Louisville hoops injuries

[goosecreekguy]

Goose, I am going to really have to disagree. There is a real physical condition called "over training." I spent 16 years in a boxing ring and there is no way you are going to go to the gym and have a serious workout complete with sparring the day before a fight, much less the day of the fight. During the telecest of the providence game, the announcers even commented about being at the morning shoot around and that it wasn't a shoot around, but a full scale practice. They are practicing just as hard now as they did before the season started and the coach has admitted so himself. Ever wonder why every year his teams have so many injuries?

That's fair Tim. I see what you are saying about over training. Basketball is different though...injuries occur just as often when players aren't going hard as they do when players are going 110%. Having boxed and played basketball myself, I couldn't compare the training and competitive aspects of the two fairly.
I haven't talked to PK since the Providence game, I don't really know what's behind having a "full-on" practice the morning of a game was about. I know Coach did the same thing at UK on several occasions, and he recieved the same criticism then too. Before he won it in 1996. According to my conversations with PK the practices are still VERY demanding but they aren't practicing as hard, often, or as long as they did before the season began. I think its very unfortunate that the injury bug has bitten so many times this year, but I don't think its because Pitino is killing them in practice. When a coach starts letting off the throttle in practice, lowering practice expectations, and giving days off this time of year with a team that isn't mature or has great chemistry, the result is a mid-late season collapse that ends in early March.