Seidel's next managing job is at Wichita State

At least one member of the Sauk Valley Skyhawks men’s basketball team has made plans to be a part of an NCAA Division I basketball team.

Is he a leading scorer? No. Leading rebounder? No. Assists guy? No.

Team manager.

Sauk sophomore Jacob Seidel has finalized his college future, and that includes being a part of the Wichita State Shockers men’s basketball team. He’s spent the past 2 years as the Skyhawks’ manager, after spending 4 years managing basketball at Rock Falls High School.

Videotaping games, folding towels, filling up water bottles, operating the scoreboard, and keeping track of stats all this time has paid off for Seidel, 20, who is going to Wichita State to continue his pursuit of a sports management degree.

“After my 2 years at Sauk, I needed to look at somewhere to transfer,” Seidel said. “I’ve always wanted to go to Wichita State out of high school.”

Seidel took a campus visit, and went to a basketball game against Northern Iowa on Feb. 18.

“I was pretty intrigued with the atmosphere,” Seidel said. “11,000 people in a sold-out arena every game, undefeated home records, and everything.”

Playing the game was once easy for Seidel, who played on school teams from fifth grade to eighth grade.

Then his hoop dreams stopped. Seidel experienced heart problems in junior high, and his doctor recommended that he stop playing competitive sports at once. Seidel has dilated cardiomyopathy. His heart doesn’t pump enough blood to keep up with him, and passing out on the basketball court became a worry.

He didn’t quite understand how to stay in basketball. However, during a session in Matt Naftzger’s World Geography class at Rock Falls High School, an announcement came over the school’s intercom about basketball tryouts, and the need for managers on the team – then coached by Scott Olson on the varsity level, and Naftzger on the sophomore level.

“I asked [Naftzger] what a manager was, and what I could do,” Seidel said. “Then I got in touch with [then-manager] Victor [Betts]. My first year, I thought it was going to be difficult, because I didn’t know any of the people, and was moved right up to varsity.”

After a while, however, Seidel began to establish friendships with the fellow players and managers. After Olson was fired in 2012, Brad Bickett became the new coach and even more new people came into the fold. Seidel thought that transition was easier than he had thought.

Seidel’s duties at Rock Falls were to videotape sophomore games, control Tabor Gym’s spotlight during the pre-game light show, and be a towel-and-water boy for the home games.

Wichita State was always on Seidel’s mind during his high school days. The Shockers have made deep runs in both the NCAA and NIT tournaments over the past few years, with one of northern Illinois’s best prep players in the past decade, Rockford Auburn’s Fred VanVleet, leading the way.

However, those plans were put aside when there were health issues in his family. So, Seidel decided to stay closer to home to help care for them.

The idea of attending Sauk was a hard one to come to terms with, Seidel admitted.

“I never wanted to come to Sauk, because of how people perceived Sauk to be, as this little, small school.” Seidel said. “I never looked at it, I looked at Wichita the whole time because that’s where I wanted to go.

“I stayed here for 2 years, and it’s a great school. It’s a great school for kids around the community. It’s also a great school for sports; for basketball and Coach [Russ] Damhoff and Coach [Jedidiah] Johnson. They’re great coaches.”

The duties were about the same, but Seidel’s mindset approaching it all was different.

“Coming to college, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the collegiate level, it’s different than high school,’” Seidel said. “What was I going to do? I don’t know anybody, I don’t know the coaches.”

When Seidel was setting up his first-semester schedule, he had asked his advisor about the opportunity to be a part of the Skyhawks basketball team. Seidel then approached Damhoff one day on his way to a class, and discussed the opportunity.

Seidel showed up late for his first day, having been at a volleyball game, and shot free throws alongside his would-be teammates, who didn’t quite know exactly who he was at the time.

Like his first 2 years at Rock Falls, the process of getting to know the members of the team took shape. It wasn’t too long before Skyhawks women’s coach Johnson offered him duties with his program.

“He did a lot for us, and then he’s working for both teams this year,” Damhoff said. “He does our filming, and did our clock for us early in the year. He jumps back and forth, and he’s been a busy man. He’s always talked about Wichita, and now he’s got it lined up. I’m excited for him. He’s a good kid.”

One of Seidel’s jobs for the women’s team is to be a scout-team defender for the Skyhawk post players. Seidel only plays defense due to his heart condition. Most of his time is spent in a zone defense where he has a certain range on the floor to move around in. There are times where Johnson will switch to man, though.

Even if those situations make Seidel feel like he’s practicing in full-strength, it’s paying off for him health-wise. Seidel dropped 30 pounds and improved his conditioning over the course of the season.

“I’m ready to go,” Seidel said. “After Saturday’s loss, and after all of our emotions took over, I was ready to go, just get ready to go down there and win a couple of championships, and get a couple of bling-bling on my fingers, and live life.”

Seidel file:

Age: 20

High School: Rock Falls (’15)

Major: Sports management

Parents: Bill and Donna Seidel

2-year manager for Sauk basketball teams… 4-year manager for Rock Falls boys basketball program… Will attend Wichita State University and be a manager for men’s basketball program