Inside Wisconsin Basketball

Hey everyone, its Dubs here with an inside look at Wisconsin basketball!  First year team manager Brandon Zall has been kind enough to answer a few questions about the program, Bo Ryan and even a little about the role of social media in the lives of student athletes.

Dubs: What are your main duties as manager? 

Brandon:  Managers are hired to make life easier on the coaches, staff and players. Jobs are wide ranging and there are many of them. These jobs include but are not limited to: running autograph requests from individuals and charities, setting up equipment before practice, wiping sweat if players fall during games and practice, taping opponents games so coaches can watch  

D: How did you get the job?  

B: I wrote a resume/cover letter and interviewed. I heard about the job from a family friend and contacted the head manager and went through the entire process.  

D: What kind of relationship do you have with the players?  

B: The players are very gracious and I am close with them. There are some barriers such as not joking with them in practice even if we would normally. Being around them so often you form a relationship, then you can do extra rebounding for them after class or hang out on the weekends. 

D: How do the players/team use the internet and social media on a day to day basis?

B: Most of the players use twitter to interact with other members of the team, as well as athletes in other sports around campus. There is a man whose job is devoted to using facebook, twitter and the internet to promote the team and he does a fantastic job. That includes giving stats, promoting games and showing behind the scenes videos.

D: Can you tell us anything that goes on behind the scenes of the team that we may not know about?

B: Players get 15 dollars in cash every game day home or away. This occurs in every sport and is completely legal. It is called Per Diem which covers meal and other expenses the day of games. Also it is a full time job to be an athlete. Whether it is waking up at 6:00 to lift 3 days a week throughout the entire year or doing film study or catching up in classes.  

D: Is Bo Ryan as scary as he looks?  

B: Bo Ryan is an incredible coach and an outstanding man who helps out the community, the university and his players. However he is intimidating.

D: What do you expect out of this program in the next 4 years?  

B: The program has been extremely successful in the Bo Ryan era and I see that continuing, plus more post season success. I see the Badgers finally making it to a Final 4 in the next four years as well as possibly being in the top 10 for the entire season. I believe the most successful year will be 2014-2015 when the Freshman now are seniors. I believe that we will get more “heralded” recruits in the next few years. 

Thanks again to Brandon for giving us an inside look at the world of college athletics. 

Feel free to give him a shout on Twitter (@Bzall10)

On Wisconsin!

-Dubs