More than basketball: The practice squad at the heart of Miami women’s basketball

Impact, purpose and community are three things Miami students spend their college years chasing. For junior Connor Cole, those three motivations came early in his freshman year, in an unexpected form.

Cole played basketball throughout high school and attempted to walk on to the men’s basketball team. Although Cole fell short in that pursuit, he found his purpose elsewhere: as a practice player for the Miami University women’s basketball team.

The RedHawks are coming off an excellent season that featured 28 wins, a Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship and an appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament.

While games showcase the finished product, it’s in practice where teams hone their skills and build chemistry. The Miami practice squad plays a key part in helping the team prepare for the season and its opponents.

“We’re looking for guys that have played in high school, guys with certain athletic traits that come in and give us a really good look from an opponent standpoint,” associate head coach JR Shumate said. “It gives us the size, the athleticism, the skill that we need to get better.”

During the preseason, practice players help the team improve its general skills and conditioning ahead of the season. During the season, the practice players help the team prepare for specific matchups by replicating the tendencies of upcoming opponents.

“If you’re number 10 on Ohio and she only does spin moves when she drives, that’s the only thing you’ll be doing all practice,” Cole said.

Senior guard Núria Jurjo saw that preparation from a player’s perspective.

“If the player they are scouting is a shooter, he’s gonna shoot, even if he misses,” Jurjo said. “He has to shoot.”

More than their basketball ability, it’s the personal qualities of the practice players that Shumate values most.

“[We want] somebody who comes in here and just thinks in terms of volunteerism and service,” Shumate said. “That’s what these guys provide, not coming in here and feeling like we got to compete 100% all the time, but giving us what we want.”

The program considers the practice players a part of the program. So much so, they received MAC Championship rings. With that comes an expectation and standard that applies not only to the players who play in games, but also to the practice players.

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“Coach Box, the head coach, holds us to the same standard,” Cole said. “He’s gonna get the best out of you, no matter whether it’s a player on scholarship or whether it’s one of us just volunteering. The standard is the standard.”

Jurjo said that accountability extends to the practice players, too. If a practice player isn’t doing what is expected of them, they’re sometimes told to “get off” the court.

That level of accountability is a testament to the culture Box, Shumate and the rest of the coaching staff have built at Miami. The coaching staff demands effort and excellence from every person who contributes to the program.

“If the person at the top isn’t consistent in how they come in and run a practice and their expectation for each person in it, then it’s not gonna develop and cultivate into something that is a consistent winner,” Shumate said.

Shumate said Cole’s best quality is authenticity. Cole shows up every day committed to however he can help out, whether it’s helping run drills or cleaning up equipment. Even after practices, Cole stays after to help rebound for the players.

This extends beyond basketball for Cole. Through his efforts as a practice player, he’s been able to build new friendships and find community in the women’s basketball team.

“It’s crazy to think back and be like, wow, I’ve met so many people through this, so many talented people, smart people, funny people that are now my good friends,” Cole said.

Jurjo feels that connection, too.

“We’ve been working together for two, three years straight, every day basically, so that definitely builds a good relationship with the practice squad,” Jurjo said.

Basketball is what initially drew Cole in, but the community he found through the program became the most fulfilling. Shumate has seen that camaraderie extend well beyond the practice court.

“I’ve seen our girls and our practice players and our managers playing cards when we’re on the road at night in the hotel,” Shumate said. “That doesn’t just come showing up every day for two hours. That is a relationship that’s built off the court too. That all contributes to the success, 100%.”

Cole attends practice every day at 8:30 a.m. and gives his full effort to help propel the team to win. What he didn’t expect is to find fulfilling and exciting experiences through the women’s basketball team — an impact, purpose and community.

ratheei@miamioh.edu

@EvvRathe