Tad Boyle (John Leyba, Denver Post file)
BOULDER — For years, if not decades, men’s college basketball coaches — and media members who cover the teams — could circle Oct. 15 as the start of regular practices.
That changed prior to the 2013-14 season. NCAA legislation moved up the start of practices two weeks.
That’s six weeks prior to the first game rather than a month. Teams can practice 30 times during that six-week period.
Some schools, such as Colorado, chose to begin practices on the earliest day possible, which was Oct. 3 relative to the Buffs’ schedule. Other programs preferred a more compact practice schedule and still may not have suited up.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle told me that he likes the six-week practice cycle. He views spreading out practices and having more off days as a positive.
“It’s helped because you don’t have to jam everything down the players’ throats,” Boyle said. “You don’t have to go six days on, one day off in a week.
“It gives you a little bit more time, a little bit more patience. You can have shorter practices.”
Boyle said with the spread out cycle, he can schedule a practice that addresses only one or two aspects of basketball.
“We can have a practices where we just have shooting and dummy (without live scrimmaging) offense,” Boyle said. “And you don’t feel like you’re losing ground.
“In the past, when you started on Oct. 15, you can’t have those (abbreviated) practices. You had to get everything in right away. This gives us 42 days to put things in. This allows you to go at more of a leisurely pace, where you can go three days and take a day off.
“It’s like the difference in cramming for a test or having a month to prepare for a test. It’s the best rule — as long as you’re organized and don’t procrastinate.
The cycle for women’s college basketball practices remains the same — starting no earlier than 40 days prior to the first game.
