All three female student managers on Kansas University’s men’s basketball team vow they love their jobs.
Jill Ewert, Jessica Johansen and Mandy Wilcox were chosen by KU coaches to be managers after working at summer basketball camps two years ago.
Each had her own reason for accepting the position.
“You’re in Kansas” Ewert, a junior from Canton, said. “Half the people across the nation think of basketball when they hear the word ‘Kansas’ and to be a part of it is something that’s pretty special.”
“It sounds cheesy,” said Wilcox, a senior from Olathe, “but (Jill) and I were both raised in Kansas so it’s something you think about.”
Johansen, a junior from Dannebrog, Neb., had a connection to Kansas as well. Her sister was a manager for the Jayhawks during the 1996-97 season.
“That’s one of the reasons why I came down here,” she said. “a big reason why.”
The three share student-manager duties with Jeff Hackel, a junior from Wymore, Neb.; Matt Kovich, a senior from Wichita; and Brett Thompson, a senior from Overland Park.
Each of the three women spend one day a week working in the basketball office, mixing such chores as running errands and sending mail to recruits with such leisure activities as surfing the Internet and downloading songs off Napster.
They also spend their time chatting with players and coaches. Social lives are a popular topic.
Manager Jill Ewert
“Coach (Ben) Miller is big on finding out about our love lives, him and coach (Joe) Holladay,” Ewert said. “They’re big on trying to hook us up with people, but it hasn’t happened to any of us yet.”
The coaches keep the girls in line, too, occasionally making them run sprints at practice.
“Sometimes if we screw up, the coaches will put us on the baseline (to run sprints),” Ewert said. “It is so embarrassing to run in front of that many guys.”
Along with the intermittent running, the girls help rebound, keep stats and run drills during practice. There is even a bit of security guard in their job description.
“During warmups,” Ewert said, “we have to guard coach (Williams’) back to make sure no autograph hounds get him before the game.”
During a game, the three are in charge of providing the players with water and moving chairs before and after timeouts, as well as dealing with the antics of joking players.
“Kirk Hinrich is one of the worst timeout guys,” Ewert said. “He will always hold onto his cup of water until we’re already trying to pull the chairs back and by the time he gives you the water you’ve got a chair and a towel being thrown at you and you spill the water all over.”
Jill Ewert
Ewert said the sophomore point guard also likes to needle them after they are chastised by coaches during games.
“He’s still probably one of our favorites,” Wilcox said. “He can get away with a lot. Not to say we don’t like the other guys but he’s like a little brother a pesky little brother.”
After games, the women have to get down to the dirty part of the job laundry, a task especially displeasing because of two players in particular.
“Collison and (Jeff) Boschee’s (jerseys) are feared,” Ewert said. “They weigh like 20 pounds because they’re so incredibly sweaty.”
Even Collison’s mother has discussed the unpleasant issue with the girls.
“His mom, early last year, came by our room one day after a game and said, ‘I’m so glad you girls have to do that and not me,'” Wilcox said.
The girls get paid a flat rate per month for such dirty work, but it’s not the money that keeps them around.
“If it was all about the money I’d have to get another job,” Ewert said, “(but) this is the best college job you can get. You get to travel and you get courtside college basketball seats.”
Another perk is the apparel.
“They actually outfit you in clothes,” Wilcox said. “Some days I look down and I’m like, ‘I did not buy any of this stuff that I’m wearing.'”
All of the women agree that while the free trips, seats and clothes are nice, it’s the people they interact with on a daily basis that make it first-rate job.
“The other managers, the coaches, the players you’re surrounded by great people day in and day out,” Ewert said, “and there’s a lot of people that don’t have jobs where they like the people they work with.”
During their two years with the team, the three have seen the pressure facing the players up close.
“I think this job gives you a better appreciation of what they have to go through and all the pressure they’re under,” Wilcox said. “They’re our age. I can’t even imagine. You forget that Kirk is 19 years old or Drew (Gooden) is 19.
“I don’t know if I could put on a smiling face every time I walk out of a game and there’s people sitting there, but they do a really good job of it, but I think sometimes people expect a little much.”
Wilcox’s co-managers echoed that sentiment.
“It’s not like they meant to screw up,” Johansen said, “but it happens and unfortunately their mistakes get caught by a lot more people than most people’s do.”
“A lot of the guys can be perceived by people in the wrong light,” Ewert said. “People treat these guys differently, but once you get to know them, they’re some of the best people.”
While Ewert and Johansen both plan to return for a third year, Wilcox will graduate in May with a degree in broadcast news. She says she would love to return.
“We’re trying to figure out a way to get me back here,” Wilcox said, “but my dad says I have to go to school if I want to do it again and I don’t want to go to grad school.”
