BearcatReport.com - Q&A with Dave Andrews

October 14, 2009

Ryan Pence
BearcatReport.com Staff Writer

With basketball season just around the corner, players and coaches are working hard to prepare themselves for the Brutal schedule that lies ahead. Practices are just now getting underway, but that doesn't mean the team hasn't been putting in work over the summer. UC Strength and Conditioning coach Dave Andrews was kind enough to sit down with me and discuss the progress the players have made in the weight room over the past few months, and tell us a little about what lies ahead in the weeks leading up to the start of the 2009-2010 season.

What follows is breakdown of each player's offseason in the words of Dave Andrews, the man who works with them day in and day out in the basement of the Linder Center to make sure they are in good enough shape to hang with the Big East's best for a full 40 minutes.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THE BEARCATS COMPARE PHYSICALLY WITH SOME OF THE BEST IN THE NBA

Cashmere Wright

First of all Cashmere is healthy. He's gained a good ten pounds since last year, so he's pushing 180 pounds and he'll probably play around 175 pounds. We've done a lot of testing on Cashmere to make sure he's healthy and he's actually jumping 2 inches higher with 10 pounds of extra weight than he did at the time of the injury last year. So we've actually improved his power output from where it was last year. He's had an extremely good summer.

Dion Dixon

Dion is a highly gifted athlete. Were talking about a kid with extreme athletic ability. His workload has improved an awful lot. What we're looking for with Dion is for him to be able at that high level for 30 to 40 minutes a game. Dion has is as good as anybody we've got athletically.

Deonta Vaughn

Deonta's had a solid offseason. Deonta is going into his 4th year. He's actually our only 4th year guy so he is a product of the program. Deonta made tremendous progress between his sophomore and junior years with his body composition, and what weve done since then is to try and get his volume up. Deonta has had a good offseason. We've just tried to keep his volume up and get him to the point where he can play at that high level and not lose any volume down the stretch. Another thing to keep in mind is that Deonta came to UC at around 220 pounds, and he's going to play this year around 190 pounds. His body fat has definitely decreased in the time he's been here.

Larry Davis

Larry Davis' body has changed as much as anyone's during the offseason. His body fat has gone down six percentage points. So for Larry, thats going to improve his effectiveness. Larry's vertical leap has increased seven inches in the last two years. When Larry got here he was coming off an ACL injury, and his vertical leap has improved seven inches since then which is incredible. That's just a testament to Larry's attitude. Larry Davis is probably the most professional kid we have when it comes to showing up and working every day. He's a great kid, and he's had a great offseason.

Darnell Wilks

We were concerned about his body weight. It's been an ongoing thing for us. We've got Darnell up to 210 pounds, now the main thing we have to keep imnproving on is his confidence in what we've done. We've seen the change in his body, now we just need to see those changes on the court. Darnell is another great kid that always shows up to work, though.

Rashad Bishop

Rashad is a freak of nature. He's 225 pounds and four percent body fat, and he can run all day. Rashad Bishop is just one of those kids that you have to fine tune those things with and make sure he stays healthy. The main things we've worked on with Bishop this offseason are his ability and his leadership ability. He's a guy that's started for us for two years along with Deonta Vaughn, and we need to see some leadership out of him.

Sean Kilpatrick

Sean comes in with a very high volume level for a freshman, meaning he could probably play at a high level for a little longer than most of the kids coming from the high school or JUCO route. He has an extremely good body. He weighs about 210 pounds, and is solid in everything we do. He actually finished second to Yancy in an iron man competition we actually had one Friday this summer. He's a really gifted kid who gives a tremendous effort.

Anthony "Biggie" McClain

Biggie has had a solid offseason. He's right around 260 pounds. Biggie appears skinnier than that, but hes done a good job of maintaining his body weight. He ended last season around 247 or 248 pounds. Biggie has gotten much stronger, and we're trying to get him to the point where he can play for longer periods of time. Our main goal was to maintain his weight and keep it around the 260 pound mark. The average for an NBA center is around 250 pounds at the combine, and we've talked to him about that. But Biggie's conditioning level has also improved, and it's at a higher level than it's ever been.

