By Andrew Mason | via WTBU Sports | Feb. 7, 2018 |
Wednesday night the 8-13 Terriers welcome the 4-18 Colgate Raiders in a Patriot League clash at Case Gym. BU looks to break it’s current six-game losing streak, while the Raiders search for their first conference win of the year.
Despite the Terriers’ recent struggles, star sophomore Nia Irving has put together a stellar sophomore campaign. In addition to a team-high four double-doubles, the forward out of Fairfield, Maine is averaging 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Let’s take a dive into Irving’s schedule and find out how she and her teammates prepare for action on a typical Wednesday game day:
9:00-9:30 a.m. Wake Up
Although Irving has no morning class on Wednesday’s, she’s up by 9:30 a.m. to get her body moving.
“I usually try to wake up early on game days,” she says. “I don’t like to sleep in too late.”
10:00 a.m. Breakfast
The sophomore heads to West Dining Hall to load up on carbs.
“Ham, spinach and mushroom omelette,” notes Irving. “Then a bowl of fruit salad and an English muffin.”
11:00 p.m. Athletic Training
Energized, Irving makes her way to BU’s athletic training facility on the ground floor of Case Gym. She receives dry needling treatment – a common form of intramuscular stimulation done by using needles – before each game in order to loosen up for the night’s battle.
“I get the dry needling done because my neck and trap muscles are really, really tight so I get bad tension headaches,” Irving says. “It’s been helping a lot.”
1:30 p.m. Team Shootaround
BU’s Head Coach Katy Steding and her staff host a team shootaround. This gives the player’s a chance to get their basketball juices flowing early.
“We run through our press, our plays and go over the other team’s plays,” Irving recalls.
Irving ends the walk-through by putting up shots on “The Gun,” a machine that rebounds and passes basketballs to solo shooters.
3:00 p.m. T. Anthony’s and Locker Room Bonding
In order to get in full team mode, the Terriers bond together inside their locker room four hours before the referees throw the ball up for tip-off.
“Being able to just chill with each other before the game helps a lot,” explains Irving. “We can talk to each other about the scout or about [our assignments]. But it’s mostly just nice to relax with each other and laugh a little bit before we play.”
During this time, the Terriers typically snack on T. Anthony’s, an iconic Commonwealth Ave. italian-style food joint loved by many BU students. Afterwards, the team puts on a movie.
“We like to watch a funny movie, like ‘Superbad’ or ‘Talladega Nights,’” Irving says.
She admits that some of the team’s go-to pump up songs are “Finesse” by Bruno Mars and “Bartier Cardi” by Cardi B as well.
“I try to play country but the other girls won’t let me,” she says with a laugh.
5:40 p.m. First Wave of Warm Ups
The Terriers emerge from the locker room onto the court where the players stretch and run through defensive schemes.
6:26 p.m. Locker Room Gathering
With precisely 34 minutes left in the designated warm-up period, the Terriers reconvene with Steding in the Case Gym locker room.
6:36 p.m. Second Wave of Warm Ups
BU hits the floor yet again to complete any stretching or pregame drills.
Irving notes this is the time in which her team typically does more aggressive exercises, such as “Beat the Clock” – a fast paced and high-intensity layup and shooting drill that makes the Terriers work swiftly against a designated amount of time.
6:50 p.m. Last Minute Details
The Terriers head once more into the locker room to discuss any last minute urgent issues, and to get each other pumped up.
7:00 p.m. Tip-off
Let the games begin.
For all weekday games played on the campus of BU – including this Wednesday’s Patriot League bout against the Raiders – Irving prefers to stick with this daily plan. As the team’s leader in both points and rebounds per game, it’s no doubt working out.
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