For anyone who's been inside the Richard Jefferson Gym, the east end is a pretty small space -- just a small balcony overlooking the courts that appears best suited for a few video cameras and some space underneath.
It's nothing compared to the gigantic space UA has in the north end of McKale Center for its main strength room.
But UA will be increasing and maximizing that space with its $1.6 million improvement plan, then personalizing it for basketball. Thanks to callbacks from UA basketball strength coach Chris Rounds and UA capital projects manager Steve Kozachik, I have a little more detail on how.
The top and bottom each have 1,223 square feet, and the top will be extended out 10 feet from the north wall to the south wall, creating even more space. The area will have its own air conditioning and heating unit.
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Rounds said the lower floor will have mostly cardio machines and there will be a glass wall on both levels, allowing injured players to work out on the treadmill while simultaneously watching practice.
"It definitely has some practical uses," Rounds said.
Players will also be able to enjoy a sound system within the rooms, with the glass wall keeping the noise from spilling out on to the courts in case there is anybody else practicing.
And of the machines, Rounds said there will be a customization that fits his and Miller's philosophy of working quickly, at a basketball pace, instead of laboring for hours.
"It’s not necessarily more reps; it’s just a different way of training," Rounds said. "We don’t do anything explosive."
They do it quicker, though.
Miller said because basketball is "such an up and down game," that it's important to maintain a good pace in strength training.
"So when you lift and try to make a player better physically, it's a slow process," Miller said. "Being in the weight room for hours and taking their time isn't necessarily the best for our program. Pace is the big part of what we try to instill. You have to have that pace simulated in everything you do to allow your players to be the best they can on the court.
"We don't really do anything with a bar above our head. Everything is machine oriented. Flexibility is also really big. To make a player really big physically and not allow him to be flexible isn't really smart."
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Meanwhile, Kozachik said the locker room renovation will include the tearing down of a wall near the entrance to create a more open look, while adding new lockers and new furniture.
The wall graphics will be an updated version of what UA has outside the basketball offices; they will cover the hallways near the offices and near the locker room and look similar to the murals UA has splashed on the walls inside the RJG.
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Nic Wise's stats from the Portsmouth Invitational last week didn't jump out, but Suns exec David Griffith said that's a good thing for a point guard.
"If you’re playing the game the right way there it’s hard to get good numbers," Griffin said, the Suns' senior VP of basketball operations. "In these (predraft games) whoever brings the ball across tends to shoot it immediately, and Nic did a nice job of actually distributing the ball. I was very pleasantly surprised."
Wise is not projected as an NBA draft pick, but Griffin said his performance last week will open up more opportunity.
"He’ll get workouts and should get a chance to go to camp with somebody," Griffin said. "He showed a lot of what people wanted him to do. Unfortunately it’s just a really deep draft.
In three total games at Portsmouth, Wise averaged 8.0 points with 7-for-19 shooting from the field and 10 of 12 free-throw shooting. He also averaged 3.3 assists and 2.0 turnovers while his Tidewater Sealants team went 2-1.
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Here's another possible reason for the Pac-10's current woes: According to what Miller said he's heard, the talent level simply wasn't the same in the West.
"There wasn’t as many elite-level players," Miller said. "I don’t think that’s my opinion. That's been different, (the classes of) '10 and '11.
"But the class of 2012, in the West, is amazing. There's so many incredible players. We’ve already invested in and we’ve already spent a lot of time recruiting.
The timing of us coming out here was very odd that '09, '10 and '11, especially '10, wasn't as deep as it usually is. I'm looking forward to that changing back as is everybody in our conference."
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Bob Clark of the Eugene Register-Guard writes about some negatives about the Oregon job, and discusses some more potential candidates.
Josh Pastner will lose Elliot Williams to the NBA draft.
