By day, the managers for Ohio’s men’s basketball team blend into the background.
Rebounding shots, mopping up sweat and delivering Gatorade are just a few daily duties.
It’s not a glamorous job by any means.
But by night, the ragtag group arises from their normal position in the folding chair next to the hoops and become stars in their own right.
The night before the Bobcats do battle, the managers play the opposing team in a manager-on-manager basketball game.
And more often than not, they come out victorious, finding themselves with a 5-2 record against the managers of other schools.
Despite losing to the Akron managers 67-62 last Monday, the squad is ranked No. 23rd in the nation, according to KPI Sports, a website started by Kevin Pauga, the Michigan State Director of Basketball Operations.
The website ranks the best Division I college basketball teams in the nation, as well as their managers.
“It’s just for fun,” manager Ryan Wolfgang said. “But since they started doing the rankings, we try to win a little bit more.”
KPI Sports bases the rankings by assigning value to each game based on the quality of team’s opponents, quality of opponent, and points scored.
The second-ranked team in the nation is rival Miami, who the Ohio managers will play on Feb. 19. The top 15 also includes managers from conference opponents Bowling Green and Akron.
Much like any other great team, the Ohio managers use their mix of backgrounds and skills to find success on the court.
“I think we all bring our different standard of excellence to the team,” manager Ben Claussen said. “Which comes together in a truly great manager squad.”
Even though they all find themselves on the same team and in the same role now, it was pretty much fate that brought them together.
Wolfgang, who is in charge of the managers, started as a sophomore and didn’t even know the manager’s position was offered.
“I didn’t even know this was a job you could do,” he said. “I just kept calling the office until I got a hold of (graduate manager) Lee (Miller) and got an interview.”
There’s also Jamison Days, who became a manager as part of a high school graduation gift from his brother.
“When I graduated from high school,” Days said. “As a graduation gift, my brother, who was friends with a (graduate assistant), put me in touch with Lee Miller. When I came down for orientation, I talked to Lee.”
Much like the Bobcats, their play on the court is much more focused on the offensive game.
“We tend to score a lot of points,” Wolfgang said. “We don’t play much defense.”
In their biggest win of the year, Wolfgang recorded a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) against Big Ten opponent Michigan. The managers headed up to Ann Arbor during an off-day while the team was on a roadtrip.
For the managers, they feel like the have a bond with the Bobcats. Not just in the locker room, but on the court as well.
“I think (our success is) a direct indicator,” Days said. “If we do good, I feel like the Bobcats do better.”
In the four games the managers have won before the Bobcats play, they are 2-2 the next day.
But, maybe their bond stretches beyond the stat sheet, the records and the rankings.
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Even if their games aren’t "real," the Bobcats recognize the extra hours the managers put in, the sweat they mop up, and the Gatorade they deliver.
“You can almost call us the inspiration to their play,” Claussen said.
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ef684013@ohio.edu
