Every great team is special from the top to the bottom. In sports, you often hear about the guys on the roster playing well and gelling together, from the best player on the team to the last guy on the bench.
Oakland saw their most successful season in school history last year in large part because of the team chemistry no matter the talent level.
But what many don’t realize is teams are more than just what happens in between the lines, especially in college basketball.
You hear about coaches sure, even administrators and other office workers get mentioned for their part in a team’s success. While this praise is most often very well deserved, a group exists that almost always gets overlooked.
Meet the support staff.
The support staff provides exactly what it is named after to the team. Support. What they do to provide that support can be seen in many different facets of the program, and Oakland offers a perfect example for what this support system can accomplish.
“On a day to day basis as a manager my responsibilities include getting to practice an hour early and getting all of the equipment needed, ” said Jake Massuchi, a student manager for Oakland. “This includes pads, balls, cones, and the scoreboard. We are also in charge of making a water cart for the players to use during practice and once all of that is done we rebound for the players that are there early.”
Arriving early is just the beginning of the manager duties on a normal day during the season. Massuchi elaborated what the rest of the day entails, which is not just being a water bot behind the bench (although that is a skill that isn’t taken lightly).
“Throughout practice our jobs include wiping sweat off the floor, and being on our toes ready for everything. After practice our responsibilities are to put the equipment away and stick around to rebound for players if they want to put up more shots. Once practice is over it is important for us to make sure that nothing extra is needed from us before we leave. Our job is pretty much to always be available and flexible to the best of your ability.”
Part of that flexibility is being ready at a moment’s notice. If a coach needs something found online, a player wants to get shots up later in the day or filming practice, a manager needs to be ready. Stavro Kiryakoza shed some light on his typical day as a manager.
“On a day to day basis, I head to practice at around 8:45 and get there around 9:10ish. Would rebound for either Gohlke, DQ, or Isaiah. Usually, it would be Blake, but he was dealing with injuries all year. Practice would go one guy filming, while everyone else was on the court checking what needs to be done, set up drills, etc. After practice, some would clean up, some would stack up snacks and protein shakes, and one would edit practice and do laundry. After that, I would head home since my classes were fully online this year.”
Managers are students too, so the commitment to this job is very similar to the commitments made by a student-athlete. Managers are taking the road trips and putting in the hours just like anyone else.
Those facts give the managers the respect of the players and coaches. The players at Oakland have set a culture of looking at these staff members as more of teammates than anything else, because they are a huge part of their success.
“I didn’t travel as much because I’m a freshman but I always had a good time with them on the trips,” said Dalon Brown, another manager in the program. “The way I got along with the guys reminded me of my highschool team on the bus rides, and during team dinners, and practices. I got the closest with Mike, DQ, and Tone after being Mike’s roommate during the conference tournament in Indianapolis and we would hang out from then to the last game. The players were always cool to the managers and when we see them around they’re never ‘strangers’.”
Former players always talk about the lifelong relationships they have with their teammates, and those in the manager business have similar experiences. Those bonds form with each other, other staff members, players, and everyone else around the program. This is manager Evan Blachard’s favorite part of the gig.
“Being around the guys all day is awesome man,” Blanchard said. “I’ve met so many amazing people and have so many great friends now with great shared experiences because of the time we spend together.”
Manager Cam Smith echoed those same sentiments.
When asked what his favorite part of the job was Smith said, “I’d say the bonds we have made.. Just building friendships and the overall experience of it all. The experience from just being here and the experience from watching D1 coaches at work every morning.”
That last point is one of the many perks of the job. Learning the insides of a Division 1 program can provide invaluable experience for those looking to get into the business of basketball, whether that is coaching or another part of the landscape. Managers also get those relationships, as well as gear, team meals, valuable experience, and trips to some once in a lifetime events.
“My favorite moment was the tournament run and beating Kentucky,” said Kiryakoza. “The amount of people in that arena, being the most viewed game in round 1 of the tournament, and also sending Cal out of Lexington was pretty sick. Also, this was my first time going to a March madness game so everything was surreal for me.”
These experiences act as stepping stones to the next level of a career, and the rest of the support staff are living examples of that.
