Davidson Men’s Basketball Student Manager Spotlight
Student managers have long been an integral part of the Davidson basketball program.
Each day, they fill many roles and wear multiple hats, while working behind the scenes and ultimately helping the Wildcats become their individual and collective best.
Naturally, a number of former Wildcat managers have gone on to work in the game.
Throughout the 2021-22 Davidson men's basketball season, we'll feature Wildcat student managers of both the past and present.
Fabian E. Lara ’16
Former Student Manager (2012-16)
Cushing Academy
Assistant Basketball Coach | Academic Support Teacher
Ashburnham, Mass.
Q: Why did you choose Davidson?
A: I chose Davidson because it was by far the best fit for me. My junior year of high school, I visited Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, and Davidson. Going into that trip, UNC was my dream school having grown up in Chicago and idolizing Michael Jordan, but Davidson stole my heart. Ironically, every other school I applied to was much bigger, but I always thrived in smaller, more intimate communities. My senior year, I was fortunate enough to earn the Charles Scholarship to Davidson, which is granted to students from the Chicago Public School system, with a preference for Hispanic and Latinx students who display a record of academic achievement, personal accomplishment, and leadership ability. The Charles Scholarship helped make my decision easy.
Q: How did you get involved with the Basketball program?
A: An alum of my high school, Natalia Corredor, knew Billy Thom, and she knew how much basketball meant to me. On my visit she tried to introduce us, but he was busy running around and getting stuff done as Billy does. Billy and I eventually connected during my first week of school. He talked to me about the responsibilities and the commitment it required. It sounded like heaven to me so I was all in.
Q: Who had the biggest influence on you while at Davidson?
A: I am so blessed to have had so many friends and mentors in my time at Davidson. My fraternity brothers of the Tau Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. were and continue to be an integral part of my life. They have given me unrelenting support and love since joining the fraternity in the spring of 2013. Within the basketball program, it feels unfair to pick, but I felt immediately welcomed to the program by our seniors my first year-Jake, Nik, JP, and Clint. Managers Fiddy, Thon, Ryan, Ford, and Miles were all such great role models. All of the coaches made a profound impact on me as mentors and leaders, and I still keep in touch with some that are no longer at Davidson such as Ryan Mee and Abe Woldeslassie who have both been great assets to me in my journey as a coach.
Q: Fondest memories as a student as well as on staff?
A: When we played Duke in Charlotte my freshman year, my mom told everyone she knew that we were on ESPN2 and several family friends sent pictures of them watching us play. I ended up having an awkward closeup behind the bench filling water bottles, and my mom took extreme pride in seeing me on TV, which was awesome. Playing in Madison Square Garden senior year was another moment I know I will never forget, and of course making the NCAA tournament in ‘13 and ‘15 was incredible. However, my most vivid memory might be my last under-8 minute media “Sweet Caroline”, senior year versus George Washington. Obviously we got the dub.
Q: How vital are student managers to athletic programs?
A: Student managers are essential to athletic programs’ success. Dedicated and consistent student managers can help the coaching staff in a number of ways. Even though every manager might not come to the table with the same abilities, every manager can bring their energy, attitude, and willingness to help that can be utilized by the staff as best they can. The expectation for Davidson Men’s Basketball managers is that you bring these things every day. We are considered as much a part of the program as anyone else, and so the standard at which we hold ourselves is no less important. We can contribute to the team getting better at fighting to win every possession, so what we do matters.
Q: Toughest part of being a student manager?
A: I feel like the easy answer is the time commitment, but I always felt it tough to measure our performance. For players, we might measure their performance by how many shots or mistakes they make or how hard they played. Coaches might evaluate themselves by if their players improved or understood what they were teaching. For managers, our best measurement of our performance was how well practice runs, but there always seems to be more that we can do. We were lucky as Davidson student managers that we had such great leadership from Coach McKillop and our captains, that they were always thanking us and acknowledging our work, which was one of our gauges for how we were doing. Our teammates made our difficult jobs easier every day.
