Episode 076: Do you want to know learn more about NBA basketball conditioning and getting your players in optimal shape on the court? 

Conditioning is a lot more than just running until you're tired.  There's an art and science to getting players ready for a long season and keeping them in shape through playoffs.  

Willie Cruz is the Director of Performance for the Houston Rockets and joined me on the podcast to share how he gets and keeps his players in peak shape.  

Prior to joining the Rockets, Willie spent two years with the Oklahoma City Thunder as an Athletic Performance Coach and two years at Fordham University as their Director of strength and conditioning for mens basketball. He is certified as a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Willie has a M.S. in Exercise Science from Edith Cowan University, M.S in Media Management from Fordham University, and completed his bachelor’s degree at Eastern Kentucky University majoring in Sports Management.

He also earned a full-ride scholarship to play Division 1 basketball at Eastern Kentucky University.  In addition to being a great basketball strength coach, he's also a baller.  

In his free time, Willie is committed to serving his community, empowering the next generation, and impacting lives through performance coaching.  We sat down and discussed NBA basketball conditioning and how to best get players in shape for a long season.  

Here are some of the questions I asked:

• Do your players get most of their conditioning through playing basketball?
• How much running do you do during season?
• Are bench players performing extra conditioning work after games?
• What do you do for mental conditioning?
• How do you handle players that aren't motivated?

If you want to learn more about basketball conditioning, listen to Episode 008: Basketball Conditioning w/ Joel Jamieson

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