No, no sir, and no chance.

I think Coach might have said something like, “You’re not playing for me until you can go full speed for at least 30 minutes with no drop-off in intensity. It’s up to you. If you don’t believe me, check with Walton about his hair.”

When Howland was first hired, he said that the team needed to improve it’s conditioning and get much stronger. And for years it seemed he followed his own mantra. The failure of Josh Smith to not keep himself in condition can be construed as an indictment on Howland. There just seems to be a disconnect between the coaching staff and the players.

Does anyone really think Howland didn’t make suggestions? What about the rest of the team? Did they just sofa surf? C’mon.

Here are some telling quotes from big boy Josh…

“This has been embarrassing,” he says.

“I’ve let my team down,” he says.

“My whole career, I’ve never been in great shape,”

“I can only imagine what would happen if I was.”

Says Smith: “I didn’t do anything.”

Grow up Josh, the NBA is not impressed so far.

And, I gotta wonder what the parents were saying (or not) all off season.

No trophies for showing up.

What’s more important in coaching than leadership skills? Most college coaches are at least in their 40s. Are their years of experience meaningless? Was Coach a teacher or just one of the guys?

Athletes with the potential to excel in college don’t automatically develop a sense of maturity when they graduate from high school. What’s unreasonable about expecting a coach to insist that an athlete develop SPECIFIC STEPS to achieve a goal instead of depending on “I wish” or “I hope”?

To start with, it’s silly to ask what specific steps a coach should tell his players to take. How about how many calories per day? How do you arrive at that figure? You sit down with a nutritionist. How about a specific regimen of weight training? How do you determine that regimen? You sit down with a trainer.

And your repeated use of Josh Smith’s quotes only make your case weaker. It’s clear that Josh Smith has a problem with personal discipline. Was Howland unaware of this? I doubt it. What’s wrong with recognizing that Smith has a problem with conditioning and then giving him a specific program to follow?

If Howland helps Smith develop a specific program and Smith still fails to follow it, Howland should toss him off the team. You seem to believe that a one-size-fits-all approach is the only way to go. I believe there should be ONE STANDARD to play (you’re in condition or you’re not), but DIFFERENT WAYS to get there.

both in his mindset and his on court play. He didn’t come where he left off last season.

Josh made great strides during his first year, both nutritionally and on the court. By that I mean from the first game and throughout the season, he took responsibility for his actions both on the court and off.

He followed someone’s advice about diet and did an OK job. He had a specific plan, he stayed with it for the season, maybe even the rest of the school year (how would anyone here know otherwise). So, when did the ‘personal discipline’ problem start? Was it so obvious? So, from my distance, Howland could be reasonably expected to think Josh was serious about his weight and continue working on it, the rest of the school year and through the summer.

Sorry about the repeated use of quotes. Actually, my ‘repeated use’ of quotes was limited to a single quote used again, once. But hey, sorry anyway. I used that quote again because it is just so revealing.

I’ll agree with you about the one size fits all, but then again socks are made to fit several sizes at once (did I really just say that). I could say the same about what ‘in condition’ means but neither of us have the time, nor do many here probably want to read about such specifics.

I believe I get that you are apologetic for Josh for having done zippo to become a better player. Okie doke. That is your prerogative. I’ll bet you can figure by now that I won’t share it. And, it’s really no big deal either way.

the context of my opinion is strictly about getting in shape for the upcoming season. I believe it was a response to one of your replies and only a minute sooner than yours above. I’m not interested in extending the argument beyond the very basic issue of off season training, mostly because there really isn’t one. It’s only about getting in shape. Period.

You make points about getting in shape, running plays and playing defense. I feel there is a distinction between points 1 and the other two, 2 & 3. The distinction is talent. It doesn’t take any talent to get in shape, but executing offense and defense does. Think of all the kids playing basketball or field sports on the campus. They don’t need external motivation. They certainly don’t have scholarships, but hey, there they are in better shape than one of our scholied BB players. There is just something wrong with that picture. That is my point, my opinion.

Finally, regarding the ‘straw man’ and being apologetic for Josh, well, maybe I mistook bruinfollower’s post’s content as offering an excuse (definition of apologetic) as to why Josh did nothing in the off season. My bad. As some TV show character used to say…nevermind.

I never wanted to excuse Josh Smith’s failure to get in condition; it’s inexcusable. My point is that Ben Howland has a responsibility, too.

I don’t know whether Smith made “great strides” in his diet last year. What I do know is that he obviously has trouble with conditioning, and I think that’s been apparent for some time. That means unless Howland wants to treat all players as if they have exactly the same strengths and weaknesses, he should have helped Smith develop a program of specific steps to meet his needs. And, again, I believe there should be one standard to play but different ways to get there.

That said, I share your feeling about not wanting to extend the argument. If Josh Smith dedicates himself to getting in shape next year, he’ll have the support of everyone on Bruins Nation.

I said that because as I remember, there were comments everywhere that indicated Josh had attempted and succeeded at trimming down…some.

I’ll agree to your point about one standard of play and different ways to get any one player there.

I just think Josh has a ceiling he hasn’t come close to reaching and he should take some of the responsibility in getting there. Do the stuff he can do on his own, let Howland take it from there.

I very much look forward to a Josh sans about 30 lbs or more, in shape (wind) and hungry to score. Question is will Josh be willing to do his part. I personally think he will.