Rams to host AFA today after finally exiting practice gym
The coronavirus pandemic halted the surging Colorado State men’s basketball team dead in its tracks following a feel-good sweep over rival Wyoming in early February.
Having won eight of their last 10 games, it appeared no adversary could disrupt the Mountain West title-contending Rams as they returned home from Laramie amid the campaign’s closing juncture.
Except a pause related to COVID-19, which CSU then suffered upon abruptly entering a three-week layof f in light of issues plaguing its next three scheduled opponents –– Northern
Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
Now, while finally preparing to get the ball rolling again, the challenge becomes whether rust proves detrimental or if Niko Medved’s squad can pick up where it left off. But until the green and gold tip of f against Air Force on Saturday at Moby Arena, there’s truly no way of telling where the chips will fall.
“I wish I could tell you I knew how we would come out and play or how this is gonna look,” Medved explained. “Obviously, this is all unprecedented. You never have a break like this this late in the season. So this is new for all of us. I think we’ve practiced well. I think our guys’ mindset is great. But we won’t know until we get back out there in those first 10 to 20 minutes of that game and feel what that feels like.”
Par ticularly from a conditioning standpoint, the potential of facing an adjustment is apparent. After all, no matter how strenuous a team operates at practice, it’s impossible to completely mimic the physical demands of game
action.
Nevertheless, as CSU’S third-year coach alluded to, the team performed admirably behind closed doors at Moby Arena during the extended hiatus.
“It’s more short, hard, intense practices,” Medved said. “You want to keep guys healthy too. So for us, we wanted to see if we could get smar ter, mentally tougher, execute better, stay in shape and just be ready for our next opponent.
“Every day they came out, they were really good. They had good energy. I sensed no letdown whatsoever. This group’s been pretty consistent that way. Again, it’s not like playing a game. But I thought they were really sharp and I thought we improved. Guys always came ready to learn, to get better and to be coached. I didn’t notice any lull at all.”
Though enduring such an extended break cer tainly wasn’t ideal, it’s wor th noting how the latest layoff offered benefits compared to the program’s prior shutdown.when COVID-19 afflicted the Rams’ roster in late November, quarantine regulations forbade them from even sniffing Moby’s hardwood nor touching a basketball.
This time around, compared to the preseason shutdown, at least they collectively trained while remaining unified.
Evidently, CSU took full advantage, which Medved is beyond grateful for. And beyond on-court execution, Medved issued equal praise to his group’s handling of the lengthy interruption on the mental side.
Especially considering the Rams weren’t responsible for any of the five recent cancellations/postponements, the circumstance undeniably could have caused frustrations to boil over. Plus, one mustn’t forget just how well CSU (14-4, 11-3 Mountain West) was playing when the layoff transpired.
The Rams had ever y reason to sulk around campus miserably. Instead, they maintained optimism and inhibited any sort of morale decrease. Commendable? Absolutely. However, CSU’S approach shouldn’t surprise anyone.
“I’ve really loved everything about the way this group has handled this season,” Medved said. “I can’t emphasize that enough. From all the way back when this happened last year into the summer and our first COVID pause we had before the season, they’ve just done a remarkable job of handling everything. They’re such a resilient group. They respond to ever ything.
“It’s funny; sometimes, they’re more resilient than the adults. They’ve done a great job. And of course, you have frustration and wish things were different. But they’ve just done a remarkable job of handling this.”
In addition to hosting Air Force with the 2 p.m. tip, CSU’S awaited return to action commences a grueling stretch in which they play four contests in seven days to conclude the regular season.
In other words, the Rams transition from not competing for three weeks to grinding out a league battle once every 48 hours. So, Medved wasn’t exactly thrilled when the MW recently elected to pencil in the New Mexico game on March 3 and Nevada on March 5.
Regardless, as Medved believes, if any program can make the exhausting schedule work, it’s his.
“I mean, clearly our guys want to play,” the coach described. “We’ll take anything that’s in front of us. But I think if you look around, (the Mountain West) clearly put us in a tough challenge here. Four games in seven days like that is difficult. But if any group is up for it, we are.”