Playing on courts with boys

by Blake Whitney
Staff Writer

The college basketball season, which stretches from November to April, might seem like a marathon. But to those involved, it can seem more like a sprint.

With only two or three days between games, a team spends hours trying to prepare for its next opponent. The task might seem daunting.

With that in mind, the Ohio women’s basketball team looked for help from the most unlikely source ­ men.

Ohio’s scout team consists of OU students. Its job is to simulate upcoming opponents in practice against the Bobcats.

Ohio coach Lynn Bria said that battling with men ­ who have more strength and athleticism ­ helps the Bobcats. But the scout team’s main purpose is simulating future opponents.

“I tell (the men) to check their ego at the door,” Bria said. “If they’re not running their (sets correctly) they’re not helping us at all.”

The scout team knows its purpose is to serve the women’s team.

“We’re here to make them better,” scout team member Dale Lewis said. “Last week, before the team played Central Michigan, I became a girl from Central Michigan basically.”

Despite not being awarded athletic scholarships, the scout team must stand up to the same academic requirements as players on the active roster.

“They’re very faithful,” Bria said. “They’re getting up early and getting over here, and we can’t give them a dime.”

While not being treated on the same plane as active players, members of the scout team say they feel like part of the team.

“I tell my friends I’m a female basketball player basically,” scout team member Kyle Stock said.

In addition to aiding in learning the opponents’ plays, Ohio player Kristian Kilpatrick said playing against men helps develop confidence.

“If you can do everything that you can do against the guys, there’s no excuse why you can’t do it in the game,” Kilpatrick said.

Kilpatrick is sitting out this season after transferring from the University of San Francisco. She said pregame preparations at Ohio are much more intense than at her former school.

Intensity aside, Bria said that the key to her pre-game preparations is keeping it simple.

“We don’t give them every set because your players can’t remember all of that,” she said. “But they have to have some basic principles to go by.”

While the scout team helps to teach the women’s team about its upcoming opponents, Lewis said the scout team has found a new respect for women’s basketball.

“They’re physical; they work hard; and they’re intense,” Stock said. “I go home with bruises all over my body. They’re not afraid to break a nail.”