The K-State women’s basketball team is off to a blazing 4-0 start and already hitting milestones like guard Taryn Sides’ 200th career 3-pointer on Nov. 8, in a 68-39 win against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. But the team’s success doesn’t just come from the girls themselves; it also comes in part from a group of guys who make an on-court impact and support the team off the court as well — the practice team.
The men’s practice team is made up of 13 guys who go through a tryout process and practice with the girls, emulating opponents. Coaches serve as “scouts,” who look over film and figure out player tendencies of the opponents, relaying that information to the practice team.
“The coaches are telling us what role we play and how to play,” sophomore Smith McKinney said. “We’re told the tendencies of the players we’re scouting as, and then we’re forced to play in the way that they would play.”
It isn’t just player tendencies that the practice team tries to emulate, though; it’s how the team plays as a whole. The coaches on scout duty choose anywhere from three to nine plays their opponent runs consistently and put them into practice, helping the women’s team learn to defend against their opponents and be disruptive on defense.
Even though the season may have just started, the practice team’s impact is already noticeable on the court. One example is forward Shaila Nde. The freshman is playing in her first collegiate basketball games after playing in her home country of Spain.
After the first game of the year, Nde said adjusting to how basketball is played in the U.S. has been difficult, but Ryan Weed, senior and second-year practice squad member, applauded Nde for her work.
“You can definitely see a hesitancy in her [during practice], in the fact that she’s in a new environment, new game day,” Weed said. “Then when she gets into the game, she just turned it on and scored 14 quick points, so you can definitely see a difference.”
Good times will never come without struggles, though. Sometimes the girls forget to play the scout and start playing the guy on the practice squad. The practice team also occasionally has a hard time remembering to play their scout and those tendencies instead of how they would play themselves, which can make practices longer and lead to frustration.
Even through the ups and downs, there’s a deeper connection after the whistle blows. This group of guys, even though they haven’t been around each other a ton, already feels more connected than last year’s team, Weed said.
“It’s a completely different environment,” Weed said. “Everybody’s wanting to go to games, and they’re wanting to sit in the student section instead of last year, when people would go sit up in the family area.”
Weed is one of the few returners, with students like McKinney and sophomore Will Eichmann both being in their first year. Even so, they notice how much this group has gelled in this short time before the season starts.
“The best part is a tight-knit group,” Eichmann said. “But really, coming together off the court and supporting the [women’s] team, not only playing as practice players, but we’re getting all of us to go out to their game to support them there as well.”
