Manager Games give student managers chance to take big stage for themselves
EAST LANSING, Mich. (BVM) — Justin Wieber may not be a household name to Michigan State basketball fans, but he and other student managers are an invaluable part of the team.
Wieber, a senior from San Jose, California, has been a Spartan his entire life. Watching the Michigan State football and basketball teams was, and still is, one of his favorite things to do.
“Even being from San Jose, California, for as long as I can remember, I wanted to go to Michigan State,” Wieber said. “My parents are graduates of the university and raised me wearing green and white. In high school, I taught myself how to use Photoshop and I would create graphic design edits for high school athletes that Michigan State football and basketball were recruiting as a hobby.”
Heading to Michigan State was a no-brainer for Wieber. It felt like home for him.
Having a love for both basketball and football, Wieber was offered to work for both of the programs. He ultimately decided to work under Coach Tom Izzo and be a student manager for the basketball team.
“I had the choice of working for either football or basketball,” Wieber said. “The opportunity to work under a hall of fame coach in Tom Izzo sold the deal for me – he laid out a plan for me to expand my skills in basketball beyond just social media and recruiting, and four years later, I have become proficient in film breakdown, scouting, and player development.”
Izzo played a large role in Wieber’s decision to join the basketball team over the football team. Wieber had always loved both, but saw a greater opportunity with the basketball team.
“To be able to watch someone at the top of their profession every day, no matter if it’s coaching or finance, you pick up on a lot of the traits that got them there,” Wieber said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work under Izzo for four years now, and have gotten to understand how he was able to become so successful. I hope to model certain aspects into my own journey of working in basketball. He really cares about us and recognizes the often unnoticed hard work and extensive hours we put in to help the program. He calls us the backbone of the program and will go out of his way to help us in our job searches after our times are up at MSU.”
Many do not understand the true grind of being a student manager. Coaches such as Izzo will reiterate how important they are to the team when they get a chance.
There are so many little things that the managers do on top of their day-to-day tasks that many would never notice without hearing directly from a student manager themselves. Breaking down film, assisting in drills, and scouting are just a few of the tasks the managers have. Being a student manager is basically a full-time job.
“Whenever I’m not in class, I’m at the Breslin Center,” Wieber said. “We assist with practice every day, including setup, drills, and rebounding. We’re also always on-call for when players want to put in extra work on their shooting or ball-handling. Most days of the week, I’ll be on the Breslin court assisting Gabe Brown or Max Christie with shooting drills at 7 a.m.”
To put it simply, these managers work a lot. They work because they love the team and the sport. They build a career in the sport. Still though, the tasks they do aren’t usually focused on the managers themselves.
That’s where the Manager Games come in. The Manager Games are a way that managers across the country can get together and play basketball. The managers are also able to lay the foundations of their network, a crucial component of building a career in the sport.
Throughout the regular season, managers will play a game of basketball the night before the two basketball programs tip off. There’s even a ranking system just like in actual NCAA basketball.
“The manager games are a really special event,” Wieber said. “A few former Michigan State managers set up a ranking system and tournament at the end of the season that recognizes the best teams and brings them to the Final Four to compete in their own March Madness. So on top of being able to meet and compete with other managers, it gives us a reason to keep playing basketball, remain competitive, and stay in shape.”
Wieber has greatly enjoyed being a student manager. One of his favorite parts of the Manager Games is that anyone on the support staff can play. Former Spartans Matt McQuaid and Austin Thornton have suited up to play with Wieber and the rest of the managers, giving him some pretty good stories to tell.
“Greg Oden works for the Ohio State team and will play every once in a while,” Wieber said. “Being over seven feet tall and a former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick, it’s easy to guess what he’s able to do against teams of mostly managers. So he’ll check in and drop a quick 15 points in five minutes and sub himself out.”
Once March comes around, the Manager Games’ Twitter account hosts polls to have fans vote which team of managers will advance in their own tournament. Once they reach a small enough number of teams, the teams get invited down to the site of the NCAA Final Four. Michigan State made its way to the final eight through voting which allowed them to be invited to New Orleans.
WEST Sweet 16 (Expected score as 50% of vote)
14 – Wyoming (47.5%)
10 – Michigan State (52.5%)@wyombbmanagers @SpartanHoopsMGR— Manager Games (@ManagerGames_) March 20, 2022
However, MSU ran into a roadblock: travel. Traveling from East Lansing to New Orleans isn’t cheap. In an effort to try and head to New Orleans, the Spartan managers set up a GoFundMe. They crushed their goal of $2,000 by over $4,000.
“To see the Spartan family recognize the opportunity presented to us and help us out so generously, it really validated our hard work we put into the program every day,” Wieber said. “We had former players such as Jaren Jackson Jr. donate large sums of money and many former managers chipped in as well, as they would’ve done anything to be a part of the Manager Games event like us. We were speechless as the donation amount kept rising and we owe a lot of ‘thank yous.’ It just goes to show how generous Spartans are and how much they care about their own.”
The excess money raised will be put towards Michigan State’s manager scholarship endowment to support future managers. Wieber and the rest of the managers were incredibly thankful to be sent to New Orleans.
While playing basketball at Buick Arena was a major highlight for the managers, the weekend provided many opportunities for the managers.
“The National Association of Basketball Coaches convention occurs at every Final Four,” Wieber said. “We were able to network with other schools’ staffs and even assist in a defensive demonstration by Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard in front of a large crowd of coaches and individuals involved in all levels of basketball. Attending the Manager Games meant so much more to us than just playing in a couple games.”
Unfortunately for the Spartans, they lost at the Manager Games championship event and finished with a record of 0-2. Despite the games not going the way they wanted, the event was everything they could have asked for and more.
“This year, a court, stands, and a production team were assembled at the fan fest event that occurred in the convention center right down the street from the Superdome,” Wieber said. “So, for the first time, we actually had crowds for our games. Some teams even brought their entire coaching staff to watch the action. It was really cool to see how big of an event this has become in a few short years.”
We out here pic.twitter.com/nxiNH2KtPf
— Manager Games (@ManagerGames_) April 1, 2022
When college basketball returns in the fall, make sure to think of the managers. Without them, college basketball would not be at the level it is at today.
