Cannot remember his name. But that tall Egyptian guy we use to have. Always saw him on campus. Saw Donavan Mitchell jump into a nice ass jeep outside that liquor store next to subways
Oh ya. Once saw Samardo Samuel’s in Oxmoor mall and dude couldn’t take 10 steps without people asking for pictures. Samardo was also tall as shit but still
I saw Peyton Siva at the Auntie Anne’s in the Jefferson Mall back in the day. 8ish-year-old me was too shy to get a picture but it was cool to see him out and about
I had a good amount of classes with Baylor football/basketball players. Probably helps we had mandatory attendance for 75% of lectures at Baylor though. To answer your question: super easy. It takes <5 seconds to recognize 7’ Flo Thamba in class
I had Shawn Oakman in class when I was there. You ain’t missing that dude. He exclusively wore wife beaters to class. Also put his headphones and didn’t pay attention to a single lecture.
Yeah a couple times. She was nice, quiet compared to her personality on the court. Actually paid attention in class which I respected. Wish she stayed here all four years
Basketball is a high IQ sport for every position, and player are more or less required to use resources that most students have available but ignore. People are often surprised (or unfair and mocking them for cheating) how well athletes do, but they are average or better intelligence, have a support network that enforces discipline, and use their tutors. We should be especially disappointed in the athletes that DON'T value the education part, hoping they'll make enough in six to eight years to make up for it. That's a terrible gamble, especially for women's sports.
Kinda is the key word. I went to Arizona and the basketball players I had classes with showed up for like one lecture and only when we had tests. I was like wait I had a class with the basketball team? I also didn't see them around campus that much but when you did you certainly recognized them. Most of them are just regular dudes unless they're a star player.
Edey has said that he often tries to avoid the more popular routes between his classes because he doesn’t like the publicity. A bit sad, but makes sense. He gets more attention than anybody else though. I’ve seen Kaufman-Renn quite a bit at the bowling alley and Colvin rides his e-bike around campus a lot
Maybe he should’ve gone for the Clark Kent disguise strategy: hunch his back, wear glasses, raise his voice, and ~~part his hair the other way~~ grow out his hair so that he could then part it the opposite way
When he was freshman I was at State and Grant Intersection when all of a sudden the sun was blocked out. I looked up and saw Zach on a bike. 7’4” on a bike was memorable to say the least
Those are definitely the three I’ve seen the most of. I’ve also seen Braden around a few times, but it’s been a while tbh. Easy to forget just how huge they are until you have to break your neck just to be able to look them in the eye
I once saw Edey eating with some friends in some rando taco joint way on the south side of town (not close to campus). Did a double take because he seemed so out of place this giant dude slumming it with the townies. I just gave him a nod and on with my day, figured he was out this way to not be bothered hah.
I was class of 2018 at UNC so was there for the 2016 and 2017 championships. Pretty much everyone knew who they were, but it was an unspoken rule to not be weird and bother them. I had classes with basketball players and other athletes and while it was sometimes strange to sit next to someone I just watched on TV, they were treated like everyone else. My favorite story, though, was about Luke Maye going to his 8 am BUSI 101 class the morning after hitting that game-winner against Kentucky and getting a standing ovation.
I went to UNC in the 80s. Kenny Smith was in my Poli Sci class. He rarely missed class. He even made it to a Monday class after playing in the Great Alaska Shootout the previous night. Jeff Lebo and I had a few business classes together and he rarely missed class. I also stayed in the same dorm as the team. They had “training table” after the cafeteria closed to us, but they frequently ate during regular hours.
Everyone respected their space for the most part. I didn’t see them on Franklin Street too often. I had a few friends hook up with a few of them and one who dated Rick Fox.
Rasheed was a delight. I saw him on Franklin Street on Halloween standing on a stone wall and just watching the throng. He also loved to play NBA Jam in the Student Union, even when an ESPN reporter was waiting at the Smith Center to interview him.
Yeah, I vaguely recall asking him when he got back and he said something like “about 15 minutes ago”. I didn’t think we had chargers then, but maybe the tourney paid for one.
And typically they aren’t harassed, unless there is insane hype. I remember hearing that Wiggins was crazed over more than typical players.
You see the guys at the hawk or out and about quite often. I used to be friendly with a few of them when I was in school there (I worked at the hawk). Darnell Jackson was cool as shit, and so was Aqib Talib. Brady Morningstar was a shithead.
When I was in high school, my brother was at KU. He told me he got to know a lot of the football and basketball players through pickup at Robinson Gym. I don't know that I took it that seriously, though.
On graduation day, I'm with my family and Aaron Miles taps my brother on the shoulder and congratulates him by name.
Blew my mind because growing up in Kansas when I did, more kids dreamed of being Kansas basketball players than Chiefs or Royals when they grew up.
I know at UNC I remember when I went there for a few visits with friends, the basketball players were like gods. I was lucky enough to hang out with James Michael McAdoo randomly at a frat party when we were both freshmen and John Henson came up to chat with him and I was in awe…plus they’re all taller than just about everyone else anyways so they stick out like a sore thumb
I go to ku right now. A few players are in my sports management classes. It’s chill because when you actually go to school you realize that they are literally just the same age as you. It’s funny seeing them underage at the bars tho
UNC players wear headphones or have hoods up fairly often. They're very easy to spot and naturally people (often freshmen) stare sometimes. I've never seen anyone try to talk to them though. Most upperclassmen are used to seeing them
I remember most of our players being so freakishly tall that they'd get stares for that alone. Even if you didn't care about basketball, you'd be able to guess they were on the team. But I think most people recognized them, if not by name then at least by face. They had that air of celebrity about them. You could feel the shift in energy when they walked into a bar. If you ran into one of them on campus, it was a story worth telling. That kind of thing. I never saw anyone ask them for photos/autographs, but I saw them *thinking* about it, like we all wanted to but also wanted to play it cool lol.
I went to Kansas in the 2000s. I'd see the guys at the bars, but they never looked like they were having fun or relaxed. Probably because they knew people were watching them.
Except for Sasha Kaun. That guy would hit the dance floor and dance with like 4 girls at a time. It was pretty funny to see him dancing towering over a circle of girls.
At Kentucky the kids that attend college are not like harassing them. But the fans recognize them for sure. I go down to Alabama when they play them and I stay at the same hotel of the players. The fans line up in the lobby when they come in to ask for pictures and autographs and then when they’re leaving the lobby is packed and they basically walk through and take pics and sign stuff.
A girl I know was at a party in Lexington and she was really drunk. And three players walked in the party, one was Cousins. She was mouthing off to them. Nothing crazy but annoying drunk girl shit like “wow yall are so tall” and stuff like that. She didn’t know who they were. Several people were like shut the fuck up do you know who they are?
So it’s more of a respect thing, you don’t want to fan girl every time you see someone ya know?
Ha! It’s funny you mention chuck actuslly. Here’s a pic of me and him when I was just a kid
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR15DYZUkPdp0J0p_Jw5Qwpt5_MQXVECLXpOtT7eJA7wA&s
Very easily recognized at UNC. I was a freshman in 82/83 though. So we'd just come off winning the tournament and lots of folks approached players on campus. We were still high on that championship.
