Before Rutland can sprint past opponents, Coach Ron Christian's Hurricanes have to do it with their feet.
"We run every day. It doesn't matter if it's a hard practice or a light practice, we get after them," said Christian.
They run in warm-ups.
They run in drills.
Then, they run some more. The Hurricanes condition for at least an hour, before Christian talks about a game plan.
"We run a mile each day. Sometimes we run three miles," said senior point guard Jalen Kirkland.
Kirkland and Shakenneth Williams are two of the Hurricanes' captains. Junior Tylik Evans is what the coach calls one of his "generals on the floor." All of the 'Canes are in perpetual motion, in order to exercise coach Christian's game plan.
"Our game plan is to run people until they fall out," said Christian.
It's worked to the tune of 75 points per game. There's no room for selfish play in this system.
"When they drive and kick, we're ready. When I drive and kick, [my teammates] are ready," said Evans.
After the offense moves and scores, the defense springs into action.
"We press the whole game," said Kirkland.
With their constant press, the canes only give up 60 points per game. The hustle makes up for what some would call a weakness.
"It's not the typical 6'9", 6'8', 280 pound post player. We got guys who can get up and down the floor," said Christian.
Williams, at 6'3", is a forward in the system.
"You've gotta be in condition to run up and down the court to constantly keep up with the guards that we have."
If idle hands, and feet, are the devil's workshop, then the Rutland gym is a sanctuary. There's no time to dwell on last year's buzzer beater loss in the elite eight to Statesboro; only time to run toward a new outcome.
"If we continue to push the ball and we continue to play defense the way we're supposed to, everything will start panning out for us," said Christian.
For the Rutland hurricanes, its's a sprint, and a marathon, toward another chance at the playoffs.
The 'Canes pick up region play Tuesday night against Baldwin, before a showdown with Veterans on Friday.
The Warhawks beat the canes by one point on December 3rd.
Follow 13WMAZ's Wes Blankenship on twitter: @Wes_nship
