The idea of being up at 7 a.m. on Spring Break wouldn’t appeal to too many students unless they were just getting in from a party.
But for basketball managers Erick Casto, Talvis Franklin and Alex Warren, 7 a.m. means time to be at work.
“On Friday we were up at 7,” Casto said. “We picked up the laundry, got biscuits, sorted the laundry and took it to their rooms.”
The team then had a shoot around at 10 that morning.
“During practice we rebound and pass back to the players during shoot around,” Casto explained.
Casto, a senior, transferred to MSU the same year as Branden Vincent. Both had been at Okaloosa-Walton Community College.
“He was the only manager there so he was doing everything by himself,” Vincent said. “Vince Ford was leaving so they needed a new manager and saw him working there.”
Following a game, the managers gather the uniforms and seek a washer and dryer to defunk the jerseys and shorts. Doing the laundry for home games is easier than on the road.
“At home games, we can get a jump-start so there is not so much to do the next day,” Warren said.
Warren met assistant coach Phil Cunningham when he was recruiting Shane Power.
“It seemed like a good idea,” Warren said.
After having to scramble for an after-hours suds works in Atlanta at the Southeastern Conference tournament, the managers caught a break in Orlando.
“This is the first place we’ve been where we haven’t had to find a 24-hour laundromat,” Casto said.
For Franklin, being a manager is giving him an inside track for his career choice.
“I went to Coach (Phil) Cunningham in summer 2002 and told him I was switching my major to teaching and coaching and wanted to learn from the inside,” Franklin said.
“Coaches will always explain things at practice to help us learn more about the game,” Franklin added. “Everyday I learn something new.”
All three managers agree that the camaraderie among the team has made the long hours worthwhile.
After Sunday’s game Casto sat in the locker room with the rest of the team.
“At junior college, the coach told us that people paid big money to join fraternities. We didn’t have to do that,” Casto said. “We are part of a big family and the relationships on this team are great.”
“Us seniors will never have a chance for something like this again,” he said.