Q: How did the experience help you get to where you are today?
A: I internalized Trust, Commitment, and Care as an ideology. After 4 years with the program, I decided to become a basketball coach, and I took TCC with me. I am fortunate enough that the current and past coaches guided me and mentored me as I am learning the coaching world, but they all helped me most by instilling in me such a strong value system that I can live and coach by today. I have coached at 3 different schools and programs since graduating, each of which provided new challenges and obstacles. When I do not know the answer, I lean on TCC and what I learned about leadership, family, and giving time and love to those around me. It has not failed me yet.
Q: Biggest advice to those that are looking to follow your path?
A: Give. When you help somebody, you help yourself. Show up early, be proactive and be a problem solver. Do not be robotic, but learn the big picture so you can be ahead of the game. When you are an energy-giver you raise the level of people around you. It is such a rewarding feeling to give your all to a team. I will always feel connected to the Davidson Men’s Basketball program because I was willing to give them what I had. It has led me to coaching the game I love for a living, as well as memories and relationships to last a lifetime.
----------------------------------------------------
Ryan Ansel ’14
Former Student Manager (2010-13)
Player (2013-14)
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
Boys' Varsity Basketball Head Coach
Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Q: Why did you choose Davidson?
----------------------------------------------------
Billy Thom ’11
Former Student Manager (2007-11)
Director of Operations (2011-13)
MILLBROOK SCHOOL
Boys' Varsity Basketball Head Coach
Director of Affective Education
Assistant Director of Counseling
Q: Why did you choose Davidson?
A: I chose Davidson because it had a sense of community from the first time I stepped on campus. Being able to challenge myself academically while pursuing my dream of coaching high-level basketball struck me as the best of both worlds wrapped in a real community of caring people.
Q: How did you get involved with the Basketball program?
A: My little brother happened to play AAU basketball with Brendan and Matt’s cousin. I was doing a college trip down to Wake Forest, Duke and UNC, and Dr. Cunningham (coach’s brother-in-law) told me to visit Davidson while I was down there. Coach was gracious enough to meet with me as a pimply 16-year-old dilettante interested in coaching. From there, I applied and happened to be working in an internship for the at-the-time Charlotte Bobcats when I was accepted. I came back and visited and was sold that Davidson was the spot.
Q: Who had the biggest influence on you while at Davidson?
A: Tough question. So many people. I’d say Coach Fox took me under his wing from the word go. I think he saw a guy kind of like him - not really a player, loved and thought the game, liked a glass of wine. So I spent quite a lot of time personally and professionally with him. Landry Kosmalski and Tim Sweeney are probably the mentors I stay connected to the most, simply because our coaching environments now are similar in some real ways. Obviously, Coach McKillop gave me myriad opportunities to learn and grow, and I’ll always be thankful for that. Hilton Kelly is a professor who helped me learn how to think and reason and question more than any other professor. I’d say my career in social work is directly a result of my classes with Dr. Kelly.
Q: Fondest memories as a student as well as on staff?
A: As a student, nothing beats the closed practice in Ford Field before the butt-kicking we gave Wisconsin. Empty football arena, dead quiet, straight out of a Hollywood movie. Also, the first time riding the freight elevator up to the locker rooms in MSG. As a New Yorker, I got goosebumps. On staff, I’d say the moment it dawned on me how young I was and that I was on staff was mind numbing. Coach calling to officially offer me a position was one of those surreal moments. Then, just every film session and coaches meeting, getting to learn so much from some really smart coaches. Finally, I’d say all the community outreach that Coach urged us to complete. I think that also led to my career as a social worker now.
Q: How vital are student managers to athletic programs?
A: Essential. I was lucky enough to oversee some phenomenal student-managers while I was a student assistant and DOBO - Fiddy, Thon, Miles, Ryan, Ford, Fab, etc. They were parts of the team - made things run behind the scenes, deeply lived TCC, and did it all without asking for much in return. Coach, of course, supported and lauded us much more than in a lot of programs. This was never lost on us. The role of student manager is also essential because it can come in a lot of forms - on the court, in the video room, support staff for travel and in-game operations…it trains you to be versatile in competence and skill.
