Colorado State University Athletics
Shootaround: Cockroach Mentality Takes Hold
3/18/2024 7:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Scouting on Virginia led to late night
DAYTON, Ohio – Leave the Mountain West Tournament late Saturday evening. Arrive in Fort Collins at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Get a bit of sleep, go to campus for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show and find out you're in a play-in game in Dayton on Tuesday. Go home, do laundry, wake up early for meetings, get on a plane and arrive in Ohio later than expected.
Go to one practice. Then another. Throw in a media session.
A cockroach can survive anything, an approach Colorado State's men's basketball team has long taken.
"I feel we've handled it really well. Be a cockroach is just being able to adapt to any situation that's thrown our way, not flinching at the doorsteps of adversity," CSU guard Isaiah Stevens said. "So I feel like we've done a really good job of just picking up on the schedule, picking up on the game plan and just putting our best foot forward regardless of the hand we're dealt. And we're going to be ready."
Colorado State opens the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday against Virginia (7:10 p.m. MT). Wagner and Howard play the game prior, beginning at 4:40 p.m.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, CSU coach Niko Medved explained. For instance, a panda can thrive in a pristine, consistent environment only. On the other hand, a cockroach can survive anything the world throws at it, even a basketball, which he said he did plenty of in his early days as a graduate assistant.
The team fully expected to be in the draw. The Rams never imagined they would be playing in one of the first two play-in games on Tuesday (two more follow Wednesday). Through it all, Medved felt his team has not flinched.
Not ever, really.
"That's what it is. Things happen in life, situations happen on a daily basis, and you've got to be a cockroach," Medved said. "You've got to find a way to not only survive but learn to thrive in those situations and make the most of what's next. And it's just another situation to do that."
The main topic to tackle for the players was laundry. That led to some late nights for a host of them, then getting on a bus at 8:30 a.m. at Moby Arena to head to the airport. Takeoff was delayed, then so was arrival. Then the day became a rush.
None of it matters. March Madness just hit earlier and a bit different.
"But other than (laundry), I think everyone's kind of -- it's more just excitement," Joel Scott said. "We're all ready to go besides, again, the laundry, but we're just excited to be here."
Game Plan
Assistant coach Brian Cooley was tasked with the defensive game plan for the matchup with Virginia. He worked on it until 2 a.m., then woke up and went over some more film at 5 a.m. The leadup was a blend of caffeine intake from coffee (with two extra shots), energy drinks and diet soda.
After the first workout the Rams had in Dayton, he was still going. But the process was nothing he's ever experienced as a coach.
"It was somewhat stressful. You know about Virginia, you know the program and you have a great amount of respect for them, but you don't know know," Cooley said. "We haven't played them recently. We don't know the nuances. We know the basics of what they're about, which is simple in a positive way because they're so good at what they do.
"Especially Tuesday. If it were Friday, you'd have a normal week. The quick turnaround – that's as quick as I've had."
There was so much to go over, from player tendencies to schematics. Cooley wasn't on his own – the entire staff had to play a role – but just the defensive end led to multiple games watched and caffeine consumed.
The goal was to be as simple and detailed as possible when delivering the plan to the players.
"I watched a bunch," Cooley said. "I started with personnel to get that down, because whatever we're going to relay to the guys in a short amount of time, they have to know the good, the bad and the ugly with personnel, and what their base offense is. I watched five or six games of just offense."
Here and There
The team arrived in Dayton, had a quick lunch and then drove to Sinclair Community College to practice. After an hour there, they went to the arena for their 40-minute session, with Stevens, Scott and Nique Clifford meeting with the media first, then Medved. … They weren't the only Rams to practice at the arena; the band went and played as the Rams worked out. … Medved once again stressed he feels the Mountain West teams are ready for the tournament. "I've been in it for a long time as an assistant and a head coach and I've been in other places around the country. The level of competition from top to bottom was unlike anything I've ever seen this year."
Get a bit of sleep, go to campus for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show and find out you're in a play-in game in Dayton on Tuesday. Go home, do laundry, wake up early for meetings, get on a plane and arrive in Ohio later than expected.
Go to one practice. Then another. Throw in a media session.
A cockroach can survive anything, an approach Colorado State's men's basketball team has long taken.
"I feel we've handled it really well. Be a cockroach is just being able to adapt to any situation that's thrown our way, not flinching at the doorsteps of adversity," CSU guard Isaiah Stevens said. "So I feel like we've done a really good job of just picking up on the schedule, picking up on the game plan and just putting our best foot forward regardless of the hand we're dealt. And we're going to be ready."
Colorado State opens the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday against Virginia (7:10 p.m. MT). Wagner and Howard play the game prior, beginning at 4:40 p.m.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, CSU coach Niko Medved explained. For instance, a panda can thrive in a pristine, consistent environment only. On the other hand, a cockroach can survive anything the world throws at it, even a basketball, which he said he did plenty of in his early days as a graduate assistant.
The team fully expected to be in the draw. The Rams never imagined they would be playing in one of the first two play-in games on Tuesday (two more follow Wednesday). Through it all, Medved felt his team has not flinched.
Not ever, really.
"That's what it is. Things happen in life, situations happen on a daily basis, and you've got to be a cockroach," Medved said. "You've got to find a way to not only survive but learn to thrive in those situations and make the most of what's next. And it's just another situation to do that."
The main topic to tackle for the players was laundry. That led to some late nights for a host of them, then getting on a bus at 8:30 a.m. at Moby Arena to head to the airport. Takeoff was delayed, then so was arrival. Then the day became a rush.
None of it matters. March Madness just hit earlier and a bit different.
"But other than (laundry), I think everyone's kind of -- it's more just excitement," Joel Scott said. "We're all ready to go besides, again, the laundry, but we're just excited to be here."
Game Plan
Assistant coach Brian Cooley was tasked with the defensive game plan for the matchup with Virginia. He worked on it until 2 a.m., then woke up and went over some more film at 5 a.m. The leadup was a blend of caffeine intake from coffee (with two extra shots), energy drinks and diet soda.
After the first workout the Rams had in Dayton, he was still going. But the process was nothing he's ever experienced as a coach.
"It was somewhat stressful. You know about Virginia, you know the program and you have a great amount of respect for them, but you don't know know," Cooley said. "We haven't played them recently. We don't know the nuances. We know the basics of what they're about, which is simple in a positive way because they're so good at what they do.
"Especially Tuesday. If it were Friday, you'd have a normal week. The quick turnaround – that's as quick as I've had."
There was so much to go over, from player tendencies to schematics. Cooley wasn't on his own – the entire staff had to play a role – but just the defensive end led to multiple games watched and caffeine consumed.
The goal was to be as simple and detailed as possible when delivering the plan to the players.
"I watched a bunch," Cooley said. "I started with personnel to get that down, because whatever we're going to relay to the guys in a short amount of time, they have to know the good, the bad and the ugly with personnel, and what their base offense is. I watched five or six games of just offense."
Here and There
The team arrived in Dayton, had a quick lunch and then drove to Sinclair Community College to practice. After an hour there, they went to the arena for their 40-minute session, with Stevens, Scott and Nique Clifford meeting with the media first, then Medved. … They weren't the only Rams to practice at the arena; the band went and played as the Rams worked out. … Medved once again stressed he feels the Mountain West teams are ready for the tournament. "I've been in it for a long time as an assistant and a head coach and I've been in other places around the country. The level of competition from top to bottom was unlike anything I've ever seen this year."
Players Mentioned
Friday, June 05
Saturday, March 07
Saturday, March 07
Friday, March 06