Three things were abundantly clear within minutes at Thursday's annual Indiana Basketball Media Mania:
- I had not touched a basketball in months, maybe a year.
- My winter sport growing up was wrestling, not basketball.
- I was woefully out of shape.
I had long been looking forward to this day, a sort of annual rite of passage for media members. I knew this was going to hurt, that even a taste of the daily practice routine for the players would be enough to leave me in pain. I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
Strength and Conditioning Coach Je'ney Jackson led the media through warmup drills. Most took us from one baseline to the other. Players, coaches and others watched as we struggled toward them on the other side, then awkwardly backpedaled back. Five minutes in and I was winded. I was not the only one. Nonetheless, the stretches continued. One reporter turned to me at one point and informed me that this year was much harder than the year before.
Then came the "Six and 60s" in which we had to hold our legs six inches off the ground, then bring them up to a 60 degree angle at the sound of the whistle. I expect to always remember looking down at my struggling abdominals to see my core shaking from the strain of it all.
By now, still just minutes into the practice, my right leg had stiffened up and gone a bit numb, my knee cap already swollen. I dragged the useless appendage with me through the rest of the day, from lay-up drills to three-point shooting to the actual games.
The IDS contingent was paired with IUSTV against IUSportCom in a game refereed by freshmen Yogi Ferrell and Peter Jurkin. A lack of height, quickness and petty much everything you would want on a team cost us, as we fell 60-49. I contributed 4 points and limped off the court at the end, my left leg having stooped to the same level of pain as my right. I expect the pain to linger for at least a few days.
The experience, however painful, provided a nice look at what the team goes through, the pain they are put through daily and how they try to make the best of it all.
As with any team, even the likely preseason No. 1, there will be both expectations and questions with this team. I do feel comfortable saying one thing, though.
They will be in shape.
More to come in the next few days, including tidbits from players on what's new this season and how they see the team shaping up.
