The Daily O’Collegian

Think back to a few years ago when Eddie and Sean Sutton put their players in shoulder pads for a full-contact practice.

Though the elder Sutton is no longer coaching, Sean is improvising creative ways to motivate his team, and the Cowboys had better bring their running shoes.

This year’s apparatus is a treadmill that has been installed on the baseline of Eddie Sutton Court. Players must run on the treadmill for certain mistakes in practice.

“[The treadmill is] my new best friend,” Sutton said.

“I don’t think [the players] like it very much, but that’s the purpose of it.”

Sutton said there are four “acts” that a player can do to earn time on the treadmill. If a player commits a turnover, misses an easy shot around the basket, declines from taking a potential charge or uses profanity, he must run on the treadmill for a minute at “a pretty good incline” and at “a stiff pace.”

“We’re not going to miss easy baskets, throw away points that way; we’re not going to throw away possessions by turning the ball over and wasting opportunities,” Sutton said.

The genius behind the treadmill is that while it prompts players to focus on playing mistake-free basketball, it also adds a certain degree of excitement to practice. The Cowboys don’t want to run on the treadmill, but it adds one more mode of competition, not that the players are keeping track or anything.

“I’ve been on the treadmill about six times, which is kinda low compared to some of the guys, like [sophomore guard] Obi [Muonelo]. Obi’s been on it a lot,” senior Marcus Dove said. “I’d rather be out there practicing than on the treadmill because [coach Sutton] hikes it up on the highest incline and you have to sprint on there for either thirty seconds or a minute, depending on what you did.

“When you’re out there playing, you can kinda rest here and there, but when you’re on that treadmill it’s full go the whole time.”

Because a left shoulder injury keeps junior guard Byron Eaton off the court, he spends a large percentage of time on the treadmill.

“I think I got the most time over there,” Eaton said. “Everyone gets their share of the treadmill.”

Sutton said that the coaching staff would implement three more things that would earn a player treadmill time: boxing out, offensive rebounding and running in transition.

“I think we’ll add some defensive stuff, but it’s been good so far,” Sutton said. “It’s got their attention and I think it’ll pay off for us. If it doesn’t pay off, at least we’ll be in better shape.”

The Cowboys will need to be in shape this season. With an abundance of guards, they will likely try to press and outrun opponents. If the treadmill is keeping players in shape, then it has served a worthy purpose.

There is no word on whether the treadmill will be removed before the start of the regular season.