CEDAR FALLS - Theyve spliced hours of game tape.

Theyve driven hundreds of miles to obtain film on an upcoming opponent.

Theyve rebounded for thousands of jump shots.

Every college basketball program has individuals behind the scenes who do the daily dirty work.

Its not a job thats always entertaining or results in an immediate payoff.

For nearly the past two seasons, managers P.J. Hogan, Tyler Struck and Justin Ruddy have been a critical piece in the success of the Northern Iowa mens basketball program.

Their names wont appear in the headlines or be mentioned in pre-game introductions. And they dont have any biographical information in the teams media guide.

But that doesnt mean their importance to the program is any less significant.

"They are kind of the jack of all trades," head coach Greg McDermott said. "They are invaluable to our program, and not only do our coaches realize that, but I think our players do as well.

"Theyve been willing to do everything weve asked, and all they get out of it is a pat on the back and a thank you, but we appreciate everything they do."

Each of them has a specific role in maintaining the overall organization of the program.

Hogan and Ruddy oversee the film exchange.

In early October, the two sent out mass mailings to all the opponents that UNIs foes were playing so they could acquire as many tapes as possible on each opponent.

With the increase in televised games — either on cable or satellite — its feasible to have 20 tapes or more on a particular opponent.

Once the tapes are received, the coaches break them down to compile a game plan.

On most occasions, the tapes come via mail.

"Justin does a great job of keeping everything organized," Hogan said. "A lot of it is relying on other schools to get you tape.

"When they dont show up on time or the turnaround is too short, its very time consuming."

Thats when the managers have to drive two or three hours to get film.

Since UNI doesnt have the capabilities to videotape every game, they have to get help elsewhere.

For last years NCAA Tournament game against Georgia Tech, Iowa and Iowa State came to the rescue.

On Selection Sunday, one manager was in Ames and another in Iowa City gathering film on the Yellowjackets.

By that night, the coaches had the tapes in their possession.

Ruddy is also responsible for sending out tapes.

For instance, after UNIs game with Iowa last month, Ruddy mailed out approximately 20 tapes to schools who would play Iowa over the course of the year.

"I think everyone from the outside thinks that it would be a lot of fun to be a manager," McDermott said. "They get into it, see the hours involved, and there is a lot of work that isnt that much fun."

Struck does more of the office-type requirements for the staff. He, along with the other two, splice tape for the coaches, make sure equipment is ready for each days practice and assist where needed in practice. It may involve rebounding, setting screens or passing the ball during a particular drill.

On game nights, they sit on the bench keeping statistics and a running script of the contest, which McDermott uses afterward when he evaluates the tape.

"We kind of have the job where it appears youre doing nothing," Struck said. "Thats a good night, because then you know everything has been taken care of.

"You want to make sure the coaches dont have to worry about the little things."

Struck says, on average, he devotes 40 to 50 hours per week to the program. Hell work from 8 a.m. until practice is over at 4:30 or 5 p.m.

"From day one, the coaches said however much time you want to put in, you could," Struck said. "I took that literally."

More than anything, the three believe this experience will lead to something bigger.

Hogan, who started out as a graduate assistant for McDermott at Wayne State, has held two full-time assistant coaching positions at the Division II level — North Dakota State and Southwest State.

However, the lure of Division I basketball and the opportunity to rejoin McDermott was too good to pass up when the graduate manager position opened at UNI two years ago.

"When I made the decision to leave the Division II school I was at, my goal was to come here and be part of something that I thought was very special," Hogan said. "My main goal was to be here with Mac and Coach Jake (Ben Jacobson) for hopefully a couple successful years and prepare myself to be a better college basketball coach.

"Hopefully, thats at the Division I level."

Struck, working toward a masters degree in sports psychology, wants to coach. He spent a portion of his undergraduate tenure at UNI as the junior varsity boys coach at NU High.

"I hope this can take me as far as I can go," Struck said. "I want to coach college basketball in some facet.

"This gives you a really great start and helps you establish some contacts."

Ruddy, meanwhile, isnt so sure he wants to coach.

The second semester grad student is working toward a masters degree in leisure services.

"Im not sure if I have the certain makeup to be a head college coach," he said. "It takes an extremely special person to do that.

"For me, Im just happy with being where I am now. Right now, my end goal would be a director of basketball operations and not necessarily an assistant coach."

Regardless, McDermott knows each of them has the ability to succeed in this business.

"Theyve been so reliable," he said. "Whether its being in the office late at night or early in the morning, theyve done so and done it remarkably well.

"If this is what they choose to do, all three have bright futures in this profession."