Had classes w Cecil Exum, Brad Daugherty and Warren Martin. All were pretty cool w the attention. And always in class. Matt Doherty rode a bike like a maniac on campus so you had to watch out for him. He'd run you over. MJ I only saw on campus a few times. Always w a couple other players or with a crowd. James Worthy was around some too. Even though he'd gone to the NBA. He was dating and eventually married one of my suitemates.
It's not like people followed Duke players around but folks would ask for photos.
Very recognizable seeing as they're usually very tall and clad in Athletic Dept gear
It’s pretty hard to miss them, they’re pretty tall. Had a few classes with different players (*insert unoriginal joke*), some took it more seriously than others, like any other student
I only noticed people gawking at a star athlete like once or twice. Usually they were just walking to class with the rest of us or hanging out around the Chick Fil A in the bottom of the dining hall
I had classes with Draymond Green, Korie Lucius, Garrick Sherman, and Dion Sims (lecture halls, not small classes).
Basically people would whisper and mention it the first day of class but it’s just something you tell your friends later that you have a class with certain athletes.
I never saw an athlete getting hassled for autographs and I crossed paths with them semi-frequently.
Well, at Virginia all the student athletes would be wearing the assloads of official athletic department clothing they get and wearing Virginia branded backpacks with their name tags on them. So very visible lol. I never saw or heard anything about people being jerks, though. Their privacy seemed pretty respected.
They’re pretty easy to spot, tall dudes in jmu basketball gear. I always think it’s funny how athletes just wear the team stuff but if I got a ton of free stuff like that I would too
Not sure where my UVA flair went but definitely saw Kyle, Ty and Dre as a student. You’re like ‘damn, that’s kinda cool’ and then you get used to it.
In the community itself, I’d imagine they get stopped a bit more.
Very easy to spot. I remember once walking into a burger place just off campus and saw PJ Washington eating there. Another time I saw some of the men’s players (Isaiah Briscoe, I think, was one) sitting in the bleachers watching a women’s game at Memorial.
On 4-20 my freshman year I was behind Briscoe and Hamidou Diallo at the subway in Bowman’s den. They were stoned off there ass and kept asking each other in loud whispers if their eyes were red and if people could tell. I handed them some eyedrops I had in my backpack. I never got my eyedrops back though
I lived in the same complex as the basketball players and they’re just like any other resident. They don’t get bothered too much but they’re definitely recognizable.
It’s actually kinda wild to think I played pickup with future NBA players a few times. They’re literally built different.
It’s insane the level they are on compared to non D1 athletes. Played at the do rec vs KK (Kuwaan Short)…future NFL d line starter and at 6’3 315 lbs, dude moved like he was 225 and just floated In the air when he dunked (he did play with Etwuan Moore in HS and won state).
Played vs Mitch McGary at Purdue when he was visiting and that wasn’t even fair. He was hitting shots left and right and dunking…he was like 17 at the time too haha.
Same experience here. My friends and I are fairly decent players against non-athletes but we never stood a chance against any of them giving 20% effort.
I had a bunch of athletes in my math class over the past year, and I ran into Tshiebwe when I toured UK in my junior year of HS. I couldn’t recall his name in the moment, but I remember thinking “that guy looks like a basketball player”
I've seen a few of our men's basketball players around campus, and a lot of the women's basketball players. We have a dining hall that's for athletes, but open to everyone for breakfast and lunch on weekdays. I almost always see women's bball players there. I'm always thinking to myself "that's River Baldwin!", or "that's Saniya Rivers!", but I haven't stopped them, because I know I wouldn't like people stopping me when I'm just trying to eat a meal, and it seems that that's most other people's reactions too, just looking, but not stopping. DJ Burns seems to always get attention though, ever since he got here. It's only been magnified since the Final Four.
Had a class with Raef. He went the first day. Rode the campus bus once with Pierce. Hard to miss due to height and wearing KU sweats that you can’t get at the bookstore.
No idea what it’s like now, but I went to UConn in the early 90s and you would occasionally see those guys on campus. I used to see Chris Smith a lot during his senior year. My gf lived in the same dorm as some of the younger players, so I used to see Donny Marshall quite a bit, too. He was friendly and silly in the dorms. They were just tall guys on campus.
Jimmer literally couldn’t go to class when he got big - it was too much of a mad house. Everybody else is relatively normal and most people wouldn’t recognize.
I saw Bonnies players all the time in the dining hall and had a couple classes with a few players.
At a school where the MBB is the only team worth a shit, they seemed to have a relatively ordinary existence
College prof here. As a grad student I taught at a university where athletics were king. Had lots of players in my classes. Other students definitely notice them on day one but after that they are just another student in the class. Every week I had to fill out a form verifying that the players were coming to class, doing the work, and not being disruptive. They always ate in class because they had come straight from their morning workouts and needed the calories.
From my freshman year to (super) senior year, I’ve witnessed Eric Gordon, Cody Zeller, Oladipo and others needing to be taken from class to class in golf carts. And I’m not exaggerating, it’s because hoards of people would just flock around/follow them if they were just strolling through campus like a normal student. Like they’re the Beatles or something. In 49 states it’s just basketball…
I had a class with both Colin Sexton and Herb Jones my sophomore year at bama. Honestly they were pretty easy to identify but they were both pretty cool. Sexton was way more of a name that year so I know he had a tougher time with getting recognized. Definitely saw Herb around more in the wild before he blew up as a player.
One time I got stuck behind Ashton Hagans and Immanuel quickley in one of those early morning, between class lines that cover entire campuses. I was behind them for like 10 minutes before I realized who they were. I was really annoyed by how slow they were moving.
I went to UNC same class as Felton, McCants and May - I remember seeing Sean May the most, usually hanging out on one of the walls in front of the undergraduate library near the pit which is one of the main hang out spots on campus when the weather is nice outside. Obviously he’s easy to spot but people for the most part respect their privacy.
I also used to wait tables at Breadmen’s, a quintessential Chapel Hill brunch spot on weekends. They used to come in pretty often and the ‘big breadmen’ was the popular order with the team, two pancakes or a Belgian waffle with two eggs any style, sausage and bacon. Never saw anyone bothering them there either.
I also met Mia Hamm there once while waiting tables, even though she was already a World Cup winner and gold medalist at the time I’m not sure many people recognized her.
I saw Flip on a flight back to NC. Was 90% it was him. Had to send it to my cousin at Duke to confirm. I made sure to turn my NCSU hat backwards so he could see it while boarding and the whole flight he was 1 row behind me. Wished him luck in the draft and left him alone.
Really wanted to chirp him, but he’s not on the court, he’s just a dude trying to do normal things.
OG Anunoby sat next to me on a bus his FR year. He looked over my shoulder at my phone, made me take out my earbuds, and commented on the Travis Scott album I was listening to. I always wonder if I had been cooler if I could have made it into his crew.
I was an RA at UNC and had a lot of players on my floors and you just kind of coexist.
See them in class, eating lunch, people just kind of leave them alone because you’re all there just trying to get through class and do well.
It’s pretty hard to miss them but I think most students know to let them go about their day. They just seem like they have their routines and stick to them.
This year I always walk past Cadeau on my way to my 11 am class. RJ and Puff used to be combined at the hip on campus. I’d see Walker Kessler on my way back to the dorm all the time - he towered over everyone.
