Adjusting to college? He'll manage

Just recently, 18-year-old Mark Turenne, a former boys basketball manager at Lakes High School, was telling someone that he had to go out and buy some new sneakers.

So what, right?

Well, that someone just happened to be Bruce Weber, head men's basketball coach at the University of Illinois.

Say what?

"When I told coach Weber about the shoes, he told me that he's been in coaching for 29 years," Turenne said. "And that in 29 years, he's never had to buy a pair of sneakers."

Ah, the perks of collegiate athletics.

Right now, Turenne can dream. But someday, if his paid-in-full shoes follow in the right footsteps, he too could be riding the freebie sneaker gravy train.

Until then, the laundry is waiting.

Just as he did last season at Lakes, as well as the season before that, Turenne is managing a basketball team. This year, he's one of about a dozen managers for Weber's Fighting Illini.

And although doing the team's laundry isn't one of his favorite jobs, he's happy to pay his dues as he builds his resume.

Turenne would eventually like to get into athletic administration, just like his Uncle Jim -- as in Jim Phillips, the athletic director at Northern Illinois University.

"I've followed him and his career pretty closely and I love what he does. He's always right in the middle of everything," Turenne said of his uncle. "He just recently hired a new football coach (Jerry Kill) at Northern. Every time I see him, he's doing something really cool. My dream job is to be an athletic director at a college, just like him."

Turenne figures that a job managing a team is like getting in on the ground floor. Plus, it's not a bad way to spend his free time in Champaign.

"It's a pretty cool job," Turenne said. "I've been following Illinois since they were No. 1 a few years ago and now I go to practice with these guys that I watched on TV. It's kind of surreal.

"It's like that when you're at the games, too. You're on the floor with the best view of the court, watching these guys that you used to see on TV, like Brian Randle and Chester Frazier. They're all cool guys. You just get sucked in by it all. The best part is game time."

Then again, the little perks aren't bad either.

Turenne has gotten plenty of free Illinois gear, like T-shirts, shorts and a couple of nice polos. And just like the athletes on campus, he gets first dibs when it comes time to pick his classes, which allows him to tailor his schedule so that he is always available to the team.

But because he is just a freshman, Turenne doesn't get free sneakers, which explains why he had to go out and buy some.

Free shoes go to the more veteran team managers. So do things like custom Illinois winter parkas and a spot on the team bench.

Freshmen like Turenne have to sit under the basket during games.

"You kind of have to earn the really good stuff," Turenne said.

Not that it bothers Turenne. He's just happy to be on the team.

It's why he got into managing in the first place.

Turenne played soccer as a kid and played a little bit of tennis in high school. But he says that he was never good enough to play some of his favorite sports -- like basketball -- and that managing was his in.

"I'm not a very athletic kid, but I still wanted to be involved because I really love sports," Turenne said. "I guess I could have been a bench warmer, but I really wouldn't have been very good. Now, I'm doing something I'm good at and I'm a valuable asset to the team."

At Illinois, Turenne, who landed his job ahead of nearly 50 other applicants, not only does the team's laundry and helps out wherever needed, he also works the basket during games, moping up the lane during timeouts and fetching water for the referees.

His rookie status prevents him from traveling, and allows him to work only every other home game. But his responsibilities will increase with each year and by next year they will be much more in line with those he had at Lakes the last two years.

At Lakes, Turenne took care of the players, and cleaned up after them. But he also was heavily involved in generating statistics during the games, many of which were referenced during halftime strategy sessions.

"Mark is just one of those kids who knew exactly what he wanted to do in college as well as after college and it was like he was going to do all he could (in high school) to prepare himself for that," Lakes boys basketball coach Brian Phelan said. "He was a great manager. He really helped us out."

As a thank you, and going-away present, Phelan allowed Turenne to wear a uniform and warm up with the team before a game last year.

"He had asked me about doing that his junior year, too," Phelan said. "I think he would have really liked to have played on the team. But he knew (his limitations), and for him, being a manger was a great way to still be involved."

For Turenne, managing is simply a great way of life.

"I can't imagine my life without sports," Turenne said. "I'm just so glad I can have a part in something like this."