 198.

Collier, said Hardy, can make similar gains if he continues eating a healthy diet through the summer and remains consistent in the strength and conditioning program. Hardy said dietician Laura Anderson has been a godsend for student-athletes such as Collier as well as others in all sports.

“Dom is never going to look like a middle linebacker – ever,” Hardy said. “He couldn't. Josh either. It's weight plus strength and being able to capitalize on the frame you have. We have to capitalize on the frames they have and get them as strong as we possibly can with the intent of being as athletic as they can.

“In here it's not just about the weight you lift. I might be able to squat more than Dom – I hope so – but if you put a basketball in my hands and one in his, one hundred percent of the time he's going to beat me. It's about strength, but that's just one element. It's about flexibility, mobility.”

More flexibility almost across the board wouldn't be a bad thing for the Buffs. The 6-10 Scott, a senior-to-be, and 6-9 Wes Gordon, who will be a junior, need it – specifically in hip flexibility, according to Hardy. Also, Scott was plagued by back problems in January, which Hardy said is taken into account in designing Scott's off-season program.

“We have to be smart with him, take a common sense approach and work around it,” Hardy said. “He's doing different stuff. He's still in a group and still expected to lead, but he has some alternate lifts.”

EXPECTED TO BE AMONG the Pac-12's premier post players next season, Scott is 30-plus pounds heavier than he was as a freshman. He now weighs between 242-246, but has been as high as 250. Hardy has no problem communicating with Scott about Scott's most effective playing weight.

“We sit down and talk about what he needs to do,” Hardy said. “He's old enough now to understand if maybe he's five pounds heavier he can't move his feet as well, or if he's five pounds lighter he's getting pushed around a little too much in practice. He's done a great job of understanding why we do what we do and the process he goes through.”

It's registering with other Buffs as well. Hardy called sophomore-to-be Tory Miller “a classic example of being stripped down and rebuilt.” The 6-9 Miller reported last summer weighing 256, but through a meal plan designed by Anderson and Hardy's training regimen, he reduced his weight to 232. Miller now weighs 241, “and his body fat is where it needs to be,” Hardy added. “He needs to get stronger in the upper body and legs, but I'll say that about everybody.”

In the weight room, said Hardy, Miller “can be a loose cannon sometimes, but I love it. When you push him to that ledge, mess with his head a little bit – like, 'Tory, I don't think you can do that' – if you can motivate him correctly, he's going through the wall for you. It's not easy for a big man like that to lose 15-20 pounds, but he's in here every day.

“I'd stay late so he could come in after class. He'd be in here at 6 o'clock at night riding the bike, doing whatever I'd tell him to do. I don't have to worry about him, don't have to stand over him anymore. He's motivated to do whatever is necessary.”

The Buffs will usher a pair of Europeans – guard Thomas Akyazili and power forward Kenan Guzonjic – into Hardy's system this summer. Each newcomer, said Hardy, “knows what to do” in terms of making a good first impression: “My main thing for (new) guys is to be in shape. I'll teach them what they need to know, form and technique. I'm excited about those two guys. If they're in shape, then they can take off.”

Akyazili, after playing virtually the entire summer in Europe, is not due to arrive on campus until August, while Guzonjic is expected in June. It's a critical summer for the Buffs if they plan on rediscovering themselves this winter.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU