BUIES CREEK - Thirty minutes before tipoff on senior night at Campbell University, members of the men's basketball team jog through an inflatable tunnel and emerge for pregame warmups.
At the back of the 15-player line, dressed in full uniform with a black warmup shirt covering his white jersey, is 6-foot-9 manager Trae Bremer.
No longer able to compete because of knee problems, Bremer now contributes in more of a behind-the-scenes role. But on this night, with the Camels participating in their final home game and Bremer planning to attend Campbell's divinity school after he graduates in May, the coaches have made special arrangements to turn back the clock.
"It was like I was flashing back to my freshman and sophomore years at Campbell," Bremer says, "just like I was playing again."
Bremer, 22, suffered a significant knee injury shortly after he signed with Campbell as a high school senior in Leoti, Kansas. He sat out most of the next three seasons, finally playing regularly late in his second year for former Camels coach Robbie Laing, who started Bremer in the final three games of the 2013 season.
His knees wouldn't cooperate, though, and he's remained on scholarship even after switching to a managerial role.
As the senior night festivities begin, Campbell recognizes two other managers who are in suits. With his girlfriend on one arm and his mother, Mindi, on the other, Bremer walks toward midcourt and embraces current coach Kevin McGeehan, who presents them with a framed photo of Bremer shooting a layup during his redshirt freshman season.
Campbell's players and coaches walk slowly toward their bench once the ceremony ends and the national anthem is completed. Bremer hustles to the end of the bench, retrieves an item for McGeehan, grabs a few water bottles and scoops up some discarded warmup shirts.
He has a job to do, after all.
"Campbell has done so much for me to stay here, I'm doing what I can to serve them just like they're serving me," Bremer says. "This is how I help my team win now."
The starting lineups are set to be revealed, and there's one more way to honor Bremer. Instead of introducing five starters, Campbell announces six, allowing Bremer to proceed through the narrow lane between two lines of awaiting teammates.
The moment reminds Bremer of how he felt when he started in the conference tournament two years earlier. It's memorable for his mother, who has traveled from Kansas to see her son take the court in a Campbell uniform for the first time, even if it's just to warm up.
"I wasn't here when he was injured," McGeehan says, "but I know him well enough that there's a different kind of competitiveness and fire in him that he would have been special if healthy, and I know the contributions he's made to this program."
