University of Minnesota Athletics
Scout Team Invaluable to Gophers
2/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
You won't see them on the Gopher women's basketball roster, but they show up to practice several times a week. They learn plays and opponent personnel. The pool of 25 men on the Minnesota scout team may not be recognized by most followers of the program, but these men play an important role for the Gophers on a daily basis.
"They're invaluable to our prep," head coach Marlene Stollings said. "We've had the luxury of having a really nice group because we are a large campus. …They're really engaged with our kids. They show up at games. Sometimes they have signs. They watch us on TV. They become big fans of our program."
Many of these men joined the scout team after hearing about it from friends who were already part of it. As a freshman Corey Paylan played intramural basketball with senior scout players. Now a senior, he has helped recruit more members, including TJ Schaff. Mikal Baschnagal heard about the scout team from a friend last year and decided to sign up. Brandon Barta was a team manager for his first three years, but joined the scout team his senior year because of his job's time commitment.
Gophers scout players are basketball junkies. They played through high school and still find time for intramural and pickup basketball in addition to team practices. Paylan worked for the Lynx, Barta works with the Timberwolves and Schaff coaches high school. As their schedule allows, each practices with the team 2-5 times a week.
"If you like basketball and you want to learn more about the game, you can come in and play," Barta said. "It's also a good way to meet some new guys and get your workout in. It's rewarding."
The scout team's primary role is to prepare the Gophers for opponents' offensive and defensive schemes. Scout players arrive early to practice to learn plays from whichever coach prepared the scouting report on the upcoming opponent. Each scout player participating in practice that day will be assigned to emulate a player from the other team.
"It's so much fun," Paylan said. "When you get assigned a role where they say, 'Shoot no matter what,' it's the best."
If they miss the practice when a set of plays was first introduced, scout players need to learn on the fly. Even then, it's more complicated than a pickup game.
"The most challenging thing would be trying to play the right speed," Barta said. "Some of us guys are too quick and are going to be faster than the opponents they're playing. It's tough to bring yourself back down to the speed of the player that you're playing on scout."
In addition to helping the team, scout players gain valuable experience and connections from their role. Stollings has had a male practice player become a video coordinator for one of her past teams, and has also served as a reference for scout players as they apply for jobs. Plus, the atmosphere of college basketball is a reward of its own.
"You get to play at Williams every single day," Schaff said. "That's pretty sweet as it is. You also get your exercise in. You can watch how to coach. You can watch how the marketing goes. You can watch how each player trains. It's pretty cool."
"I've always been interested in coaching, so it's cool to see how a program is run at the D-I level," Baschnagal said.
Spending several hours a week with the team, scout players see the Gophers players and coaches and the inner workings of the team more closely than most people outside of the staff.
"To get to know the players and staff is fun," Paylan said. "It's fun to be a part of something out of high school sports."
Like the Minnesota women, scout men get their share of instruction, admonition and affirmation during practice. Like the women, many of them can be seen wearing maroon basketball shoes and Gophers apparel.
"They make it a good atmosphere and make you feel like part of the team," Baschnagal said.
Schaff said one of the most rewarding aspects of scout team is watching Jasmine Brunson and Kenisha Bell, the point guards he plays against in practice, play well on game day. Having been with the team for four years, Barta has enjoyed watching the team change and grow in a fast-paced system, and seeing individual players make improvements.
"It's cool to see when things click in their mind, when they figure it out, then they can take that next step to the next level," Barta said.
Whether or not they followed the team closely before joining the scout team, the scout players have a new appreciation for the work the Gopher women put into their sport. They have also gained new friends on both the scout team and the Gophers' roster, found a fun way to get a workout and helped to make the team better each practice.
"Worst-case scenario, it's just exercise," Schaff said. "But it's really cool to be invested in a team. Now I can call each one of these girls my friends. It's cool to know I can contribute to their cause."
