Update on Love and Luc

by UCLAbruin920 on May 27, 2008 4:14 PM PDT

LA Times has a pretty decent article that gives a glimpse into the NBA draft preparations of KL and Luc, and a little bit on RW too. Of course the article is a bit Love-heavy, but I'm assuming all our other warriors are going through similar experiences.

It seems like these kids are giving it their all, especially Luc who is still attending classes (that one's for my buddy Menelaus).

He's awake and eating breakfast by 6:30 a.m. He has made the trip from his Westwood apartment to the Home Depot Center in Carson by 8:15 a.m. There he joins UCLA teammate Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Arizona's Chase Budinger in a weight room where the three players spend 90 minutes doing workouts tailored for their particular needs by Joe Abunassar, founder and owner of Impact Basketball.

The day doesn't end until 3 or 4 p.m.

Mbah a Moute hopes he can show off an improved jump shot along with his already-approved defense when the NBA pre-draft camp pickup games begin here today. Love is rated highly enough that he gets to bypass the games and be one of 20 NBA hopefuls to go through extensive physical measurements and tests Friday.

Since signing on with Impact Basketball last month, Love's days have been 9 to 5 except that the alarm clock goes off more like at 6.

After the weight session, Love has a midmorning snack, delivered by a healthy-eating company called Sunfare that he pays to keep him eating right. Then there's a movement session and a couple of hours of one-on-one basketball. Lunch (delivered), then an hour or so on a treadmill in a room where the altitude is simulated at up to 9,000 feet. A bike ride. A shower. A trip back to Westwood. Dinner and a snack. Delivered. Bed. Alarm clock.

"How do I look?" Love asked last week. He looked about 15 pounds lighter and his jump shot was consistent, even at the NBA three-point line. He made 10 in a row at one point.

Some, including myself, have asked why couldn't KL do this when he was at UCLA? I think most of us assumed it was because he had to spend some time going to class and studying. Seems we were right.

Last week Love, Mbah a Moute and Budinger were shooting while cyclists clattered around the wooden track above the courts. Love said the first question UCLA fans have when they see his slimmer, more muscled body is, "Why now and not last April?"

"It's an easy answer," Love said. "Now I'm working on basketball eight hours a day."

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Simple explanation, but...

I’ve already said enough about Kevin Love at this point, but that quote about needing 8 hours a day to get in shape doesn’t really ring true for me. And it’s because of that video from the ESPN site (the link isn’t working here, for some reason, but it’s at http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/video?id=339934). When asked for the biggest change in diet he made, he smiles and talks about chocolate milk.

It doesn’t take 8 hours a day to stop drinking chocolate milk.

I’m not one to talk – it’s not like I’ve ever been in perfect shape in my lifetime, either – but this doesn’t convince me that Kevin Love was ever committed to anything but waiting until he had to prepare for the NBA before he took his physical condition completely seriously.

by antipimp on May 27, 2008 6:19 PM PDT reply actions

I don't know

I’m some 40 years older than KL, and I look for any excuse I can to get out of morning exercises and the treadmill. Didn’t sleep too well last night; scratch the pushups. Worked beyond 7:00pm; ditch the treadmill.

Seems to me the work and time involved in keeping one’s head above the academic waters at an institution like UCLA is a pretty good excuse for not being able to dedicate oneself to the weight room and conditioning like (some of) the NBAers do.

by Bruinut on May 27, 2008 11:05 PM PDT up reply actions

I think I agree

I haven’t been on a competitive team since high school, but I still work out 4 hrs / day on top of clubs, class, and work. So, I definitely want to say that it was more on the motivation side.. But hey, some people can get away with taking the semi-easy route.. It’s not like he didn’t do a good job for us.

by jatteratious6 on May 28, 2008 12:54 AM PDT up reply actions

People always seem to forget that KL lost some weight while at UCLA too. Howland made it a point to make KL lose the weight. I’m sure he could’ve worked a harder on conditioning during college, but I’m not going to say he just sat around waiting for the the NBA draft. I have to believe there is some truth to his statement that he wasn’t able to focus on getting in shape while in school. We all remember the freshman 15.

by UCLAbruin920 on May 28, 2008 9:15 AM PDT up reply actions

Cyclists?

From the snippet above:

..while cyclists clattered around the wooden track above the courts.

Huh? Are they working out at CSUDH? They have basketball courts in or under the Velodrome? Can’t see it!

But the whole facility is pretty cool. I used to race at the old 7-11 Olympic velodrome and I thought that was spiffy. This one’s blows that one away. It’s indoors, wood, only 250 meters (4 laps to a kilo versus 3) and a maximum bank of 45 degrees.

Might drop up there one day and see if KL and the group do workout under the track.

by WHP '68 on May 28, 2008 5:39 PM PDT reply actions