Ibrahima Thomas

Ibrahimas Thomas was a project when he got here. Physically he wasn't geared as much toward the Big East as some of the other kids we've got, but he's going to play around the 240-pound mark this year. Thomas and Biggie are both seven footers. Biggie is 7' 1" with his shoes on, and Ibrahima is 7'. Ibrahima has a tremendous motor and has tremendous pride. For a big guy, he can move extremely well. So he's another kid that's going to improve in our program.

Lance Stephenson

Lance doesn't appear to be coming out of high school. He's physically mature. What we've worked on with Lance is trying to decrease his body composition, and get his fat levels down. Lance has really done a tremendous job of buying into the program. Like I said we have a kid like Sean Kilpatrick who's coming in with an extremely high volume level. Lance's volume may not have been quite as high, so we've really had to work on his repetitions and sustain his energy levels. He is also a guy that compares very well, numbers-wise, to Tyreke Evans.

Yancy Gates

Yancy Gates is another one of these kids who has tremendous upside. In the 185 pound best test, Yancy ended up repping that out right around 25 times, which wiould be six more than a guy like Dejuan Blair last year at the combine. Yancy's going to end up playing right around 260 pounds. His biggest thing, though, is efficiency. As his body composition goes down, his volume level will increase. So people were maybe looking last year for Yancy to play for longer periods of time, and all that has to do with how his volume level is and how long he can sustain his energy level. We want Yancy to be able to jump the same height in minute forty as he can in minute one. Yancy has decreased his body composition about six percent in six months.

Steve Toyloy

Steve Toyloy is a big bruiser. Steve's done a good job. His conditioning level, like McClain's, is higher than it's ever been. Steve got here late from JUCO last year, and never really got through the whole preseason with me. Steve had a great summer, and I really think he has gotten better each day. His body has changed a lot. Steve's going to rep 185 pounds around 30 times here and that would put him top 5 of all time in the NBA test. Steve can also jump 36 inches. Don't underestimate his athleticism. He has a tremendous motor, and he's a very, very prideful kid.

JaQuon Parker

JaQuon Parker got here a little later than some of the other guys, but he has done a very good job of adapting to the college level and the college volume. When he got here, his conditioning level was a little lower, so we've continued to work on that. Physically, he's 205 pounds. He's gonna be a big strong guard. We have to just keep working with him in here to improve his strength levels, but he has a great big body for a perimeter player and I think he'll also play with a lot of pride.

Eddie Tyree

Eddie Tyree is one of those Larry Davis types. I talked earlier about Larry being a hard worker who shows up every day. Eddie is one of those guys you don't talk to enough because he does everything right. He's tremendously strong pound for pound. He's probably one of our strongest guys pound for pound. He weighs 170 pounds and could probably bench press 300. He's a tremendous asset to this team. He pushes all the guys on this team with their conditioning, and he hardly ever loses a conditioning event.

Alex Eppensteiner

Alex has done a good job. I've only had him here for about 3 weeks. He seems to have adapted pretty quick. He struggled early on, but he seems to have picked up on things really quick and he is going to be another hard worker for us.

As you can see, the players seem to have really bought into Andrews' system, and the results are beginning to show. And, if you wondering how each player stacks up to some of their NBA rookie counterparts, you're in luck. Andrews was kind enough to provide us with a chart showing just that. Cllick the link below to see how the Bearcats stack up against some of the top NBA rookies from the last few years

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THE BEARCATS COMPARE PHYSICALLY WITH SOME OF THE BEST IN THE NBA

Cincinnati NEWS

[More]

Latest Headlines:

Resources:

Font Size:

FEATURED PRODUCT