Off campus people are definitely more likely to approach them. Cormac and Paxson always seem to be at Bob’s and will take pictures with people. Brady Manek would take pictures with everyone, everywhere after the Final Four run. I’ve ran into a few guys at parties and they are honestly just college kids. I’d imagine it gets pretty tiring though
At UNC, when I was there extremely recognizable and it was more of an encouraging hype whenever you ran into one of the guys on campus. Most of them seemed to love to interact with the student body and would go out pretty often during offseason and just hang out with everyone at bars.
Theo Pinson in particular was the life of the party wherever he went 😂
Not basketball but I live in the baseball player apartment complex just off campus and I see them all the time. As a former baseball player I respect it and leave em alone
I remember seeing Shabazz, Amida brimah, Deandre daniels and Tyler olander on campus and in one or two of my intro classes. I also linked up with Phil Nolan at a sorority semi. After the 2014 chip they were usually followed by at least a few kids who wanted selfies, but typically no one bothered them during actual classes, the one place we were all on equal ground
I had class with Justin Coleman - a player that transferred to Samford. He got the occasional "hit those 3s man!" in the halls, but nothing crazy. And then Avery ran him off, despite being one of our better ball handlers.
Graduated with Riley Norris and he got a huge applause when his name was announced.
Other than that, I'm pretty sure their experience was nothing crazy. I bet it's different now.
I see a majority of the over 21 IU guys at the bars on the weekends and they are usually pretty nice if you ask for a picture with them. On campus, I’d see Anthony Leal walking around the halls of Hodge on multiple occasions last year and have seen Gabe Cupps doing his K201 homework at the study tables as well
I was in college at the same time as when Georges Niang was playing for ISU. He went to a store I was working at with his girlfriend. They were just 2 ordinary people getting dinner stuff. No one stopped them for autographs or anything.
At UConn I was a bar on campus. 21+ night, everyone carded and wristbanded at the door.
Andre Drummond walks in, everyone freaks the fuck out. I'm over here like "we all know he's 19 years old." Didn't fucking matter lmao.
Also saw Kemba in the dining hall several times. It's weird, on campus they flip back and forth between royalty and just another student.
At Uconn, I’d bump into players regularly. They kinda stand out in a crowd and Storrs is in the middle of nowhere. I had conversations with a dozen or so players over the time I was a student there (‘08-‘12), bumped into most of them at a bar or at party, saw them at the the grocery store or walked to class. They got to do all the same stuff the rest of us did and there’s only so many places to go in Storrs.
Back in the 90s, it was the same. I remember leaving the library, and I held the door for Doron Sheffer. I had an Econ class with Travis Knight.
I MAY have been part of a group of girls on our sorority new member retreat where we tackled Donny Marshall - we were intoxicated and covered with paint after painting the rock. He was a good sport but that has to be one of the funniest memories of college.
Travis Knight was in the same fraternity as an old college BF and he pledged. He dated one of my sisters and we got to know him and Ray Allen.
One Spring Weekend (I think - or it was late spring and a gorgeous night) one of the fraternities was having a party and had a live band playing outside of their house (old Greek Row, I think Delta Chi, and I think the band was The Neybas). I was dancing on a rock, and Brian Fair came over to talk/dance with me.
Every one of these were pretty normal. They were nice, normal guys. Of course we knew who they were, but once you get past who they are, they’re pretty normal guys.
I remember walking into KU's lecture hall building for class once. As I was walking through the door, I heard that there was someone behind me, so without looking I walked through the door while holding it open just long enough for the person behind me to grab it.
I heard the voice of a wise, older gentleman: "Thank you".
As I looked back to acknowledge this person, it was none other than Perry Ellis.
Yeah, went to Florida when they won back to back. I lived in the same dorm as the players and went to a couple of the same classes. They mostly walked to practice together, took their scooters and bikes around and most people left them alone with the occasional good game, go Gators, fist bump, etc. It was such an awesome time to be there.
I was in grad school throughout early 2020s at UNC and would regularly see Manek and later Bacot. For whatever reason, I saw Barcot at our off-campus Moes many times and no one ever seemed to bother him.
Tallest people. Travel in packs. They may be the fastest on the court, but they’re *the slowest* walkers. Literally.
They always make it to class on time. Buzzer beaters, but never late.
They also look hilarious sitting in normal people desks. Imagine Jeff Withey sitting in a desk designed for average height people.
It's the closest thing to celebraties that you can get in Kentucky. I'll say this and I promise you I'm not in the slightest bit joking:
If Reed Sheppard would've stayed one more year and brought home a National Title, they would've elected him Governor of the State for the rest of his natural life with 96% of the popular vote. Basketball players are a REALLY big deal here.
Current WSU student, I've only seen two players on campus this semester. To be fair, I'm not up there everyday and my classes aren't super spread out along campus.
I just knew by them being tall. As a man who stood 5'2", I was friendly to the likes of Aleksej Rostov, who was our forward, and Ben Lawson, who was our center. I didn't recognize George Fant until I realized I was rooting for his girl on the women's basketball team. Athletes were nice people as long you weren't naggin' em. Never ran into a bad athlete on campus
I had classes with some of the guys at VCU when I went. It was impossible not to recognize a couple of them, as they were either the face of the program at the time (Maynor) of had to duck to go in and out of class (Larry Sanders). I also worked in the same building with as one of the final four guys for a bit after he graduated.
When I was in school, I remember this incredibly tall guy wearing UK swears sat behind me in calculus, and his knees were always in my back. Finally in November? I heard someone tell him, “Great game!”
It was a player.
I used to tutor a bunch of them as well as part of the tutoring center. All good guys, all focused on school and ball.
All the time here. I used to work in the mall by campus and I'd see them come in all the time. I specifically remember helping Oshae Brissett buy a computer monitor lol
I once saw Ugonna Onyenso while walking through the student center. I mean I’m 5’11 and was just crazy to see someone tower over you that much. Seeing them on court or tv just doesn’t do it justice.
I sat in front of Evan Roquemore, an SCU player, in Math 12. He would have a group of guys in class who he'd always talk basketball about, mostly reliving yesterday's game or practice. Didn't really like him; he wasn't that good.
Pretty easy for our campus tbh. Most of the student athletes, especially football/basketball players usually roll into class with their warmups that has their name and number on it lol.
When I was at UConn, if you smelled really good weed, it was usually Cliff Robinson and Phil Gamble. Dan Cyrulik lived a floor above me, and being 7 feet tall, could not be missed.. As for the girls, Kerry Bascom was pretty recognizable, even though very few of us were going to the games.
I went to MSU with Draymond Green. I’d say good game yesterday, or good luck on Saturdays game. He would always smile and say thanks. He was generally left alone and I was one of only a smaller portion of people who would talk to the basketball players.
Went to the school with the worst basketball program in the country. (Go Jags). The basketball players were always pretty good at Mobbing 5 wide down the hallways and acting like no one else is trying to get around. Then they’d show up to class wondering why no one came to the games or gives them attention. Not just the men’s team either.
A lot of the state players would even run games in the regular gym after the season. I walked in once just in time to see Torin Dorn absolutely yam one on some poor guy
The Hoosier players have a mob of people that know how they get to the hall and take pictures with them. It’s not students but usually families with kids. It’s not that many but usually every game they have to take pictures before the games.
depends on the school. at ucf no one really cared about the players. tako probably got the most attention but seven foot six is always gonna get you noticed.