Colin Shannon, the director of basketball operations, Jack Kraemer, the video coordinator, and Luke Loughren, a graduate assistant, are all former managers, with Shannon and Kraemer moving up the ranks of the Oakland program, while Loughren was a manager at Oklahoma State. Shannon and Kraemer served two years as GAs before moving into their current roles.
These three serve as the braintrust of the program. Every stat, film session, food arrangement, scout, or travel plan most likely came through at least one of these individuals.
“I’m always available and ready to help with whatever,” said Loughren. “ I’d say the main things I help the coaches with though would be editing film, generating stats, and helping make scouting reports. I also helped run the youth camps we put on in the summertime.”
As the graduate assistant, Loughren serves as a leader for the managers. He makes sure the managers are up to the task on a daily basis, while also worrying about his own duties. As a former manager himself, and while getting his masters degree in organizational leadership, this was no problem. His role however included being ready for anything, which brought challenging and exciting times almost everyday.
“My job was to pretty much help the assistant coaches with anything they needed and that included assisting Colin and Jack by doing various tasks,” said Loughren.
He tried to summarize his usual daily role.
“During the season we would always practice in the morning and I would help facilitate that. I would also help work players out before and after practice. After practice was over I’d do work in the office which consisted of editing film, generating stats, and helping make scouting reports.”
As it is in almost any program, the staff’s relationship with their players could make or break the team’s success. Loughren and the other support staff members are in a unique position. They are staff members, but also are the same age as the players, which leads to key relationships.
“I have a pretty good relationship with the players,” said Loughren. “Practice is fun everyday because of all the joking around we do with one another. Outside of basketball, we hang out sometimes too. I’d do anything for the players and I’ve felt so comfortable these last two years at Oakland because of the trust and friendship I’ve developed with them.”
As a GA, Loughren served the final year of his two year tenure this past season. He understands the importance of the support staff, and recognizes that the one he was just a part of did things the right way.
“I would say the support staff has a much bigger impact than most people realize. Colin does a great job making sure we’re always on the right track and Jack keeps everyone informed with his play diagrams and video scouts. Our managers come to practice everyday too and help with rebounding and setting up in the morning. All together it’s very much a team effort and a lot of things need to get done behind the scenes before the players can go on the court and play the game. I’m very proud to be a part of this support staff and it’s been great to see all of our hard work pay off with the success that our program saw this past season.”
Keeping everyone informed with play diagrams can be difficult under Greg Kampe, with a total of .. plays listed on the play card. But the maker of the play card, Kraemer, has been around long enough to have a handle on it.
Kraemer just finished his eighth season in the program, with the past two coming in his current role as video coordinator. He serves as a do-it-all guy for the team, helping create analytics reports, putting together film edits from games or practice, as well as helping out with on-court rebounding or walk-throughs. Kraemer tried to summarize his duties.
“My role on a day to day basis changes during the time of the year. During the summer and fall before the season starts, it mostly consists of cutting up practice by drills, players, sets, etc. so I can pull clips of whatever the coaches want to see. Once games start, my main responsibility is to build personnel edits of upcoming opponents’ players, as well as what teams are most likely to do against our zone. In the spring, the main focus is making videos of former players to show to recruits how they will be used when they come on visits.”
Kraemer, along with Shannon, are tied for the second longest tenured staff members in the program, behind a very obvious figure. This means Kraemer is able to see things like an extension of Kampe, and is able to put that knowledge to good use.
“In addition to the basic day to day responsibilities, the main way I help is through a lot of stat tracking,” Kraemer said. “I track every offensive possession by what play we run (Kampe has blank plays on the play card) and if we score or not, and also each defensive possession by what type of defense we are in (zone, man, transition, etc.) A few times throughout the year, I will put together a packet of anything I find interesting to the coaches hoping they can find something in there to help the team. Kampe is great about reading anything you give him, and sometimes he will start rattling off stats I gave him or running plays more that the stats show have been effective.”
Kraemer, like Loughren, is around at every team event, and has been for almost a decade now. This leads to special bonds with others in the program. A support staff to player bond is seldom talked about, but is very real inside the Oakland program, as well as countless others around the country.
“A good support staff can have a massive impact on a program,” Kraemer said. “Most of the time we are much younger than the coaches, so we are closer in age to the players. That gives us a unique perspective to see things through the eyes of both parties which can come in handy through the ups and downs of the season.”