Q: Toughest part of being a student manager?
A: For me, as a son of a teacher and restaurant manager/server, student loans were the toughest part. I’m still paying, though that was as calculated a decision as possible at the time. Working some side jobs to make some extra pocket money while trying to pour as many hours as possible into the managing gig was something I did quietly and it was a challenge at times. The actual role itself was basketball nirvana - a master class in how to run a program and be part of something bigger than yourself.
Q: How did the experience help you get to where you are today?
A: I would say I’ve alluded to some of this already. I currently coach at Millbrook School, a respected prep school basketball program in the New England Prep School Athletic Council. I also teach one class of Spanish I at Millbrook. Furthermore, I’m a social worker at the school and function as the Director of Affective Education, working to proactively program social-emotional learning and wellness opportunities into every aspect of our community campus life. Being a student manager and then on staff, helped prepare me for the diversity of roles, first and foremost. Coaching wise - just being around Coach every day taught me the vitality of preparation and attention to detail. We have beaten some teams more talented than us simply because we teach our kids how to be prepared and detailed. From a social work perspective, I was able to develop people skills as a student manager, and that has blossomed into an ability to connect with various people around various topics. My time as student manager planted the seeds of being able to do this in an empathetic way while still caring about competition and success. I’m forever grateful.
Q: Biggest advice to those that are looking to follow your path?
A: Come in with the attitude that no job is too small and no day is too long. Work at a task until you feel competent and confident, and then ask for a new learning opportunity. There’s a Thomas Merton quote I share with our community sometimes, which I think applies here - “The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little”.
Each day, they fill many roles and wear multiple hats, while working behind the scenes and ultimately helping the Wildcats become their individual and collective best.
Naturally, a number of former Wildcat managers have gone on to work in the game.
Throughout the 2021-22 Davidson men's basketball season, we'll feature Wildcat student managers of both the past and present.
Fabian E. Lara ’16Former Student Manager (2012-16)
Cushing Academy
Assistant Basketball Coach | Academic Support Teacher
Ashburnham, Mass.
Q: Why did you choose Davidson?
A: I chose Davidson because it was by far the best fit for me. My junior year of high school, I visited Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, and Davidson. Going into that trip, UNC was my dream school having grown up in Chicago and idolizing Michael Jordan, but Davidson stole my heart. Ironically, every other school I applied to was much bigger, but I always thrived in smaller, more intimate communities. My senior year, I was fortunate enough to earn the Charles Scholarship to Davidson, which is granted to students from the Chicago Public School system, with a preference for Hispanic and Latinx students who display a record of academic achievement, personal accomplishment, and leadership ability. The Charles Scholarship helped make my decision easy.
Q: How did you get involved with the Basketball program?
A: An alum of my high school, Natalia Corredor, knew Billy Thom, and she knew how much basketball meant to me. On my visit she tried to introduce us, but he was busy running around and getting stuff done as Billy does. Billy and I eventually connected during my first week of school. He talked to me about the responsibilities and the commitment it required. It sounded like heaven to me so I was all in.
Q: Who had the biggest influence on you while at Davidson?
A: I am so blessed to have had so many friends and mentors in my time at Davidson. My fraternity brothers of the Tau Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. were and continue to be an integral part of my life. They have given me unrelenting support and love since joining the fraternity in the spring of 2013. Within the basketball program, it feels unfair to pick, but I felt immediately welcomed to the program by our seniors my first year-Jake, Nik, JP, and Clint. Managers Fiddy, Thon, Ryan, Ford, and Miles were all such great role models. All of the coaches made a profound impact on me as mentors and leaders, and I still keep in touch with some that are no longer at Davidson such as Ryan Mee and Abe Woldeslassie who have both been great assets to me in my journey as a coach.
Q: Fondest memories as a student as well as on staff?