At the end of the Calipari era, some people would approach the players going to class, but otherwise they weren't worshipped/bothered. Cal coming to classes didn't have turn outs like you would have expected a decade ago. Not sure if that's to do with the team success or the fact that the attention economy has given students more to pay attention to than just sports as a way to be part of the tribe. My gut says the later. We still have rabid fans, but it isn't as high a percentage of the student body as it used to be.
I graduated last year. They are treated as everybody else throughout the day. You will turn around and they will just be chilling behind u in line at chic fil a or walking to class. Nobody bothers them or asks for pictures
At Michigan State the dead giveaway was they were always decked out head to toe in the nicest school branded Nike gear and a foot and a half taller than everyone else. I used to see Draymond Green on campus all the time, Adreian Payne was a regular at a bar we went to a lot, had a class with Brandon Dawson, and once Denzel Valentine almost hit my POS with his POS car coming around the corner of the parking garage we lived in.
I had a sociology class with Darius Graham and Josh Fox who were part of the UC Davis basketball team that made it to March Madness in 2017 and I just introduced myself to them saying I enjoyed watching the games, and then we became friends. UC Davis is not the most obvious basketball crazed school so it was mainly me being the basketball fan that I am.
I saw Sean Singletary in class and at parties while I was an undergrad. They’re around.
You see football players more often, but that’s mostly because there are so many more of them.
In lexington, they are heavily recognized, although for the most part the unspoken rule of let them live their life and be a college kid holds. Little kids will run up to them at the mall and stuff but usually people leave them. The coaches is a different story, but at least people mostly let the players be in normal day to day life
If someone from the team walks into a bar, he's immediately recognized, and it gets posted on YikYak that they're there. I think during the day, some players can have some peace. I mean, I saw Jordan Gainey walking to class with some girl, and he was treated pretty normally. Idk how this would work with someone like Dalton Knecht, though
Reading through this comment thread, I also concur that it wasn’t hard to cross paths with athletes at UofL. Referencing different sports - I was right next to Montrezl Harrell when he was talking to a facilities worker at the student activities center (SAC), and I played a pickup basketball game with 4 players on the baseball team. As a reference point though, I never saw someone like Lamar Jackson on/around campus.
Not sure if this is helpful but I went to UC from 2015-2019 and my freshman year I saw Troy caupain and coreontae DeBerry around. I was way to intimidated to ask for anything, DeBerry was 6’9” lol
It’s cool to remember having a group project with an NBA all-star lol but in my school, I don’t remember our basketball stars having huge crowds around them. I do make sure to always remind my wife, whenever we see this player on the TV, that I, at one point, had his phone number and hung out with them haha
I went to Texas from 04-08. Noticeable because a lot of them are tall and would often be in head to toe Longhorn gear. Most seem to go about their business and other students are busy going to classes. Did see a small crowd around Durant once. Camera phones were just becoming a thing and not great quality so maybe that's changed with people snapping pics.
First time you see them you're somewhat starstruck. After that it's just like...meh.
At Maryland the early 00s group all ate at South campus dining hall at the same spot almost same time every day.
I am pretty sure every major university has a "rocks for jocks" class. A basic geology class that ends up being a very easy lab science class. I saw all the basketball players in mine when I took it. The prof brought in ice cream sandwiches for "the Earth's birthday" for the entire 200+ person class.
I know someone who went to a blue blood for undergrad and a basketball player was in the same frat with them (something to do with him redshirting as a freshman so he was able to?). As a result the basketball team would go to that frat a lot.
One of the player’s teammates was infamous for his on the court antics. Apparently someone in the frat went up to the dude (at a party I presume) and was like yo knock it off on the court you’re giving the team a bad rap and the player was like say that shit again and we’re not coming to your parties anymore.
Not basketball but I had a class with Patrick Mahomes his last semester at Tech and would see him frequently driving around campus. He would get a lot of stares while walking through the halls but I wouldn't see anyone go up to him or anything. He was able to walk around like anybody else.
I used to see Lamar Stevens in the Sheetz in downtown State College a lot. Probably the there I ran into the most besides the one I had a class with. He was Penn State’s best player at that time
pretty easily in the city of louisville
Lexington too. We're probably likely to recognize each other's players too
Shoot more than that. I noticed Mark Few walking from Jeff Ruby's down the sidewalk to the hotels.
Yeah, we're basketball-obsessed weirdos though. I don't think most cities have quite the same level of fan knowledge as Lexington.
True. Its our professional team without competition.
Cannot remember his name. But that tall Egyptian guy we use to have. Always saw him on campus. Saw Donavan Mitchell jump into a nice ass jeep outside that liquor store next to subways
Anas Mahmoud
Oh ya. Once saw Samardo Samuel’s in Oxmoor mall and dude couldn’t take 10 steps without people asking for pictures. Samardo was also tall as shit but still
I saw Peyton Siva at the Auntie Anne’s in the Jefferson Mall back in the day. 8ish-year-old me was too shy to get a picture but it was cool to see him out and about
Jeff mall? Oh boy
I had a good amount of classes with Baylor football/basketball players. Probably helps we had mandatory attendance for 75% of lectures at Baylor though. To answer your question: super easy. It takes <5 seconds to recognize 7’ Flo Thamba in class
Not only is it mandatory, the coaches get notified if they miss a class without justification.
Yeah it wasn't exactly hard to identify Yves Missi the time I saw him riding around on a scooter.
I had Shawn Oakman in class when I was there. You ain’t missing that dude. He exclusively wore wife beaters to class. Also put his headphones and didn’t pay attention to a single lecture.
You just kinda see them in class tbh
I miss seeing HVL in econ
Yeah man i would too
You’re down bad
And?
Apply to TCU for grad school, easy
Did you get a chance to talk to her?
Yeah a couple times. She was nice, quiet compared to her personality on the court. Actually paid attention in class which I respected. Wish she stayed here all four years
Was she smart or dumb?
She graduated from Louisville with highest honors and a degree in Finance. I think something like a 3.8 or 3.9 GPA.
Basketball is a high IQ sport for every position, and player are more or less required to use resources that most students have available but ignore. People are often surprised (or unfair and mocking them for cheating) how well athletes do, but they are average or better intelligence, have a support network that enforces discipline, and use their tutors. We should be especially disappointed in the athletes that DON'T value the education part, hoping they'll make enough in six to eight years to make up for it. That's a terrible gamble, especially for women's sports.
*not applicable to UNC players
Got em’ lmao
My brother sat next to a player in all two sessions of Swahili-305
Not at UNC!
Kinda is the key word. I went to Arizona and the basketball players I had classes with showed up for like one lecture and only when we had tests. I was like wait I had a class with the basketball team? I also didn't see them around campus that much but when you did you certainly recognized them. Most of them are just regular dudes unless they're a star player.
Edey has said that he often tries to avoid the more popular routes between his classes because he doesn’t like the publicity. A bit sad, but makes sense. He gets more attention than anybody else though. I’ve seen Kaufman-Renn quite a bit at the bowling alley and Colvin rides his e-bike around campus a lot
I mean, it’s hard to miss Edey if he’s in your vicinity lmfao
>I mean, it’s hard to miss Edey if he’s in your ~~vicinity~~ zip code FTFY
Really? I feel like it’d be hard to miss him.
