Watching MU play this year, it is more obvious than ever that Strength & Conditioning Coach Todd Smith is without a doubt, one of the best in the nation. Look at MU's players on the floor. These guys have the energy, the stamina, the athleticism and the muscle that put them in the place that they are in. When Smith took over a few years ago, I remember seeing the weight room looking like it had been cleaned out. Truth was, Smith had removed a lot of the weights. His reason was that he believed in making the SAs more athletic, as opposed to just focusing on getting them stronger, so there would be a lot more aerobic workouts as opposed to just pumping iron.
Looking at the new year book, they profile Junior Cadougan's physical change......
Those are some pretty amazing changes. Looking in the yearbook and at other pictures around MU, he has these guys climbing ropes, throwing around tractor tires, doing chin-ups while wearing weighted belts and chains and other exercises with basketballs attached to rubber tubing etc. He has these guys bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic than they ever were. And he's humble. Last night I walked out of the BC with him.....
July '09 July '10 Body Fat Pct. 12.2 7.4 Clean 176 227 Bench 200 271 Squat 261 400 Chin-ups 4 22 Pro-Agility 4.25 3.87 Vertical Jump 28.0 31.0
Me: "Great game coach."
Coach Smith: "Why congratulate me? I didn't do anything."
This guy has more to do with MU's success than most people will ever realize.