Journey of a men’s basketball walk-on player
Prior to their season, the St. Joe’s men’s basketball team held open tryouts for walk-on players.
These tryouts are meant to find players within the student body who weren’t approached for an athletic scholarship but potentially have the talent to play Division I basketball. This year’s tryout gave way to a new face on the roster, junior guard Greg Smith.
When searching for these players, Head Coach Phil Martelli has a very specific personality in mind.
“They need a competitive spirit,” Martelli said. “They need a high level of conditioning and a love of the game. There also has to be a lack of ego, because most of these kids have played a lot of basketball in high school. Now, here it’s different.”
It is not uncommon for walk-ons and practice players to never make it onto the floor in a game. However, they are expected to practice with gameday intensity to imitate the team’s upcoming opponents
“They all play a role,” Martelli said. “We expect them, when running scout team, to compete at a high level so that the team is ready.”
Despite the thankless aspect of the job, senior guard Mike Muggeo wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love it,” Muggeo said. “I’ve been with the guys for three years and have gotten to travel a little bit. Just being at practice every single day, I have learned so much from my teammates and the coaches. I get to see what it takes to prepare to win a game.”
Muggeo’s path to the St. Joe’s roster had many twist and turns. Muggeo tried out as a freshman and did not make the team. He then left St. Joe’s to search for basketball opportunities elsewhere, before returning and making the team as a practice player his sophomore year.
“I left for the spring semester but couldn’t find any good fits,” Muggeo said. “So I made the decision to come back. Since then I have just worked my way up.”
Junior guard Toliver Freeman made the team as a walk-on player his freshman year. Freeman was a talented player out of Louisiana and had offers to play Division I basketball in his home state. However, Freeman wanted to prove himself outside of Louisiana and decided to take a spot on St. Joe’s roster as a preferred walk-on.
“I could have went DI in Louisiana,” Freeman said. “I wanted to get out there though. My whole goal was to be a DI basketball player outside of Louisiana. St. Joe’s was able to do that for me, even though it isn’t on scholarship. I am still able to get the DI experience.”
Though a walk-on player’s path differs greatly from that of a scholarship player, there isn’t any evidence of alienation within the locker room.
“They kind of aren’t walk-ons,” senior guard Lamarr Kimble said. “They are part of the team so nobody looks at them different. Nobody has a label, once you are on the team you are a part of it. They are with us in the locker room, in the classroom, they live the same way as we do.”
Freeman and Muggeo are able to offer some advice about the process for other potential walk-on players.
“Continue to have that drive and that push,” Freeman said. “Without that you aren’t going to be able to get where you want to go. Sometimes it will work out and sometimes it won’t but you always have to give your maximum effort.”