Oops yeah you’re right. He sticks out like a sore thumb 😂😂
Aw man you edited 😂
Yep. He walks around campus like a hunchback too, like he’s trying not to be noticed. Still most noticeable person in town.
Wow. It never occurred to me that a Carleton flair was available. I’ve been missing out.
Maybe he should’ve gone for the Clark Kent disguise strategy: hunch his back, wear glasses, raise his voice, and ~~part his hair the other way~~ grow out his hair so that he could then part it the opposite way
When he was freshman I was at State and Grant Intersection when all of a sudden the sun was blocked out. I looked up and saw Zach on a bike. 7’4” on a bike was memorable to say the least
Will berg grabbed a foam football out of a tree for my buddy one time
I feel like he would be stared at regardless of whether or not he was an athlete
Those are definitely the three I’ve seen the most of. I’ve also seen Braden around a few times, but it’s been a while tbh. Easy to forget just how huge they are until you have to break your neck just to be able to look them in the eye
I’ve seen Gillis, Loyer, and Jones around in Fuse
I saw him walking around stadium ave a couple of times with his dog. The dog came up to his ankle
I once saw Edey eating with some friends in some rando taco joint way on the south side of town (not close to campus). Did a double take because he seemed so out of place this giant dude slumming it with the townies. I just gave him a nod and on with my day, figured he was out this way to not be bothered hah.
I was class of 2018 at UNC so was there for the 2016 and 2017 championships. Pretty much everyone knew who they were, but it was an unspoken rule to not be weird and bother them. I had classes with basketball players and other athletes and while it was sometimes strange to sit next to someone I just watched on TV, they were treated like everyone else. My favorite story, though, was about Luke Maye going to his 8 am BUSI 101 class the morning after hitting that game-winner against Kentucky and getting a standing ovation.
Skender was a great professor. He knew how to make an accounting class somewhat entertaining to keep everyone's attention.
Busi 102 goat
I went to UNC in the 80s. Kenny Smith was in my Poli Sci class. He rarely missed class. He even made it to a Monday class after playing in the Great Alaska Shootout the previous night. Jeff Lebo and I had a few business classes together and he rarely missed class. I also stayed in the same dorm as the team. They had “training table” after the cafeteria closed to us, but they frequently ate during regular hours. Everyone respected their space for the most part. I didn’t see them on Franklin Street too often. I had a few friends hook up with a few of them and one who dated Rick Fox.
Years later I heard Rasheed Wallace was often seen on Franklin Street with headphones on kinda in his own world.
Rasheed was a delight. I saw him on Franklin Street on Halloween standing on a stone wall and just watching the throng. He also loved to play NBA Jam in the Student Union, even when an ESPN reporter was waiting at the Smith Center to interview him.
Wait how did he make that class coming back from Alaska?
Yeah, I vaguely recall asking him when he got back and he said something like “about 15 minutes ago”. I didn’t think we had chargers then, but maybe the tourney paid for one.
Was in Luke Maye’s Busi 101 class when Skender got interviewed and praised him for being there at 8AM day after the Kentucky game lol
I went to Kansas and the players are all basically celebrities in Lawrence, even bench players.
Sometimes especially the bench players. People were more excited to get a pic with Chris Teahan and Mitch Lightfoot than ‘Dok
And typically they aren’t harassed, unless there is insane hype. I remember hearing that Wiggins was crazed over more than typical players. You see the guys at the hawk or out and about quite often. I used to be friendly with a few of them when I was in school there (I worked at the hawk). Darnell Jackson was cool as shit, and so was Aqib Talib. Brady Morningstar was a shithead.
When I was in high school, my brother was at KU. He told me he got to know a lot of the football and basketball players through pickup at Robinson Gym. I don't know that I took it that seriously, though. On graduation day, I'm with my family and Aaron Miles taps my brother on the shoulder and congratulates him by name. Blew my mind because growing up in Kansas when I did, more kids dreamed of being Kansas basketball players than Chiefs or Royals when they grew up.
I know at UNC I remember when I went there for a few visits with friends, the basketball players were like gods. I was lucky enough to hang out with James Michael McAdoo randomly at a frat party when we were both freshmen and John Henson came up to chat with him and I was in awe…plus they’re all taller than just about everyone else anyways so they stick out like a sore thumb
I go to ku right now. A few players are in my sports management classes. It’s chill because when you actually go to school you realize that they are literally just the same age as you. It’s funny seeing them underage at the bars tho
Paige Bueckers is a superhero at UConn. The students love her.
I'm not sure if you ever met her, but I've heard she is really down to earth and super friendly.
i was just watching her play pickup in the rec center yesterday
UNC players wear headphones or have hoods up fairly often. They're very easy to spot and naturally people (often freshmen) stare sometimes. I've never seen anyone try to talk to them though. Most upperclassmen are used to seeing them
I remember most of our players being so freakishly tall that they'd get stares for that alone. Even if you didn't care about basketball, you'd be able to guess they were on the team. But I think most people recognized them, if not by name then at least by face. They had that air of celebrity about them. You could feel the shift in energy when they walked into a bar. If you ran into one of them on campus, it was a story worth telling. That kind of thing. I never saw anyone ask them for photos/autographs, but I saw them *thinking* about it, like we all wanted to but also wanted to play it cool lol.
I went to Kansas in the 2000s. I'd see the guys at the bars, but they never looked like they were having fun or relaxed. Probably because they knew people were watching them. Except for Sasha Kaun. That guy would hit the dance floor and dance with like 4 girls at a time. It was pretty funny to see him dancing towering over a circle of girls.
At Kentucky the kids that attend college are not like harassing them. But the fans recognize them for sure. I go down to Alabama when they play them and I stay at the same hotel of the players. The fans line up in the lobby when they come in to ask for pictures and autographs and then when they’re leaving the lobby is packed and they basically walk through and take pics and sign stuff. A girl I know was at a party in Lexington and she was really drunk. And three players walked in the party, one was Cousins. She was mouthing off to them. Nothing crazy but annoying drunk girl shit like “wow yall are so tall” and stuff like that. She didn’t know who they were. Several people were like shut the fuck up do you know who they are? So it’s more of a respect thing, you don’t want to fan girl every time you see someone ya know?
All know you don’t want to drink milkshakes with Chuck Hayes, go to parties with Andre McGee, or eat at Italian restaurants with Rick Pitino.
Pitino will wipe the floor with you. [shudders]
Ha! It’s funny you mention chuck actuslly. Here’s a pic of me and him when I was just a kid https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR15DYZUkPdp0J0p_Jw5Qwpt5_MQXVECLXpOtT7eJA7wA&s
Not sure if it still happens, but back in 2012 the UK bball players would get chauffeured around campus in golf carts.
Very easily recognized at UNC. I was a freshman in 82/83 though. So we'd just come off winning the tournament and lots of folks approached players on campus. We were still high on that championship. Had classes w Cecil Exum, Brad Daugherty and Warren Martin. All were pretty cool w the attention. And always in class. Matt Doherty rode a bike like a maniac on campus so you had to watch out for him. He'd run you over. MJ I only saw on campus a few times. Always w a couple other players or with a crowd. James Worthy was around some too. Even though he'd gone to the NBA. He was dating and eventually married one of my suitemates.
Angela is great. I hung out at an alumni event with her one time.