A: When we played Duke in Charlotte my freshman year, my mom told everyone she knew that we were on ESPN2 and several family friends sent pictures of them watching us play. I ended up having an awkward closeup behind the bench filling water bottles, and my mom took extreme pride in seeing me on TV, which was awesome. Playing in Madison Square Garden senior year was another moment I know I will never forget, and of course making the NCAA tournament in ‘13 and ‘15 was incredible. However, my most vivid memory might be my last under-8 minute media “Sweet Caroline”, senior year versus George Washington. Obviously we got the dub.
Q: How vital are student managers to athletic programs?
A: Student managers are essential to athletic programs’ success. Dedicated and consistent student managers can help the coaching staff in a number of ways. Even though every manager might not come to the table with the same abilities, every manager can bring their energy, attitude, and willingness to help that can be utilized by the staff as best they can. The expectation for Davidson Men’s Basketball managers is that you bring these things every day. We are considered as much a part of the program as anyone else, and so the standard at which we hold ourselves is no less important. We can contribute to the team getting better at fighting to win every possession, so what we do matters.
Q: Toughest part of being a student manager?
A: I feel like the easy answer is the time commitment, but I always felt it tough to measure our performance. For players, we might measure their performance by how many shots or mistakes they make or how hard they played. Coaches might evaluate themselves by if their players improved or understood what they were teaching. For managers, our best measurement of our performance was how well practice runs, but there always seems to be more that we can do. We were lucky as Davidson student managers that we had such great leadership from Coach McKillop and our captains, that they were always thanking us and acknowledging our work, which was one of our gauges for how we were doing. Our teammates made our difficult jobs easier every day.
Q: How did the experience help you get to where you are today?
A: I internalized Trust, Commitment, and Care as an ideology. After 4 years with the program, I decided to become a basketball coach, and I took TCC with me. I am fortunate enough that the current and past coaches guided me and mentored me as I am learning the coaching world, but they all helped me most by instilling in me such a strong value system that I can live and coach by today. I have coached at 3 different schools and programs since graduating, each of which provided new challenges and obstacles. When I do not know the answer, I lean on TCC and what I learned about leadership, family, and giving time and love to those around me. It has not failed me yet.
Q: Biggest advice to those that are looking to follow your path?
A: Give. When you help somebody, you help yourself. Show up early, be proactive and be a problem solver. Do not be robotic, but learn the big picture so you can be ahead of the game. When you are an energy-giver you raise the level of people around you. It is such a rewarding feeling to give your all to a team. I will always feel connected to the Davidson Men’s Basketball program because I was willing to give them what I had. It has led me to coaching the game I love for a living, as well as memories and relationships to last a lifetime.
----------------------------------------------------
Ryan Ansel ’14Former Student Manager (2010-13)
Player (2013-14)
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
Boys' Varsity Basketball Head Coach
Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Q: Why did you choose Davidson?
A: I chose Davidson College because of the basketball program, community and values of the school. I wanted a place where I could be involved with a basketball team and learn from a great coaching staff. Between learning from Coach McKillop and his staff and the Davidson professors, there was no better place to be!
Q: How did you get involved with the Basketball program?
A: I tried out for the team, knowing it was a long shot given where I was at physically, but I loved the game and figured I had nothing to lose. When I did not make the team freshman year, I knew immediately I wanted to stay involved. Matt McKillop asked me if I would want to be a manager, and I knew it would be a great opportunity, so I accepted the offer and got to be a part of the Davidson Basketball Family.
Q: Who had the biggest influence on you while at Davidson?
A: There are too many people to mention a single person, as all of the coaches and teammates had a profound impact. I am grateful for Coach McKillop allowing me to be a part of the program and making me a part of something special. My time at Davidson has led me to be the person I am today and to pursue my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring. I remain close with my teammates and coaches, which speaks volumes for the culture within Davidson Basketball.
Q: Fondest memories as a student as well as on staff?
Q: Toughest part of being a student manager?
Q: How did you get involved with the Basketball program?
