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Fatigue Factor To Test Noles

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By SCOTT CARTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2008

TALLAHASSEE – In one corner of Florida State's locker room, guard Jason Rich rested on a metal chair and slowly stuffed items into his gym bag. Across the room, Toney Douglas fended off an aching back to untie his shoes, grimacing in pain with each tug of a shoe string. Ralph Mims sat slumped in his chair while staring at the ground, nearly too tired to get up for a shower.

The scene inside Florida State's locker room following Saturday night's double-overtime loss at Clemson was one of exhaustion. The Noles used eight players, but Rich, Douglas, Mims, Uche Echefu and Isaiah Swann combined for 232 of FSU's 250 minutes. Douglas played a game-high 49 minutes, Rich was on the court for 48, Echefu and Swann each played 47, and Mims logged a career-high 41 minutes.

"I've never had a team that had four guys play over 47 minutes in one game,'' FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "I've never been involved with a team that has been forced to do that.''

By the end, fatigue overwhelmed them.

"I never played 49 minutes in my life,'' Douglas said two days later. "It was hitting me in the second overtime.''

"I ain't going to lie,'' Rich said. "After the game, I was exhausted … too tired to even eat.''

To recover, Douglas spent an hour receiving treatment from the training staff on Sunday. Rich spent much of the day lounging around his apartment. Hamilton allowed his five leading scorers to exit practice early while the rest of the team worked out as usual, realizing they needed their rest to remain healthy.

Hamilton is hopeful that he won't need to rely on his five most experienced players as much later in the season if forwards Ryan Reid (suspension), Julian Vaughn (medical issues) and Jordan DeMercy (freshman inconsistencies) emerge as factors, but until then, he has to. In the process, he'll try and protect them from over-fatigue when possible.

"We spent a lot of time last week on our conditioning, realizing that we were going to have to be playing guys extended minutes,'' Hamilton said. "We did probably more running in practice last week, from a conditioning standpoint, than any other time I've been here. I thought it helped [at Clemson].''

Entering tonight's game against No. 7-ranked Duke, Douglas (35 minutes), Rich (34) and Swann (32.9) are all ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in minutes per game.

"Hopefully, we can get a little better rotation going sometime here in the near future,'' Hamilton said. "I think maybe we can be a little more efficient with our execution and not allow fatigue to affect us as much as it appears to have the past couple of games.''

NO X-FACTOR: What does ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. think of former FSU quarterback Xavier Lee's decision to leave school early and enter the NFL draft?

"He couldn't establish himself at FSU – which needed a quarterback – so how is he going to be a quarterback in the NFL?'' Kiper responded to a question on ESPN.com Tuesday. "Despite his size (6-4, 235) and athleticism, he's been a major disappointment. I can't understand why Lee would not be receptive to moving to tight end. There are plenty of examples of players who converted from quarterback to tight end and went on to have success in the NFL.

"Lee is not going to be a draftable player, no matter what he does in workouts. He hasn't shown anything. He should have stayed in school because he's not going to be a quarterback in the NFL. This isn't a situation like Matt Cassel backing up Matt Leinart at USC or Brad Johnson playing behind Casey Weldon at Florida State. Lee couldn't beat out Drew Weatherford, who's an average quarterback.''

HELP WANTED: Despite a looming NCAA investigation into academic misconduct by more than 50 student-athletes, NCAA hiring specialist Chuck Neinas doesn't anticipate FSU having problems hiring a new athletic director.

Neinas operates Neinas Sports Services, which specializes in helping schools fill high-profile jobs. He recently helped the University of Arkansas hire Bobby Petrino as its new football coach. FSU has hired Neinas to help conduct its search for an AD to replace Dave Hart.

"It's an attractive position,'' Neinas said. "Florida State is one of the premiere athletic director jobs in the country. The entire package, from their support, facilities, revenue streams, and the interest the university has in the athletic program.''

NOLE NUGGETS: FSU's 2008 schedule has not been officially released yet, but a school official confirmed the Noles will face Colorado on Sept. 27 in Jacksonville. Tampa's Raymond James Stadium was also mentioned as a possible venue for the Colorado game … Swann needs 14 points tonight against Duke to become the 40th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Rich reached the milestone earlier this season … FSU is a 50-to-1 long shot to win the BCS National Championship next season according to BodogLife.com. The Web site also lists South Florida, South Carolina, Michigan, Rutgers and Alabama 50-1. USC is the favorite at 3-to-1.

FSU SHORTS

HONOR ROLL: FSU junior Mami Yamaguchi won the Hermann Trophy on Friday, an award given annually to the top female player in NCAA Division I soccer.

SOUNDBITE CENTRAL: "Nobody was talking because they were so tired.'' Senior G Jason Rich on the quiet flight home from Clemson following Saturday's double-overtime loss.

LOOK OUT FOR: The men's track and field team, which has won back-to-back NCAA outdoor national titles, opens its indoor season Friday at the Clemson Invitational.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Will FSU's basketball team overcome its lack of depth to make the NCAA Tournament? To vote and monitor results, visit TBO.com, Keyword: Noles.

TBO.COM POLL: What position concerns you most as FSU enters the football offseason? Offensive line (43 percent); quarterback (33.8); defensive line (17.4); secondary (15.1); running back (4.7).

BLOG BONUS: Is quarterback Xavier Lee the biggest bust in Florida State football history? That's debatable, but what's not is that Lee got way too much hype for a player who made six career starts in four years at FSU. To read more, go to TBO.com, Keyword: Noles.

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