Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Minnesota Primer
1/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2014
NUsports.com Special Contributor Skip Myslenski examines how the Wildcats deal with rest and recovery as they battle the grind of the Big Ten season.
He has just proffered an heroic performance, scoring 30 points and collecting eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes in the `Cats upset of Wisconsin, and now Drew Crawford clambers aboard the bus for the 150-mile ride back to Evanston. He has left every bit of himself back on the Kohl Center floor, and so his body is drained, is empty, is a vessel much in need of rejuvenation. But there will be no sleep for him here. "I won't sleep," he will explain, "because I'm too wound up. A lot of times it's hard to sleep the night of games because your adrenalin's still going."
He will instead eat-and-drink as the miles roll by, both replenishing and rehydrating himself, and then--when this journey finally ends at two in the morning--he will drag himself home. There, he gulps down some ZzzQuil. "That's my secret," he will say. "It's like NyQuil, but it's just a sleep aid without the cold remedy. That helps me get rest the night of games. It kind of calms me down and helps me get a good night of sleep."
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When his head hit the pillow early that Thursday morning, just 60 hours separated Crawford and the `Cats from their Saturday matinee at Minnesota's Williams Arena. There, once again, their new incarnation would be on display, that incarnation predicated on defense and eternal effort and unrelenting resolve, and so here a good-night's-sleep was not only welcome. It was a base necessity.
That was true too for JerShon Cobb, who had also played the full 40 against the Badgers, and for Sanjay Lumpkin (39) and Tre Demps (24) and Alex Olah (23) as well. All of these `Cats who play such heavy minutes needed a pause to refresh themselves and that was especially true of Crawford, who that Thursday slept in before rising for a big breakfast. "Sore," he will say that afternoon when asked how he felt on arising.
"But it's one of those things, it's a soreness, but it's not pain. Like now, I'm feeling sore. My legs are tired. My body's tired. That's why today's a big recovery day and maintenance day. Getting in the weight room and stretching and getting a lift will help my body recover, and I'll be feeling great tomorrow (Friday)."
He has, in fact, already visited the training room, where he attended to his aching body. He did some rehab work on his shoulder. He soaked in a cold tub to decrease the swelling in his legs. He did not get a massage, which he did after playing all 50 minutes in the `Cats double-overtime win over Purdue. But he did spend 15 minutes in a pair of recovery boots. "It's basically two, long, leg sleeves and they inflate," he says of them. "What they're supposed to do is kind of compress your legs and increase blood flow and hopefully decrease the swelling too. It helps flush your legs out."
He then moseyed over to Welsh-Ryan, where he changed for practice, and now he is sitting courtside, awaiting its start. First will come a film session. "Coach (Chris) Collins will really break down yesterday's game and we'll watch and see things we can improve upon, things that we did well," says Crawford. Then there will be a stop in the weight room. "We'll get a good lift in, a good stretch, and all that," he goes on. Finally there will be a return to the floor, where he will do little more than walk through some plays. "We've got to use today more as a recovery day," Collins himself will explain.
"The guys who didn't play heavy minutes, they'll work out. But our heavy-minute guys--so much of this is they have to be fresh. In order to play that hard, you've got to be fresh mentally, physically, and be ready to go at game time."
Yet Crawford's day will not be over even at practice's end. He has a class this night, the Economics of Sports, which will keep him busy from seven to 9:30. There will be no homework to do. "I have some stuff due Monday, but I'll be able to take care of that Sunday," he says. But only when that class is finally dismissed can he once more head home for bed.
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The `Cats game with Minnesota was just a day away when they gathered for Friday's practice, but now some hard work had to be put in. "We'll get moving, we'll defend them, and put in our offensive game plan, and get ready for Saturday afternoon," Collins will say, explaining his plan for his team.
"The practices a day before a game," says Crawford, "because I play so many minutes, it's really working hard to get the game plan down, for one. Then, also, just to have my rhythm-- my offensive rhythm, my defensive rhythm. I want to make sure I'm able to maintain that in preparation for a big game."
When that preparation is done, the `Cats will dine in the N Club, bus to the airport and charter to Minneapolis. "I actually sleep better on planes than busses, for some reason," Crawford will say when asked if he will do that during the flight. "I don't know. Sometimes, when they close that plane door, I just knock out. That's one thing that's nice about flying."
"Then," says Collins, "with an early afternoon game, we'll probably go over and shoot at their place (Friday) night. It's a one o'clock game, so I want the guys to get a good night's sleep. But I love to be able to get into the gym before the game."
"I like that," adds Crawford. "It's definitely great to get into road gyms either the night before or a day of a game to get a feel for it and get some shots up."
Finally, back at their hotel that night, they will have their team meal and then gather for a film session. "To kind of go over last-minute preparations," says Collins. "Then we do it again the morning of the game. We kind of walk through some stuff, and then we play."
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Always, during the afternoon before night games, Drew Crawford takes a nap. He won't be doing that Saturday, not with a 1 p.m. tip. But as his final warmup for the game nears its end, as the clock ticks down to the buzzer that signals his imminent start, he will be sure to follow another of those routines he religiously heeds. "I always try to make my last shot before the game starts," he will explain.
"It doesn't matter where it's from. But I always make sure I make my last shot before I head to the bench."
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