A: I tried out for the team, knowing it was a long shot given where I was at physically, but I loved the game and figured I had nothing to lose. When I did not make the team freshman year, I knew immediately I wanted to stay involved. Matt McKillop asked me if I would want to be a manager, and I knew it would be a great opportunity, so I accepted the offer and got to be a part of the Davidson Basketball Family.
Q: Who had the biggest influence on you while at Davidson?
A: There are too many people to mention a single person, as all of the coaches and teammates had a profound impact. I am grateful for Coach McKillop allowing me to be a part of the program and making me a part of something special. My time at Davidson has led me to be the person I am today and to pursue my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring. I remain close with my teammates and coaches, which speaks volumes for the culture within Davidson Basketball.
Q: Fondest memories as a student as well as on staff?
A: Fondest memories as a student would have to be Frolics or winning back-to-back intramural softball championships, but those are just two of many that pop into my head now 7 years after graduation.
My fondest memory on staff would be winning the SoCon championship my sophomore and junior year in Asheville, it occurred on my birthday and the day after which was the only present I wanted that year.
Q: How vital are student managers to athletic programs?
A: Student managers are very integral to the athletic program. Billy Thom paved the way for managers with his contributions and involvement with all aspects of the program. Coach McKillop demands excellence from everyone involved in the program and it is no different for managers, which shows his care and commitment to everyone involved in the program, as well as his attention to detail.
Q: How vital are student managers to athletic programs?
A: Student managers are very integral to the athletic program. Billy Thom paved the way for managers with his contributions and involvement with all aspects of the program. Coach McKillop demands excellence from everyone involved in the program and it is no different for managers, which shows his care and commitment to everyone involved in the program, as well as his attention to detail.
Q: Toughest part of being a student manager?
A: The toughest part of being a manager is seeing and observing everything around you, and putting yourself in the best position to help the team. While you are doing a lot of things behind the scenes, it is those details that need to be perfectly executed, in order to make everything run smoothly. The attention to detail and execution can be challenging but it taught me so much. Whether it was having cups/towels ready for the players, making pizza orders, taping a mock basketball court on a conference room floor, throwing a perfect pass, getting deflections in practice or countless other details, they were all important and they were executed to the very best of my ability every single day!
Q: How did the experience help you get to where you are today?
A: The lessons I learned about basketball and life have guided my career path. Not to mention, my first coaching job was as a volunteer assistant at Swarthmore College for Landry Kosmalski (former Davidson player and assistant coach). My experience at Davidson has made me into the coach and mentor I am today, and led me to pursue a career in coaching.
Q: How did the experience help you get to where you are today?
A: The lessons I learned about basketball and life have guided my career path. Not to mention, my first coaching job was as a volunteer assistant at Swarthmore College for Landry Kosmalski (former Davidson player and assistant coach). My experience at Davidson has made me into the coach and mentor I am today, and led me to pursue a career in coaching.
Now as a first year High School Head Coach, I see that my attention to detail helps me push our players to be better everyday. I find myself using the lessons Coach McKillop and his staff taught in my daily life, with my players and teams.
Q: Biggest advice to those that are looking to follow your path?
Q: Biggest advice to those that are looking to follow your path?
A: My first piece of advice would be, don't miss an opportunity to get involved with this special program at Davidson. I recently heard the quote, "Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing," and that's something I have lived by. As a manager I did everything to the best of my ability and I challenged myself to be perfect at every job I was asked to do. By no means was I always perfect, but that drive allowed me to learn so much and do my part to help the team be successful. Take notes and observe everything, you are learning from the best in the business.
----------------------------------------------------
Billy Thom ’11Former Student Manager (2007-11)
Director of Operations (2011-13)
MILLBROOK SCHOOL
Boys' Varsity Basketball Head Coach
Director of Affective Education
Assistant Director of Counseling
Q: Why did you choose Davidson?
A: I chose Davidson because it had a sense of community from the first time I stepped on campus. Being able to challenge myself academically while pursuing my dream of coaching high-level basketball struck me as the best of both worlds wrapped in a real community of caring people.