Kraemer continued on the relationships he has built, citing a particular bond with this year’s team.
“I am very lucky to have a great relationship with a lot of the players, even more so with this year’s team. With guys like Blake, Trey, and Chris having been around for 4-5 years, I’ve been able to be around them a ton, and not just on the court. Going to lunch in the OC, messing around at the upper fields on campus, hanging out in the office, just a lot of things that make us closer as friends. Also, being a manager and GA for Blake and a GA for Trey and Chris has given me a chance to have a relationship on different levels with them during their time at Oakland.”
As stated earlier, a special team is special from top to bottom. Whether that is talent on the court, or relationships off, this past year Oakland showcased a true team atmosphere in all facets of the program.
There may not be a person more qualified to speak on all facets of the program than director of basketball operations Shannon. He works as closely to Kampe as anyone, while also leading the charge on many support staff activities.
“The best way to describe my role is that I’m in charge of everything that is not basketball,” Shannon said. “I worry about the travel, gear, fundraising and camps so that our coaches can worry about winning basketball games. For someone who works for a basketball team, most of my job is on my computer and on my phone. I am responding all day to emails and texts from tons of different people.”
Shannon has to balance hundreds of different things throughout the year, and being the gateway between the program and the outside world provides many challenges.
“I did not realize until I got hired that you have to be able to talk the technical language of each person you work with. You don’t realize that each profession has their own shorthand and way of doing things, and it is a big learning curve to understand that. Working with the hotel managers, Nike reps, gear graphic designers and embroiderers.”
While dealing with partners of the program is important, Shannon’s role with Coach Kampe remains a top priority. He said his good relationship with Kampe is key to having success in his job, and praised the head coach for making his job easier.
“My job is to be in charge of operations, but I make no big decisions without Kampe’s approval,” Shannon said. “Often, I walk into his office with a list of 10 or more topics that need to be decided on. It could be jersey colors, to camp decisions, or fundraising strategy. He is able to take in all of the information without being overwhelmed, and I think that is the most underrated part of Kampe’s success.”
Shannon is someone who, like many support staff members, wants to move up in the profession. He understands that his current role provides a great look into what he hopes his future looks like. Being able to work with Kampe so closely has provided a view behind the curtain.
“Coach Kampe is a great coach and everyone knows that, but he is underrated as a CEO of a basketball program,” Shannon said. “I worked for Kampe for 6 years as a manager and GA before being hired as DOBO, and I didn’t realize how good at it he was until I worked with him as a DOBO. Being a head coach you have to hold so many different ideas in your head at one time it’s unbelievable. Assistant coaches get to worry about just basketball, DOBOs get to just worry about the operations. The head coach has to worry about it all, and make tough decisions and Kampe is decisive.”
“I think I work well for Kampe because he believes in ultimate freedom. He gives freedom to his players and his staff. And some people thrive with that much freedom, and others the responsibility of that freedom crushes them. That is why you have seen so many people from Oakland do great things. 5 NBA players and countless successful coaches, are because those people thrived in freedom. I think I am someone who has always worked better in a free environment and not a regimented one. So this has been the perfect place for me to continue to move up.”
Shannon serves as a bridge between many different parties, but his role with the support staff is a key one. He directs support staff members on tasks that need to be done, as well as keeping them in the loop in such a fast changing business. He also maintains that the support staff is as important as anyone, with a key part of their job being the relationships they have with the players.
“I think the support staff is closer with the players than anyone would ever really realize,” Shannon said. “When I was a graduate assistant I was in the gym constantly with players 1-on-1. You really get to know them in situations like that.”
Shannon’s new role takes away from some of those intimate relationships, and he misses sharing those bonds as much other support staff roles provide.
“The least favorite part of my current job is that I spend less time with the players than I had previously. The constraints of my job usually mean that I have to be in an office instead of a gym with the players. But I have to do my job, and impact the program the way I can.”
The members of this crew are hardly ever recognized, but are a massive part of daily operations. A program’s tasks do not get done without these individuals, and Oakland provides a crystal clear view of that. These selfless individuals contribute so much to on-court success, as behind the scenes workers.
“So much of a support staff member’s job is service to others. You are taking care of the needs of players and coaches,” said Shannon.
“There is something beautiful about the high level of service of others.”
