They are seen before the game warming up on their own hoop completely isolated from the rest of their teammates.
They camp out on a desolate bench watching their teammates go through their pre-game drills. Sporting warm-ups that, unlike their teammates, they will never shed.
Buried at the end of the bench they sit. They can do nothing more than watch, clap and cheer. Their talent cannot be displayed.
They are the redshirts, Jason McManamen and Alan Herndon for the Wyoming men’s basketball team.
Wyoming has not been able to redshirt many players over the past few years. The team’s depth was not at a point where redshirting was a possibility. Now, depth is present on the Cowboys. There are enough quality players on the roster that redshirting is not only a possibility, but also beneficial to the team and the student athlete.
“Herndon and McManamen really helped themselves by redshirting,” head coach Larry Shyatt said. “They got smarter and a little bit bigger.”
It is not easy being a redshirt. They go through all the grueling practices and sit through all the tape sessions that everyone else on the team is participating in, but they do not get to take to the court come game day.
“The difficult part of redshirting is seeing everybody get excited for the game and you just put on your jump suit, sit on the bench and clap it up,” Herndon said. “Knowing you were not going to play was tough. Knowing you had a whole year to wait to see the floor was tough.
They feel helpless at times when the team is struggling or when a teammate gets hurt. Much like the case of senior forward Larry Nance Jr, who was the marquee instance last year. He was the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and assist man. He also led the team in blocks and steals. Nance was Wyoming basketball. After he went down with an anterior cruciate ligament injury the team struggled going 1-5 in their final six games.
“After seeing Larry go down you are sitting on the bench and watching and wishing you could do something to help, but you can’t,” said Herndon.
But the experience, growth and better understanding of the game are other benefits of redshirting. Players get to be students of the game. They learn how to do things correctly. They understand what they can do to better help their team and how they will best fit and benefit their team when their time comes. They do all this without losing eligibility.
“Watching from the bench you take the little things away from the game,” McManamen said. “You learn what it takes to win.”
These men are not just glorified cheerleaders for their time as a redshirt. They are crucial and vital to their team in scrimmages and practices as they are used to replicate the next opponent.
“Your team is still appreciative of you,” Herndon said. “You are there competing at practice and being a scout team.”
Now their time has come. All the waiting, watching and learning is over. It is their time to show how much they have grown in the past year. It is time for them to help their team not only in practices and scrimmages, but also now under the bright lights of game day as well.
“I’m itching more than anything right now,” Herndon said. “Right now it’s like I have the chicken pocks I am itching that bad.”
Herndon and McManamen, have patiently waited their turn to contribute and they look to make a impact when they see the floor this November.
