Not every player at Marquette women’s basketball practices wears blue & white pennies. A couple participants don black jerseys with white numbers. 

They aren’t your average Division I college hoops athletes. They are one of the driving forces of success for the women’s basketball program — male practice players.

Obligated to study opposing team’s film and players’ tendencies so they can replicate it in practice, the male practice players help prepare the women’s scholarship players for every game.

“We wouldn’t be able to win without them,” head coach Cara Consuegra said. 

Not to be confused with normal managers, who spend practice passing out water bottles or towels, the male practice players actually participate in offensive and defensive drills. During a defensive drill at practice last Friday, Jack DeGeorge, a senior in the College of Business Administration, caught fire.

“I was just on an absolute heater,” said DeGeorge. “Coach [Deont’a McChester] was hyping them up to stop me.”

DeGeorge found his way onto the practice team through the men’s club basketball team. He connected with Mikey Garven, an assistant coach on the women’s basketball team and manager of the practice players. 

Garven, a former practice player himself, asked DeGeorge if he would be interested in becoming a practice player, who saw it as an opportunity to keep playing the sport he grew up on.

“It’s something I love being around,” DeGeorge said.

The club team is just one way Garven finds practice players. Some are found out and about on campus, while others are emailed through club basketball or chosen through a private tryout. The team has 12 players currently.

Cohen Reetz, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, was approached by Consuegra at a home men’s soccer game. She asked him if he was interested in being a practice player.

“Me and coach always talk about how it was fate. It sounded exciting after playing basketball my whole life,” said Reetz, who is also a manager for the team. “This experience is really invaluable.”

For Reetz, DeGeorge and the rest of the students wearing off-colored jerseys, practices start earlier than the women in blue and white.

It’s a process Garven has participated in hundreds, if not thousands, of times. First as a student in 2022 before he became a manager and then an official program assistant the same year. Soon after, he took over managing the male practice players. To Garven, it’s like managing a real team.

“You still have players, you have to teach them all the plays, teach them all new tendencies,” said Garven.

It’s necessary for them to have the Golden Eagles’ opponents’ movements and sets down pat in order for the women to prepare effectively.

“I like watching the other Big East women’s games to see what we’re going up against and getting the extra knowledge outside of practice,” said DeGeorge.

A typical practice day begins with the practice players showing up to practice 30 minutes early, playing one-on-one or doing anything to help themselves warm up. Garven then shows up, providing the plays and run through of what the team needs to memorize and how practice will go.

Garven explained that the main purpose of practice players is to make the women better and be focused in on opposing teams’ film.

“You’re not trying to get a highlight tape,” he said. “You’re here to help the girls.”

Despite the differences in size, the practice players and women’s team are even matched.

“It’s a real challenge day-in and day-out,” said Reetz. “It’s real competition and you’re working.”

Senior guard Kennedi Perkins believes the only difference is the athleticism.

“They only jump higher and run faster and that’s about it,” said Perkins.

Come game time, the women’s players have spent days in practices playing against the boys. It is why Consuegra, who is a huge believer in male practice players and has used them her entire coaching career, utilizes them in every facet of practice.

“I don’t really know how you can win at this level without them,” said Consuegra. “There’s a very high standard for what they do and the guys make them stronger and faster even if it’s a bad practice.”

The male players don’t just help out during official practice, though, sometimes assisting the women’s players during individual workouts.

“They’re available anytime we need them, which we really appreciate,” said senior forward Ayuen Akot.

Even though it is a hefty time commitment and a lot of responsibility, Reetz would not have it any other way,

“The season can get long, but it’s really rewarding at the end of the day,” said Reetz. “Playing manager games are fun, experiencing the game atmospheres like the UConn game and the different environments you get to see is awesome.”

DeGeorge values the knowledge he gains from being able to watch film and having the opportunity to play with a Division I program.

Male practice players play a pivotal role behind closed doors. Staff and players cherish the work they put in and what they mean to the program as a unique fragment that helps the wheel turn.

“They don’t get enough credit,” said Consuegra. “They deserve it.”

This story was written by Ben Ward. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @BenWardMU.