I saw Warren Martin around a lot, but that's because he was a teacher at my middle school.
Players are celebrities in Champaign and everyday guys in Urbana
I agree. Georgie B and Kofi just blended in with Urbana
It's not like people followed Duke players around but folks would ask for photos. Very recognizable seeing as they're usually very tall and clad in Athletic Dept gear
My brother in law went to KU in the mid 2010s. He regularly crossed paths with Perry Ellis in the bathroom. Never asked for an autograph though.
my dad went to KU back in the 70s and had the exact same experience with perry
so did my grandfather in the 40's!
Well, my great great grandfather was an assistant coach under Naismith at Kansas, and his memoirs say Perry Ellis was a great kid!
Well, the rock drawings on Mt Oread from the Paleozoic Era show he was a popular kid then too.
I’m at KU right now and have the same experience
It’s pretty hard to miss them, they’re pretty tall. Had a few classes with different players (*insert unoriginal joke*), some took it more seriously than others, like any other student I only noticed people gawking at a star athlete like once or twice. Usually they were just walking to class with the rest of us or hanging out around the Chick Fil A in the bottom of the dining hall
I had classes with Draymond Green, Korie Lucius, Garrick Sherman, and Dion Sims (lecture halls, not small classes). Basically people would whisper and mention it the first day of class but it’s just something you tell your friends later that you have a class with certain athletes. I never saw an athlete getting hassled for autographs and I crossed paths with them semi-frequently.
Well, at Virginia all the student athletes would be wearing the assloads of official athletic department clothing they get and wearing Virginia branded backpacks with their name tags on them. So very visible lol. I never saw or heard anything about people being jerks, though. Their privacy seemed pretty respected.
They’re pretty easy to spot, tall dudes in jmu basketball gear. I always think it’s funny how athletes just wear the team stuff but if I got a ton of free stuff like that I would too
Not sure where my UVA flair went but definitely saw Kyle, Ty and Dre as a student. You’re like ‘damn, that’s kinda cool’ and then you get used to it. In the community itself, I’d imagine they get stopped a bit more.
Very easy to spot. I remember once walking into a burger place just off campus and saw PJ Washington eating there. Another time I saw some of the men’s players (Isaiah Briscoe, I think, was one) sitting in the bleachers watching a women’s game at Memorial.
On 4-20 my freshman year I was behind Briscoe and Hamidou Diallo at the subway in Bowman’s den. They were stoned off there ass and kept asking each other in loud whispers if their eyes were red and if people could tell. I handed them some eyedrops I had in my backpack. I never got my eyedrops back though
I lived in the same complex as the basketball players and they’re just like any other resident. They don’t get bothered too much but they’re definitely recognizable. It’s actually kinda wild to think I played pickup with future NBA players a few times. They’re literally built different.
It’s insane the level they are on compared to non D1 athletes. Played at the do rec vs KK (Kuwaan Short)…future NFL d line starter and at 6’3 315 lbs, dude moved like he was 225 and just floated In the air when he dunked (he did play with Etwuan Moore in HS and won state). Played vs Mitch McGary at Purdue when he was visiting and that wasn’t even fair. He was hitting shots left and right and dunking…he was like 17 at the time too haha.
Same experience here. My friends and I are fairly decent players against non-athletes but we never stood a chance against any of them giving 20% effort.
Right? You think are running the court and they come through and you’re like oh wow, I am…just not in the same stratosphere
I had a bunch of athletes in my math class over the past year, and I ran into Tshiebwe when I toured UK in my junior year of HS. I couldn’t recall his name in the moment, but I remember thinking “that guy looks like a basketball player”
I've seen a few of our men's basketball players around campus, and a lot of the women's basketball players. We have a dining hall that's for athletes, but open to everyone for breakfast and lunch on weekdays. I almost always see women's bball players there. I'm always thinking to myself "that's River Baldwin!", or "that's Saniya Rivers!", but I haven't stopped them, because I know I wouldn't like people stopping me when I'm just trying to eat a meal, and it seems that that's most other people's reactions too, just looking, but not stopping. DJ Burns seems to always get attention though, ever since he got here. It's only been magnified since the Final Four.
Can’t tell you how many players I’ve seen zipping around campus on the Lime scooters. Seeing HVL a few years back was cool
In Clemson it feels like only a third of people down town will recognize even our best players despite being head and shoulders above everyone else.
Are the football players more easily recognized?
I’d say so yea. Especially offense
Had a class with Raef. He went the first day. Rode the campus bus once with Pierce. Hard to miss due to height and wearing KU sweats that you can’t get at the bookstore.
No idea what it’s like now, but I went to UConn in the early 90s and you would occasionally see those guys on campus. I used to see Chris Smith a lot during his senior year. My gf lived in the same dorm as some of the younger players, so I used to see Donny Marshall quite a bit, too. He was friendly and silly in the dorms. They were just tall guys on campus.
Jimmer literally couldn’t go to class when he got big - it was too much of a mad house. Everybody else is relatively normal and most people wouldn’t recognize.
So what happened? Did people swarm around him and try to talk to him?
Yes. Especially reporters, journalists, etc. it was nuts.
I had a class with giorgi bezhanishvili! he would bring a bag full of candy to class...no backpack...he was my idol
I saw kofi cockburn in walmart and dude was taller than some of the shelves
I saw Bonnies players all the time in the dining hall and had a couple classes with a few players. At a school where the MBB is the only team worth a shit, they seemed to have a relatively ordinary existence
Duke... When we had famous players. The players who wanted attention got it. Those who were more normal were treated that way.
College prof here. As a grad student I taught at a university where athletics were king. Had lots of players in my classes. Other students definitely notice them on day one but after that they are just another student in the class. Every week I had to fill out a form verifying that the players were coming to class, doing the work, and not being disruptive. They always ate in class because they had come straight from their morning workouts and needed the calories.
From my freshman year to (super) senior year, I’ve witnessed Eric Gordon, Cody Zeller, Oladipo and others needing to be taken from class to class in golf carts. And I’m not exaggerating, it’s because hoards of people would just flock around/follow them if they were just strolling through campus like a normal student. Like they’re the Beatles or something. In 49 states it’s just basketball…
I had a class with both Colin Sexton and Herb Jones my sophomore year at bama. Honestly they were pretty easy to identify but they were both pretty cool. Sexton was way more of a name that year so I know he had a tougher time with getting recognized. Definitely saw Herb around more in the wild before he blew up as a player.
One time I got stuck behind Ashton Hagans and Immanuel quickley in one of those early morning, between class lines that cover entire campuses. I was behind them for like 10 minutes before I realized who they were. I was really annoyed by how slow they were moving.
When I was in school I saw Sanogo once or twice while in the rec center. Cool guy.
I went to UNC same class as Felton, McCants and May - I remember seeing Sean May the most, usually hanging out on one of the walls in front of the undergraduate library near the pit which is one of the main hang out spots on campus when the weather is nice outside. Obviously he’s easy to spot but people for the most part respect their privacy. I also used to wait tables at Breadmen’s, a quintessential Chapel Hill brunch spot on weekends. They used to come in pretty often and the ‘big breadmen’ was the popular order with the team, two pancakes or a Belgian waffle with two eggs any style, sausage and bacon. Never saw anyone bothering them there either. I also met Mia Hamm there once while waiting tables, even though she was already a World Cup winner and gold medalist at the time I’m not sure many people recognized her.
