Arkansas coach-Pine Bluff asks players to sprint mid-game after call timeout
Arkansas-Pine Bluff men’s basketball head coach Solomon Bozeman called the timeout during the team’s game against Iowa State not to give his players a break, but to make them sprint instead.
It’s an exciting new tactic for the freshman coach, that’s for sure.
Although Pine Bluff played at Iowa State on Wednesday, Bozeman was still disappointed that his team didn’t appear to be playing its best. So with 18:20 left in the second half, Bozeman called the timeout to try to regroup his team. This is where he makes the team run from baseline to baseline.
I have never seen this before. Arkansas head coach Pine Bluff called a timeout last night just to get his players running from baseline to baseline. You can see that in AAU, but not college basketball. pic.twitter.com/B3sy2lhtio
– Michael Swain (@ MSwain247) December 2, 2021
At the close of time, the Golden Lions led 44-24. While looking at the scores it didn’t seem like these sprints helped the team improve, they ended up scoring 42 points in the second half compared to Iowa State’s 45. In the first half, for comparison, Pine Bluff scored 22 points while Iowa State scored 38. So they almost doubled the score in the second half.
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Bozeman’s coaching strategy has received some praise and some criticism on social media, with some calling it excellent while others deem it unnecessary. However, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff basketball Twitter account retweeted some of the praise Bozeman received.
Coach @UAPBMBB It’s about building a culture and it takes discipline. Regardless young men love a leader love them back. It leads to them going all out. 💯💯 https://t.co/PKQfLi7O7B
– Kevin Kindall (@ Coach_Kevin501) December 2, 2021
Bozeman’s golden lions are just 1-8 this season after an 83-64 loss to Iowa State on Wednedsay. Their only win came from the previous game against Arkansas Baptist College. So, the team started with 0-7 at first.
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Unfortunately for Bozeman and his team, they face the Baylor Bears No. 4 next Saturday. They also play Texas No. 7 on December 14. Otherwise, their schedule includes smaller schools that aren’t as ranked as they are, so this gives them an opportunity to try to improve their performance.
Coach Bozeman has yet to speak out about the sprint situation, including what may have sparked the coach’s decision.