Managing a dream
National tournament runs are memories made by players, coaches and fans alike — but especially team managers.
Vestavia Hills High School alums Dawson Wade and Chase Adair are two of eight managers who worked behind the scenes for the University of Alabama men’s basketball team during the 2017-18 season.
“Both of those guys are outstanding. They’re super committed to the program and they’re a huge part of Alabama men’s basketball,” said Mountain Brook native Colton Houston, who serves as Alabama’s director of operations. “We couldn’t do what we do without our managers. They work really hard behind the scenes day-in and day-out to help our program function at a high level.”
Though managers do more than pass out towels and water bottles on the bench during a game, which is what most people see, keeping fluids in the players is a big part of the job. On an average road trip, they pack roughly six cases each of water, Gatorade and Propel.
They ran out at both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, which meant the managers hit the stores to buy more.
“That gives you an idea of how hydrated these guys are and how hydrated they have to be. We’re throwing drinks at them 24/7,” Wade said.
But the job is much more than proper hydration.
Responsibilities included everything from giving players rides to class, rebounding for players when they have individual workouts, cutting film of practice and games, setting up and tearing down practice, setting up and cleaning up after games, packing equipment for road games, long hours and travel.
“It can be just about anything,” Wade said.
Wade made his connection to Alabama basketball through a Sunday school teacher at church, who got him in contact with Houston in 2016. Adair’s path to the Tide began a year earlier through a career day visit with Aaron Jordan, the media relations contact with men’s basketball. Adair returned to the Tide in June of 2017 to work camp in hopes of earning a manager position.
“At first I was a little star-struck with big names like Collin Sexton and Coach (Avery) Johnson, but after that it turned into long hours,” Adair said.
Wade, an accounting major, and Adair, a finance major, each carried a 16-hour course load in the spring semester, while also putting in roughly four office hours a week, 24 hours a week spent in practice and at least seven hours each game day.
Wade’s primary responsibility is organizing film. Last season, he cut clips of practice every day, a role he handed off to Chase and another manager this year.
While not all managers travel each week, they did for the SEC Tournament in St. Louis, allowing both Wade and Adair to experience the Tide’s wins that helped lock an NCAA bid, including Sexton’s buzzer beater against Texas A&M.
“We went from such an emotional high from we were winning the entire game and then got down and to end on (TJ) Starks’ 3, it was like, ‘OK, that ended our season. We’re going back to the NIT,’ and then for Collin to make that shot, it was incredible. The atmosphere in the locker room after the game was phenomenal,” Wade said.
With each post season win, the atmosphere was just as electric, with a win over Auburn in St. Louis and a win over Virginia Tech in Pittsburgh at the NCAA Tournament. Wade was able to be one of five managers to travel to the national tournament. He said the amount of video they cut to prepare for the national tournament quadrupled. Instead of cutting an opponent’s previous five games, they cut all conference games for Virginia Tech and Villanova, and even a few games for 16-seed Radford, just in case.
Both plan to return to the Crimson Tide in 2018-19 and enjoy the moments they’ve had by being part of the team they wouldn’t have otherwise.
“It’s cool to have important people know who you are, having Avery Johnson know your name and asking you do to do something,” Wade said. “When Collin Sexton is playing in the NBA we can say, ‘I rebounded for him after practice.’”