Q: How did you get involved with the Basketball program?
A: My little brother happened to play AAU basketball with Brendan and Matt’s cousin. I was doing a college trip down to Wake Forest, Duke and UNC, and Dr. Cunningham (coach’s brother-in-law) told me to visit Davidson while I was down there. Coach was gracious enough to meet with me as a pimply 16-year-old dilettante interested in coaching. From there, I applied and happened to be working in an internship for the at-the-time Charlotte Bobcats when I was accepted. I came back and visited and was sold that Davidson was the spot.
Q: Who had the biggest influence on you while at Davidson?
A: Tough question. So many people. I’d say Coach Fox took me under his wing from the word go. I think he saw a guy kind of like him - not really a player, loved and thought the game, liked a glass of wine. So I spent quite a lot of time personally and professionally with him. Landry Kosmalski and Tim Sweeney are probably the mentors I stay connected to the most, simply because our coaching environments now are similar in some real ways. Obviously, Coach McKillop gave me myriad opportunities to learn and grow, and I’ll always be thankful for that. Hilton Kelly is a professor who helped me learn how to think and reason and question more than any other professor. I’d say my career in social work is directly a result of my classes with Dr. Kelly.
Q: Fondest memories as a student as well as on staff?
A: As a student, nothing beats the closed practice in Ford Field before the butt-kicking we gave Wisconsin. Empty football arena, dead quiet, straight out of a Hollywood movie. Also, the first time riding the freight elevator up to the locker rooms in MSG. As a New Yorker, I got goosebumps. On staff, I’d say the moment it dawned on me how young I was and that I was on staff was mind numbing. Coach calling to officially offer me a position was one of those surreal moments. Then, just every film session and coaches meeting, getting to learn so much from some really smart coaches. Finally, I’d say all the community outreach that Coach urged us to complete. I think that also led to my career as a social worker now.
Q: How vital are student managers to athletic programs?
A: Essential. I was lucky enough to oversee some phenomenal student-managers while I was a student assistant and DOBO - Fiddy, Thon, Miles, Ryan, Ford, Fab, etc. They were parts of the team - made things run behind the scenes, deeply lived TCC, and did it all without asking for much in return. Coach, of course, supported and lauded us much more than in a lot of programs. This was never lost on us. The role of student manager is also essential because it can come in a lot of forms - on the court, in the video room, support staff for travel and in-game operations…it trains you to be versatile in competence and skill.
Q: Toughest part of being a student manager?
A: For me, as a son of a teacher and restaurant manager/server, student loans were the toughest part. I’m still paying, though that was as calculated a decision as possible at the time. Working some side jobs to make some extra pocket money while trying to pour as many hours as possible into the managing gig was something I did quietly and it was a challenge at times. The actual role itself was basketball nirvana - a master class in how to run a program and be part of something bigger than yourself.
Q: How did the experience help you get to where you are today?
A: I would say I’ve alluded to some of this already. I currently coach at Millbrook School, a respected prep school basketball program in the New England Prep School Athletic Council. I also teach one class of Spanish I at Millbrook. Furthermore, I’m a social worker at the school and function as the Director of Affective Education, working to proactively program social-emotional learning and wellness opportunities into every aspect of our community campus life. Being a student manager and then on staff, helped prepare me for the diversity of roles, first and foremost. Coaching wise - just being around Coach every day taught me the vitality of preparation and attention to detail. We have beaten some teams more talented than us simply because we teach our kids how to be prepared and detailed. From a social work perspective, I was able to develop people skills as a student manager, and that has blossomed into an ability to connect with various people around various topics. My time as student manager planted the seeds of being able to do this in an empathetic way while still caring about competition and success. I’m forever grateful.
Q: Biggest advice to those that are looking to follow your path?
A: Come in with the attitude that no job is too small and no day is too long. Work at a task until you feel competent and confident, and then ask for a new learning opportunity. There’s a Thomas Merton quote I share with our community sometimes, which I think applies here - “The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little”.
