ACC basketball prepares for cross-country travel ahead of season after realignment

On Tuesday, Stanford University head coach Kyle Smith sat on the five-hour flight from California to Charlotte for the ACC Tipoff, listening to Mt. Joy with his players.

California center Mady Sissoko slept the entire way from one coast to the other. 

Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud said that he was just happy to get away from school for a day and a half. 

Over the summer, Stanford, California and Southern Methodist University joined the ACC in the conference’s first expansion since the 2013 and 2014 additions of Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville. The three teams will now travel over 20,000 miles each for 20 conference games for men’s teams, 18 for women’s teams and multiple games per week for both. For context, the Earth’s circumference is just under 25,000 miles. 

While UNC men’s basketball will not make the trip out west this season, UNC women’s basketball will travel to California and Texas to take on Cal, Stanford and SMU in January and February. 

No matter how they deal with it, for ACC teams now scattered across the West Coast, this is their new reality.

“I’m sure it won’t be perfect,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “I just know that because we’ve gone now outside of our footprint that we had for 71 years.”

But the lengthy travel is not new for coaches like Smith. 

The former Washington State head coach used to make 14-hour journeys from Pullman, Wash. to Tucson, Ariz. that included two-hour drives and long layovers.

“There’s no way around it but I think our guys are very intelligent, obviously, and we’re gonna develop their mental toughness,” Smith said.

Part of developing that mental toughness includes intense preparation. Stanford developed an additional strength, conditioning and recovery regimen for the season. 

The Cardinal players have a pre-planned routine, consisting of what each person needs to do before practice and games, as well as afterward. On plane rides, they will increase their blood flow using compression machines. They will also employ various stretching exercises. 

Cal developed something similar. 

The Golden Bears' coaching staff had conversations with players about the amount of rest they need, mental health and academic resources. Unlike Stanford, who will travel the day before a game, Cal plans to arrive two days before to allow players to adjust.

But even with all the preparation, the plane ride to Charlotte last week was tough, especially with the time change. 

“I said ‘Mady Sissoko, what time did you fall asleep?’ [He said] 3 a.m.,” Cal head coach Mark Madsen said. “I was in the 3 a.m. boat myself too, so it was a challenge.”

Despite being located in the middle of the country, SMU will still travel the same 20,000 total miles solely for ACC games. 

Similarly, SMU will utilize academic advisors who will travel with the team. The Mustangs will use chartered planes either the day or night before a game and return immediately after.

While many teams will make cross-country road trips during the season, North Carolina — who voted against the expansion of the ACC — will not. Junior guard Seth Trimble said that it’s super important that the Tar Heels avoided a trip out west.

“We’re busy with school, and this is not something that we’ve done before,” Trimble said. "We’re not in the NBA. We don’t go on 10-day road trips on the West Coast.”

Other players think this is preparation for the professional careers athletes are shooting for.

“Traveling coast to coast now with the expansion is definitely gonna be very NBA-ish,” SMU guard Chuck Harris said. “So, I think if we all wanna say we wanna play in the NBA, this is just a part of getting comfortable with that lifestyle.”

Still, no matter the pre-planned routines or the differing opinions surrounding the expansion, there’s no way to anticipate what lies ahead. Teams cannot predict how time changes, fatigue and other factors will affect them.

“The repetition is gonna be hard,” Raynaud said. “Obviously, the first few weeks are gonna be fine, but once you get to game number 20, 25, 30, that’s when you’re really gonna feel it.” 

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