If an erstwhile college baller is to be believed, then NBA stars will simply pale in comparison with NCAA gunners when it comes to training. Despite being drafted in the NBA every year, many of these young stars return to their college teams to play in their senior season. They underline a big difference in the training regime of two leagues. One of them is the ex-NCAA Champion and UNC legend Tyler Hansbrough.
Tyler was the star of the North Carolina Tar Heels and was the first player in the ACC’s history to be named both first-team All-ACC (4 times) and first-team All-American (4 times). Remembering his early college days, he talks about coach Roy Williams’ unique training methods.
UNC legend Tyler Hansbrough lately joined the conversation with the ex-NBA star Theo Pinson. Discussing Tyler’s early years at UNC, Theo asked him, Remembering those days, Tyler said,
Elaborating on how the conditioning test provides a stellar physical transformation, he added,
Continuing the discussion, Theo said,
Evidently, Coach Williams has received a lot of criticism for not changing his methods with the developing environment in college basketball. However, the transformation provided through his training methods can easily pull down the NBA’s physique.
The first one is the NCAA’s one-and-done setup. Evidently, talented players in their high school are forced to go to college, however, most of them drop out after one season only. As a result, this hurts the continuity and performance of top teams that not only wish to develop talent but also recruit the best from each high school class. Notably, player development and team chemistry play crucial roles in a team’s long-term success in the NBA. Coach Williams spent years navigating through this issue, as the lack of continuity can pose a bigger challenge while playing in the big league.
Secondly, there is a huge difference in playing style in college from the NBA. The latter is more of an isolation-heavy game with a requirement for players to create their own shots. However, the former employs more set plays and a team-oriented game. Moreover, talking about the ‘player ego’, the NBA gets the most points here as players have more power in the NBA, which can lead to clashes with their coach. However, coaches in college basketball have more authority over their players which helps in an easier navigation through their emotions.
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In comparison to college basketball, the length of a season is longer in the NBA (playoffs included). This requires the team to make adjustments in player management and strategies.
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