Bellarmine men's basketball managers making a name as players

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It turns out the managers of the Bellarmine men's basketball team are pretty good at basketball. The group is nationally ranked and thinking possible Final Four.

Like all good managers, they take on a number of roles. Running the clock and taking video during practices, keeping stats, filling water, cleaning laundry and cleaning floors.

"If I sum it up," said junior manager Bryce Hutchins. "We do whatever is needed to make things run smoother."

And along with all those duties, they get to play the game a bit as well. They play against other schools in what are known as manager games, often the night before their schools are playing. The Bellarmine managers are currently 6-0 and ranked fourth nationally in the manager game rankings that are put together by some former Michigan State managers.

"When we got four we were all pretty shocked by that," said senior manager Tristan Beckmann. "It was a validation of the hard work we've been putting in. We play all summer. We play pickup all the time. We get shots up after practice. So it's kind of validation for what we've been doing. We really do appreciate that ranking."

And yes, the way they play has definite similarities to what you see from the Knights.

"We like to move the ball," said sophomore manager Evan Herr. "I guess you could call us the managers that don't dribble. We see it in practice every day. It works so might as well stick with it."

The managers get great support during their games from the guys they support every day.

"They come to all our games," said senior manager Sheldon Christmas. "We kind of got into it with UCLA because we sent them a message saying 'hey, do you mind if a couple of our guys come to the game and watch?' And the whole team came and they were kind of mad that we had 20 guys show up to watch us.

"It's awesome when one of our guys will hit a big three late in the game and all the guys will go crazy. It's awesome. Those are the memories I'll cherish forever, even when I'm gone."

With four full-time managers, there is help needed to field a team for 5-on-5 games. Teams can use others that are involved in the program. For Bellarmine that can include guys like assistant coach Al Davis and strength coach Jo Griffin, both former college players. Former college players are sprinkled onto most every team. In fact a few years ago, Ohio State used 7-footer and former No. 1 overall NBA pick Greg Oden on its squad.

One more major bonus for the managers this year is they are on scholarship for the first time thanks to money raised through the Davenport Family Scholarship started by coaches Scott and Doug Davenport.

"Student managers are our future leaders," said Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport. "They are incredible. They have a true love for the game. It's not about seeing their name in the paper. It's not about getting clicks on Twitter. They have a true love for the game."