Biedscheid could practice for hours one night back at Cardinal Ritter College Prep in St. Louis, then spend a few more hours afterward getting up more shots. He'd then go for 30 points in a game, and still be ripe and ready to do it again the next night. He never set foot in a weight room, seldom worried about getting rest and never felt his body screaming at him to make it all stop.
He then arrived at Notre Dame, where he's been at the basketball grind since June. It was pickup games and off-season conditioning in the summer, practices in the fall, a steady stream of games and practices and weight-room workouts and travel in the winter.
It all has caught up with the 6-foot-7, 186-pound Biedscheid, who now understands that to stay fresh at a time when everything could get sore and stale, he must take care of his body.
That means getting the proper rest on the one day a week the Irish are required to go without any basketball activities. That means fighting through the jet-lag that often seems to catch up with him in road games.
That also means making the routine left turn out of the Irish locker room for another recovery session in the training room, where a soothing massage and what once was a necessary evil awaited.
The cold tub.
Imagine running outside in only a pair of compression shorts before jumping chest deep into a snow bank, and then sitting there for 15 minutes. That's the cold tub. It helps soothe a player's aches and pains, but for it to work effectively, well, the player has to stay submerged for more than a few seconds.
First time in for Biedscheid, he was promptly scolded by long-time trainer Skip Meyer.
?Man, it was freezing,? Biedscheid said. ?Skip just looks at me like, if you keep hopping in and out, nothing's going to happen. If you stay in one time for a matter of two minutes, you'll be numb.
?It's all right now.?
Halfway through the final full month of his first regular season, Biedscheid has run head-on into the proverbial ?wall? that smacks every freshman in their initial season. All the games, the practices, the film sessions, the travel, more games and more practices have taken a mental and physical toll.
A year ago, Biedscheid averaged 31.7 points in 27 games. Heading into No. 21 Notre Dame's game Monday at No. 16 Pittsburgh, Biedscheid has played in all 26 regular season games and two exhibitions with practices nearing triple digits.
And there's still at least another month to go.
?It gets to a point where you feel like, man, this is a crazy burn that we've been doing this for so long,? Biedscheid said. ?But I have to be focused even more. There are things I haven't seen before and things I'm not used to doing. It's really just a new experience for me.??
Each time Biedscheid believes he's got it all figured out, he learns another lesson. Take last week's overtime win over DePaul. Comfortable about expanding his offensive game to do more than just be a spot-up shooter, Biedscheid offered a defender a head-fake, dribbled toward the basket, then dropped a perfect pocket pass back to Jack Cooley on the perimeter for a jumper. It was a play he seldom made earlier in the year.
Not long after, Biedscheid turned it over in front of the Irish bench when he should have been smarter.
Teammate Eric Atkins was quick to counsel Biedscheid ? good play there, bad play here. Be better.
?It's around this time when you start thinking, 'Man, you should be at the end of your high school season,'? Atkins said. ?It's very different mentally. It's a long season. We need him.?
Coming off Saturday's 17-point loss at Providence, Biedscheid is averaging 7.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.0 minutes. He's shooting 40 percent from the floor, 35.1 percent from 3. He's had big nights in the Big East ? a season-high 18 against Villanova to earn league rookie of the week honors ? and nights where he's struggled ? seven or fewer points in four of the last five games. But there's little time to dwell on might have been, for the next game is coming quickly.
The last time Notre Dame played an ESPN Big Monday road game ? two weeks to the night at Syracuse ? the Orange defense smothered Atkins and fellow guard Jerian Grant, then double-teamed Cooley in the post. That gave Biedscheid plenty of open looks that could have turned momentum. Instead, it was opportunity, and game, lost.
Notre Dame was beaten 63-47 as Biedscheid finished with seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.
If a similar situation arises Monday, Biedscheid is ready to write a different story. A big break in the schedule awaits ? five days without a game ? but not before one more bit of Big East business.
?We're just focused right now,? Biedscheid said, ?and trying to buckle down to have a good week, then get some rest.??
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