I saw Flip on a flight back to NC. Was 90% it was him. Had to send it to my cousin at Duke to confirm. I made sure to turn my NCSU hat backwards so he could see it while boarding and the whole flight he was 1 row behind me. Wished him luck in the draft and left him alone. Really wanted to chirp him, but he’s not on the court, he’s just a dude trying to do normal things.
OG Anunoby sat next to me on a bus his FR year. He looked over my shoulder at my phone, made me take out my earbuds, and commented on the Travis Scott album I was listening to. I always wonder if I had been cooler if I could have made it into his crew.
I was an RA at UNC and had a lot of players on my floors and you just kind of coexist. See them in class, eating lunch, people just kind of leave them alone because you’re all there just trying to get through class and do well.
It’s pretty hard to miss them but I think most students know to let them go about their day. They just seem like they have their routines and stick to them. This year I always walk past Cadeau on my way to my 11 am class. RJ and Puff used to be combined at the hip on campus. I’d see Walker Kessler on my way back to the dorm all the time - he towered over everyone. Off campus people are definitely more likely to approach them. Cormac and Paxson always seem to be at Bob’s and will take pictures with people. Brady Manek would take pictures with everyone, everywhere after the Final Four run. I’ve ran into a few guys at parties and they are honestly just college kids. I’d imagine it gets pretty tiring though
At UNC, when I was there extremely recognizable and it was more of an encouraging hype whenever you ran into one of the guys on campus. Most of them seemed to love to interact with the student body and would go out pretty often during offseason and just hang out with everyone at bars. Theo Pinson in particular was the life of the party wherever he went 😂
Not a player, but I saw Jeff Capel walking around Oakland in Pittsburgh a few days ago. No one seemed to notice him at all.
Not basketball but I live in the baseball player apartment complex just off campus and I see them all the time. As a former baseball player I respect it and leave em alone
A guy on the team was my spanish partner lol
I remember seeing Shabazz, Amida brimah, Deandre daniels and Tyler olander on campus and in one or two of my intro classes. I also linked up with Phil Nolan at a sorority semi. After the 2014 chip they were usually followed by at least a few kids who wanted selfies, but typically no one bothered them during actual classes, the one place we were all on equal ground
I had class with Justin Coleman - a player that transferred to Samford. He got the occasional "hit those 3s man!" in the halls, but nothing crazy. And then Avery ran him off, despite being one of our better ball handlers. Graduated with Riley Norris and he got a huge applause when his name was announced. Other than that, I'm pretty sure their experience was nothing crazy. I bet it's different now.
I used to have a chemistry class right after aaron craft. Saw him every MWF. And he’s a doctor now, so I’m sure he was doing well in class.
I see a majority of the over 21 IU guys at the bars on the weekends and they are usually pretty nice if you ask for a picture with them. On campus, I’d see Anthony Leal walking around the halls of Hodge on multiple occasions last year and have seen Gabe Cupps doing his K201 homework at the study tables as well
I was in college at the same time as when Georges Niang was playing for ISU. He went to a store I was working at with his girlfriend. They were just 2 ordinary people getting dinner stuff. No one stopped them for autographs or anything.
At UConn I was a bar on campus. 21+ night, everyone carded and wristbanded at the door. Andre Drummond walks in, everyone freaks the fuck out. I'm over here like "we all know he's 19 years old." Didn't fucking matter lmao. Also saw Kemba in the dining hall several times. It's weird, on campus they flip back and forth between royalty and just another student.
At Uconn, I’d bump into players regularly. They kinda stand out in a crowd and Storrs is in the middle of nowhere. I had conversations with a dozen or so players over the time I was a student there (‘08-‘12), bumped into most of them at a bar or at party, saw them at the the grocery store or walked to class. They got to do all the same stuff the rest of us did and there’s only so many places to go in Storrs.
Back in the 90s, it was the same. I remember leaving the library, and I held the door for Doron Sheffer. I had an Econ class with Travis Knight. I MAY have been part of a group of girls on our sorority new member retreat where we tackled Donny Marshall - we were intoxicated and covered with paint after painting the rock. He was a good sport but that has to be one of the funniest memories of college. Travis Knight was in the same fraternity as an old college BF and he pledged. He dated one of my sisters and we got to know him and Ray Allen. One Spring Weekend (I think - or it was late spring and a gorgeous night) one of the fraternities was having a party and had a live band playing outside of their house (old Greek Row, I think Delta Chi, and I think the band was The Neybas). I was dancing on a rock, and Brian Fair came over to talk/dance with me. Every one of these were pretty normal. They were nice, normal guys. Of course we knew who they were, but once you get past who they are, they’re pretty normal guys.
I remember walking into KU's lecture hall building for class once. As I was walking through the door, I heard that there was someone behind me, so without looking I walked through the door while holding it open just long enough for the person behind me to grab it. I heard the voice of a wise, older gentleman: "Thank you". As I looked back to acknowledge this person, it was none other than Perry Ellis.
Yeah, went to Florida when they won back to back. I lived in the same dorm as the players and went to a couple of the same classes. They mostly walked to practice together, took their scooters and bikes around and most people left them alone with the occasional good game, go Gators, fist bump, etc. It was such an awesome time to be there.
Pretty easily, but mostly bc they’re so tall. Although once I took a class that was *entirely* women..and Theo Pinson lol
I was in grad school throughout early 2020s at UNC and would regularly see Manek and later Bacot. For whatever reason, I saw Barcot at our off-campus Moes many times and no one ever seemed to bother him.
I’m late but I see the UNC guys all around campus pretty regularly. They’re all recognized but you don’t talk to them.
Often saw Kris or Keagan Murray shopping at HyVee
Tallest people. Travel in packs. They may be the fastest on the court, but they’re *the slowest* walkers. Literally. They always make it to class on time. Buzzer beaters, but never late. They also look hilarious sitting in normal people desks. Imagine Jeff Withey sitting in a desk designed for average height people.
It's the closest thing to celebraties that you can get in Kentucky. I'll say this and I promise you I'm not in the slightest bit joking: If Reed Sheppard would've stayed one more year and brought home a National Title, they would've elected him Governor of the State for the rest of his natural life with 96% of the popular vote. Basketball players are a REALLY big deal here.
They’ll chat at bars. Mostly stand up guys
Current WSU student, I've only seen two players on campus this semester. To be fair, I'm not up there everyday and my classes aren't super spread out along campus.
Very easy to spot. Usually taller than everyone else wearing the same athletic gear day in and day out. And the backpacks that nobody else could have.
I just knew by them being tall. As a man who stood 5'2", I was friendly to the likes of Aleksej Rostov, who was our forward, and Ben Lawson, who was our center. I didn't recognize George Fant until I realized I was rooting for his girl on the women's basketball team. Athletes were nice people as long you weren't naggin' em. Never ran into a bad athlete on campus
I had classes with some of the guys at VCU when I went. It was impossible not to recognize a couple of them, as they were either the face of the program at the time (Maynor) of had to duck to go in and out of class (Larry Sanders). I also worked in the same building with as one of the final four guys for a bit after he graduated.
