The Michigan Doily-Friday, February 19, 1982-Page 13. .., # Hoop managers: no play, no pay By DAN NEWMAN There are not many students willing o work four to six hours a day without receiving any pay or recognition in return. But Phil Giroux and Bill Mit- chell are exceptions. They are the co-head student managers for the Michigan basketball team, and they can be found most every where you find the team, whether it be at practice or on the road. NO, NEITHER of them show up in he box scores the next day, but you ame it and they do it. Giroux and Mit- chell work behind the scenes making signs, taping games, clipping newspaper articles, and cleaning ip locker rooms. "Just about anything that has to be done, we do," explained Mitchell, a junior and physical education major. Although the job may seem tedious and thankless to others, neither Giroux. or Mitchell feel any bitterness toward .heir duties. "It's not like a burden {to. Wne.If I thought the job was a burden, I wouldn't do it," said Mitchell, adding, "I'd do anything, anything for the team." Giroux echoes a similar loyal at- titude. "I don't see it as an obligation," said the sophomore. "We don't get paid but we are treated well." Both Giroux and Mitchell were in- volved with athletics throughout high. school, .which helps explain their tremendous devotion and loyalty to the team. "I HATED sitting in the stands and watching-I missed being part of a team but I knew I wasn't good enough to play," said Mitchell, explaining his reason for wanting to become a student basketball manager. Giroux became a student manager his freshman year, just as Mitchell had done a year earlier. So far, Giroux has had no regrets. "I wanted to take on the responsibilities," he said. "I'm lear- ning a lot from the job." t Giroux and Mitchell admit that some of their duties are monotonous and not very exciting. But, as Mitchell noted, "Not just anyone could be a basketball manager because not everyone could put up with some of the bullshit." DURING practices the student managers help out on drills, reboun- ding, or whatever is asked of them. Sometimes, though, as Mitchell says,, "we do a lot of sitting. But I figure it will pay off in the end." The basketball managers do get some benefits, such .as free meals, free travel, and free lodging on the road. "I really think it's beneficial'going on the road trips and meeting lots of 'people through the program," said Giroux. MITCHELL AGREES. "It's a great experience going to all different places and seeing all these great players and coaches. It's an opportunity you just can't passup." The Toledo native also believes that his character has also developed through his experiences as a student manager. "You really learn to budget time," said Mitchell, who is taking 18 credits, working 10 hours a week as a referee, and who still finds time to keep in shape. "It's given me a lot of self-confidence in terms of making sure things run smoothly," Mitchell adds. "It's satisfying to know that I make the coaches' and players' job a little easier." GIROUX HAS only words of praise for Michigan basketball. "Everyone in the program is great," he said. "'It's a class organization." Although Giroux and Mitchell agree on a lot of things, each sees his job playing a different role for the future. "It's just something I want to do," said Giroux, who expressed no desire to go into coaching or athletics. But Mitchell marches to the sound of a different drum. "I want to coach college basketball and I think this ex- perience will definitely help me reach this goal." As for skeptics, Mitchell points to assistant coach Bud Van- DeWege, who, like himself, started off as a student manager. 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Michigazn 48226 - (313) 965,8300O An Equal Opportunity Employer *Register for a Friday, March 5th On-Campus Interview Bicycle Jim's Restaurant presents TABLESIDE MAGIC in the hands of STEVE BILLER Every Monday-6:00 PM-9:00 PM 1301 S. university Hoosiers trounce Badgers BLOOMINGTON (AP) - Uwe Blab, *ndiana's 7-2 center, led four players in double figures as the Hoosiers trounced Wisconsin, 88-57, last night in Big Ten action. The Hoosiers scored 21 unanswered points midway in the first half to erase a 12-10 Wisconsin lead and sweep to a 31;12 advantage. Indiana, in holding the Badgers scoreless for more than eight minutes, had four points apiece from Jim sThomas, John Flowers and Ted Kit- Ichel. Indiana led at the half 35-16. Flowers and Kitchel finished with 12 points each and Thomas had 11. The Hoosiers opened a 23-point lead, 54-31, with 11:29 remaining, and Coach Bobby Knight went to his bench. They built the lead to 30, '61-31, with 9:12 remaining, on a three-point play by Thomas. Indiana, which plays Purdue Satur- day in West Lafayette, saw its lead alloon to 32 puints twice, 81-49 and 83- 51. Purdue 52, Illinois 44 CHAMPAIGN (AP) - Sophomore Russell' Cross scored 13 second-half points last night to help Purdue avenge an earlier loss at home and defeat Illinois, 52-44, in Big Ten basketball ac- tion. Cross, taking advantage of Illinois' foul trouble, went to the basket several times late in the half and added five free throws to pace the Boilermakers to their seventh Big Ten win in 13 games. Purdue is 10-12 overall. Purdue's leading scorer was senior forward Mike Scearce with 16 points, followed by Cross with 15. Illinois' high scorer was senior guard Craig Tucker with 13 points. Both teams played poorly in the first half, which ended with Purdue ahead 16-12. Illinois shot just 23 percent from the floor and its first half point total set a new Assembly Hall low, beating the old record of 14 points set against Ohio State a month ago. Purdue made 33 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half. Minnesota 76, Northwestern 66 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota guard Darryl Mitchell led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points as the eighth-ranked Gophers whipped Nor- thwestern, 76-66, in Big Ten basketball last night. The victory boosted Minnesota to 18-4 overall and 10-3 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats'fell to 7-15 and 3-10. Northwestern appeared to be putting together an upset early in the contest. The Wildcats grabbed a 28-22 lead with 6:45 left in the first half as they took ad- vantage of 11 Gopher turnovers. But that was the last scoring North- western managed in the first half. Min- nesota ran off 13 uninterrupted points and took a 35-28 lead. Action Sport r r }