Walk-ons, most people hear that word and think of the boys at the end of the bench known for their flashy celebrations and excitement for their team. But in reality, walk-on’s push just as hard, if not harder than the scholarship players. Working to get better and working to make the team better is what the walk-ons ultimate goal is, whether it’s helping players with plays or pushing them to get that last rep in.

Broughton has had many players earn spots on teams as walk-ons and they have multiple on the North Carolina State roster under Coach Mark Gottfried including Cameron Gottfried, Chris Brickhouse and Chris Corchiani. Corchiani, a junior on the team gave his thoughts on the importance of the walk-ons “The most important job as a walk-on is to play scout team in practice. We practice hard and try to push the guys who get minutes”

He points out that his biggest priority is getting his teammates to tip top shape and making sure they know the game plan against teams that they play. The life of a college basketball player and a high school player is very different according the Corchiani, who says “College basketball is very time consuming, we have study hall after practice but when we are on the road I try to make school my top priority because it can be very tough”

Cameron Gottfried, the son of Head Coach Mark Gottfried is a new addition to the NC State team, Gottfried recently transferred in from Siena this past offseason. Gottfried will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.  “The hardest part about sitting out a year is accepting the fact that no matter what, I won’t see the court for what seems like a very long time. No matter how good I play or how bad the team might need me or how bad I want to be out there I can’t.”

Gottfried shared that it’s gonna be tough sitting out as you can see, but he is still looking to help the team out in practice and make the team better. Being a walk-on can be very difficult says Corchiani, who said “The difficulty for me at this level is playing against players at my position who are much taller and bigger than me.”

Corchiani went on to say that he tries to finds ways to be “scrappy” and to play “with a chip on my shoulder”. Regardless, the grind of the walk-on really goes unnoticed, but in reality they are a huge factors in practice and in encouragement.