When Amari Williams joined Kentucky basketball, he knew he was stepping into a program where standards weren’t negotiable. Mark Pope made that very clear. Still, nothing could have prepared him for one of the most brutal punishments he’s ever experienced, a drill that left him and his teammates gasping for air, legs trembling, and jerseys soaked.
All because a teammate wasn’t five minutes early to practice.
The drill: What is a “17”?
For those unfamiliar, a “17” is a conditioning gauntlet. Players sprint sideline to sideline across the width of the court 17 times in a row, full effort, no jogging, no shortcuts. It’s a test of speed, endurance, and mental toughness.
Now, imagine not doing one of those. Not five. Not ten. But seventeen 17s in a row. That’s 289 sprints, nearly 11 miles of full-speed running inside a gym, with the entire roster punished for one player’s failure to meet the program’s definition of “on time.”…