.. A True Redshirt When walking clost: to the Rhodes Field House on game night one would hear the roar of the crowd and almost feel the ground tremble as the Rhodes Rowdies did their part to support the Bi – son basketballt earn. Each game took a great deal of practice and strategy. The strategy was not just limited {Q tactics on the court like a full-court press or man-lo-man defense: sometimes it went much deeper than that. In col– legiate athletics the concept of redshirting was crucial in strategizing the formation of a team , and for the Bisons this was no different. Collegiate athletes wer e given four years of eligibility, but if they were given a redshirt they were allowed to practice with the team and be a part of the team without playing in games that year . This gave them th e eligibility to playa fifth year when th ey were older and more adept at their sport. There were many different reasons to redshirt players. "With some years, some people may not be playing as much, " Men's Baske tball Coach J eff Morgan said. " If a freshman comes in and is going to only play 5-8 minutes a game maybe it's n ot worth it for that player if we can get by and have other players play that role or position. It may be worth it more for the player a yea r from now when they may be playing 20-25 minutes a game rather than wast ing a year on maybe 5 minutes." Redshirting a playe r helped the team think about futul·e seasons. H owever, sometimes it was a little frustrating to practice with and be a part of the team and not b e able to actively participate on the court during a game. "\Vhenever it came time for the game, yo u could sit over th ere and see what was going on and want to help , but you cannot," sophomore Bradley Spencer said. "You j ust got to help verbally as a team . It was hard to sit the re and watch the game and feel that you can play. " Spencer was a redshirt freshman, so this was his first year to play in a game. He was not the only one who got his first year o f playing lime this year after being red – shirted . Sophomore Zach Roddenberry was in a very similar situation to Spencer's. Roddenberry was redshirted b ecause he had never been through a whole year of basketball . Morgan thought it would be good to red shirt him so he could focu s on his basketball skill level and conditioning . "A lot of people get down when they have to redshirt," Spencer said. "Redshirt – ing is not necessarily a bad thing; there are all kinds of advantages to it. College ball is a lot more physical and a lot faster, too. You always have to think one step ahead. Redshirting gets you an extra year to understand the game." Redshi rting Rod enberry turned out to be an even better call than anyone could have initially anticipated . Near the sta rt of the season he broke his wrist. By that time, he had been playing too longto be medically red shirted. This was a good ca ll because Rodenberry did not have to waste a year of el igib ility over a broken wrist. "[By redshirting] you get the experience of p laying without actually playing," Rodenberry said. With a little pati en ce. redshirting allowed players to achieve their maximum potential in their final yea r of eligibil ity. Sometimes it was just a necessary path to get where players wanted to be in the end , what they had dreamed of for so long. " I 've wanted to come to H.arding since J was little ," Roddenberry said. "I had been to a few of the games and the fans were so support ive, [and] I wanted to play somewhere with a Chr istian attitude as well as a winning program." Though both Spencer and Roddenberry had to wait a little longer to see action on the court, there was no doubt the two were assets to the team. "[Spencer and Roddenberry] are great guys, good guys that we are just really exci ted to have in our program for 4 or 5 year s here," Morgan said. Time can only tell if redshirting really pays off fo r any team. If previous Bison seasons are any indication. redshirti'n g Spencer and Roddenberry should reap re– wards in the seasons to come. "Everybody that we have ever redshirted has been a huge positive for them. ,. Morgan said . Steven Chandler Row 1: T, Hall. W. Jameson. M, Martin, S. Blake, B. Spencer, M. Walters, S. Brown, Z. Kirby. Row 2: J. Morgan, B. Burton, D. Morgan, J.layrock, K. Porter, K. Brown, Z. Roddenberry, M. Ragsdale, T. Morgan, M. Garner, C. Davis, ~. McFadden, N. Ramirez, R. Woods. Sam Brown Craig Rainbolt 290 athletics Stephen Blake Craig Rainbolt lfent Morgan Craig Rainbolt Harding Bisons Craig Rainbolt
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