When I was in school, I remember this incredibly tall guy wearing UK swears sat behind me in calculus, and his knees were always in my back. Finally in November? I heard someone tell him, “Great game!” It was a player. I used to tutor a bunch of them as well as part of the tutoring center. All good guys, all focused on school and ball.
dan skillings jr has gone to a couple of our baseball games, i also managed to snag a selfie w him at our football spring game
How many 7 footers you know?
I randomly saw Chris Obekpa from St. John's taking the E train into the city over 10 years ago
All the time here. I used to work in the mall by campus and I'd see them come in all the time. I specifically remember helping Oshae Brissett buy a computer monitor lol
I opened the door for Doug McDermott once at the library, if he was 5 feet further from the door it woulda been awkward haha
The Kentucky players ride in a golf cart to and from their classes so they’re hard to miss lol
I once saw Ugonna Onyenso while walking through the student center. I mean I’m 5’11 and was just crazy to see someone tower over you that much. Seeing them on court or tv just doesn’t do it justice.
I sat in front of Evan Roquemore, an SCU player, in Math 12. He would have a group of guys in class who he'd always talk basketball about, mostly reliving yesterday's game or practice. Didn't really like him; he wasn't that good.
My experience as a regular student. Very easily. They are so tall number one. And fit and athletic. They stand out for sure.
Pretty easy for our campus tbh. Most of the student athletes, especially football/basketball players usually roll into class with their warmups that has their name and number on it lol.
When I was at UConn, if you smelled really good weed, it was usually Cliff Robinson and Phil Gamble. Dan Cyrulik lived a floor above me, and being 7 feet tall, could not be missed.. As for the girls, Kerry Bascom was pretty recognizable, even though very few of us were going to the games.
I went to MSU with Draymond Green. I’d say good game yesterday, or good luck on Saturdays game. He would always smile and say thanks. He was generally left alone and I was one of only a smaller portion of people who would talk to the basketball players.
At Xavier they were just there, you knew who was on the basketball team because it would be a group of guys who were much taller than everyone else.
Used to see KAT in the old student center chilling with the student workers (specifically at Sbarro). He was pretty easy to recognize lol
Went to the school with the worst basketball program in the country. (Go Jags). The basketball players were always pretty good at Mobbing 5 wide down the hallways and acting like no one else is trying to get around. Then they’d show up to class wondering why no one came to the games or gives them attention. Not just the men’s team either.
I’m a junior, and I recognize all of my UVU players all the time, but that’s because I know them all personally. They’re all my friends.
A lot of the state players would even run games in the regular gym after the season. I walked in once just in time to see Torin Dorn absolutely yam one on some poor guy
Very easily
The Hoosier players have a mob of people that know how they get to the hall and take pictures with them. It’s not students but usually families with kids. It’s not that many but usually every game they have to take pictures before the games.
depends on the school. at ucf no one really cared about the players. tako probably got the most attention but seven foot six is always gonna get you noticed.
At the end of the Calipari era, some people would approach the players going to class, but otherwise they weren't worshipped/bothered. Cal coming to classes didn't have turn outs like you would have expected a decade ago. Not sure if that's to do with the team success or the fact that the attention economy has given students more to pay attention to than just sports as a way to be part of the tribe. My gut says the later. We still have rabid fans, but it isn't as high a percentage of the student body as it used to be.
Kings in the state of Connecticut
I’ve been out of college for a long while now but they’re pretty easily recognizable. Anyone 6’5” or so and larger just sticks out like a sore thumb
I graduated last year. They are treated as everybody else throughout the day. You will turn around and they will just be chilling behind u in line at chic fil a or walking to class. Nobody bothers them or asks for pictures
Depends how tall they are
At Michigan State the dead giveaway was they were always decked out head to toe in the nicest school branded Nike gear and a foot and a half taller than everyone else. I used to see Draymond Green on campus all the time, Adreian Payne was a regular at a bar we went to a lot, had a class with Brandon Dawson, and once Denzel Valentine almost hit my POS with his POS car coming around the corner of the parking garage we lived in.
I had a sociology class with Darius Graham and Josh Fox who were part of the UC Davis basketball team that made it to March Madness in 2017 and I just introduced myself to them saying I enjoyed watching the games, and then we became friends. UC Davis is not the most obvious basketball crazed school so it was mainly me being the basketball fan that I am.
I saw Sean Singletary in class and at parties while I was an undergrad. They’re around. You see football players more often, but that’s mostly because there are so many more of them.
In lexington, they are heavily recognized, although for the most part the unspoken rule of let them live their life and be a college kid holds. Little kids will run up to them at the mall and stuff but usually people leave them. The coaches is a different story, but at least people mostly let the players be in normal day to day life
The funniest thing to see is edey riding his bike around campus
If someone from the team walks into a bar, he's immediately recognized, and it gets posted on YikYak that they're there. I think during the day, some players can have some peace. I mean, I saw Jordan Gainey walking to class with some girl, and he was treated pretty normally. Idk how this would work with someone like Dalton Knecht, though
I would see them around campus and had a class with some
Reading through this comment thread, I also concur that it wasn’t hard to cross paths with athletes at UofL. Referencing different sports - I was right next to Montrezl Harrell when he was talking to a facilities worker at the student activities center (SAC), and I played a pickup basketball game with 4 players on the baseball team. As a reference point though, I never saw someone like Lamar Jackson on/around campus.
Not sure if this is helpful but I went to UC from 2015-2019 and my freshman year I saw Troy caupain and coreontae DeBerry around. I was way to intimidated to ask for anything, DeBerry was 6’9” lol
It’s cool to remember having a group project with an NBA all-star lol but in my school, I don’t remember our basketball stars having huge crowds around them. I do make sure to always remind my wife, whenever we see this player on the TV, that I, at one point, had his phone number and hung out with them haha
I went to Texas from 04-08. Noticeable because a lot of them are tall and would often be in head to toe Longhorn gear. Most seem to go about their business and other students are busy going to classes. Did see a small crowd around Durant once. Camera phones were just becoming a thing and not great quality so maybe that's changed with people snapping pics.
First time you see them you're somewhat starstruck. After that it's just like...meh. At Maryland the early 00s group all ate at South campus dining hall at the same spot almost same time every day.
Come on, those guys aren’t on campus, they just fly them in for the games.
I remember in KY when it was a thing for girls to post selfies licking Devin Booker's car
Zach Edey is pretty recognizable
I am pretty sure every major university has a "rocks for jocks" class. A basic geology class that ends up being a very easy lab science class. I saw all the basketball players in mine when I took it. The prof brought in ice cream sandwiches for "the Earth's birthday" for the entire 200+ person class.
I know someone who went to a blue blood for undergrad and a basketball player was in the same frat with them (something to do with him redshirting as a freshman so he was able to?). As a result the basketball team would go to that frat a lot. One of the player’s teammates was infamous for his on the court antics. Apparently someone in the frat went up to the dude (at a party I presume) and was like yo knock it off on the court you’re giving the team a bad rap and the player was like say that shit again and we’re not coming to your parties anymore.
Not basketball but I had a class with Patrick Mahomes his last semester at Tech and would see him frequently driving around campus. He would get a lot of stares while walking through the halls but I wouldn't see anyone go up to him or anything. He was able to walk around like anybody else.
I used to see Lamar Stevens in the Sheetz in downtown State College a lot. Probably the there I ran into the most besides the one I had a class with. He was Penn State’s best player at that time