{"id":5001,"date":"2015-12-23T10:16:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-23T10:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2015\/12\/23\/shtick-on-the-sidelines-college-basketballs-most-famous-bench\/"},"modified":"2015-12-23T10:16:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-23T10:16:00","slug":"shtick-on-the-sidelines-college-basketballs-most-famous-bench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/shtick-on-the-sidelines-college-basketballs-most-famous-bench\/","title":{"rendered":"Shtick On The Sidelines: College Basketball's Most Famous Bench"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kevin Leahy<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

\"Players<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/strong> 3:49<\/strong><\/div>\n

Download<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
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Players on Monmouth University’s bench have created over-the-top choreographed celebrations for plays. Here, Tyler Robinson pretends to be dead, while teammates Louie Pillari, Dan Pillari and Greg Noack react in horror. Mel Evans\/AP<\/strong> hide caption<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

toggle caption<\/strong> Mel Evans\/AP<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It turns out bench players can steal the spotlight.<\/p>\n

They’re doing it at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.<\/p>\n

The basketball team there is off to a hot start and its benchwarmers have been winning fans \u2014 and fame \u2014 with their over-the-top, elaborately choreographed celebrations.<\/p>\n

“We got the pirate ship, the trophy fish, the heart attack, we got some new ones …” says sophomore guard Dan Pillari.<\/p>\n

There’s the joust, which features Dan and his teammate and cousin, Louie Pillari.<\/p>\n

“We’re horses,” Louie says. “Dan goes on the other kid’s back and Tyler goes on my back and we, like, joust.” It’s like a medieval equestrian duel right there on the sideline in the middle of a game.<\/p>\n

Then there’s their masterpiece \u2014 a re-enactment of a real-life masterpiece, Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Video: Monmouth’s bench recreates Sistine Chapel image in win over Georgetown. https:\/\/t.co\/HQpftwNEnl<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/amugOLSHV6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 247Sports (@247Sports) December 16, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Along with Tyler Robinson and Greg Noack, Dan and Louie form what USA Today<\/em> says is the best bench in basketball<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They meet before games and bounce around new ideas for celebrations.<\/p>\n

“We write them down on a list and Greg Noack keeps the list in his sock. He’ll look at his sock real quick and be like ‘Next big moment, this is what we’re doing,’ ” Dan Pillari says.<\/p>\n

So during a game against Rutgers, when Monmouth drained a 3-pointer, three guys dropped to their knees, and reared up like horses. A fourth was in the back, holding imaginary reins.<\/p>\n

On the Big Ten Network though, there was some confusion over the celebration. “I don’t understand what went on over on the bench after that 3-point shot,” the announcer said. “I didn’t understand that routine.”<\/p>\n

He wasn’t feeling it.<\/p>\n

OK, it was supposed to be Santa’s sleigh, pulled by reindeer. They can’t all be winners.<\/p>\n

But Dan Pillari says the key is to commit 100 percent.<\/p>\n

“When Tyler Robinson improvised in Florida, he died on the court, he was fully dead. Closed his eyes, I was over his body crying, getting really into it,” Dan says.<\/p>\n

And they stay topical, too. Over the weekend, the guys re-enacted a famous lightsaber battle from Star Wars<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n
[embedded content]<\/div>\n
YouTube<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

These antics, which were shared across social media as Vines and GIFs, have led to a ton of media attention. (It helps that their teammates have been getting it done on the court with a handful of high-profile victories.)<\/p>\n

The bench guys have played charades on national TV<\/a>, they’ve got their own Twitter handle<\/a> and the NCAA says as long as they stay off the court, it’s all in good fun.<\/p>\n

“I mean, we’re just all really good friends, to be honest,” Noack says.<\/p>\n

He says his coach loves the shtick. So do his teammates.<\/p>\n

“It’s really easy to feed off of that and to create energy for someone else that you’re just, you love them so much, and it’s just like, man I just want to support you. So it’s really easy,” Noack says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org\/content-only\/faq.php#publishers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source:: http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2015\/12\/23\/460784598\/benchwarmers-at-monmouth-s-basketball-games-steal-the-spotight?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=sports<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Players<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/strong> 3:49<\/strong><\/div>\n

Download<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Players on Monmouth University’s bench have created over-the-top choreographed celebrations for plays. Here, Tyler Robinson pretends to be dead, while teammates Louie Pillari, Dan Pillari and Greg Noack react in horror. Mel Evans\/AP<\/strong> hide caption<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

toggle caption<\/strong> Mel Evans\/AP<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It turns out bench players can steal the spotlight.<\/p>\n

They’re doing it at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.<\/p>\n

The basketball team there is off to a hot start and its benchwarmers have been winning fans \u2014 and fame \u2014 with their over-the-top, elaborately choreographed celebrations.<\/p>\n

“We got the pirate ship, the trophy fish, the heart attack, we got some new ones …” says sophomore guard Dan Pillari.<\/p>\n

There’s the joust, which features Dan and his teammate and cousin, Louie Pillari.<\/p>\n

“We’re horses,” Louie says. “Dan goes on the other kid’s back and Tyler goes on my back and we, like, joust.” It’s like a medieval equestrian duel right there on the sideline in the middle of a game.<\/p>\n

Then there’s their masterpiece \u2014 a re-enactment of a real-life masterpiece, Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Video: Monmouth’s bench recreates Sistine Chapel image in win over Georgetown. https:\/\/t.co\/HQpftwNEnl<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/amugOLSHV6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 247Sports (@247Sports) December 16, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Along with Tyler Robinson and Greg Noack, Dan and Louie form what USA Today<\/em> says is the best bench in basketball<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They meet before games and bounce around new ideas for celebrations.<\/p>\n

“We write them down on a list and Greg Noack keeps the list in his sock. He’ll look at his sock real quick and be like ‘Next big moment, this is what we’re doing,’ ” Dan Pillari says.<\/p>\n

So during a game against Rutgers, when Monmouth drained a 3-pointer, three guys dropped to their knees, and reared up like horses. A fourth was in the back, holding imaginary reins.<\/p>\n

On the Big Ten Network though, there was some confusion over the celebration. “I don’t understand what went on over on the bench after that 3-point shot,” the announcer said. “I didn’t understand that routine.”<\/p>\n

He wasn’t feeling it.<\/p>\n

OK, it was supposed to be Santa’s sleigh, pulled by reindeer. They can’t all be winners.<\/p>\n

But Dan Pillari says the key is to commit 100 percent.<\/p>\n

“When Tyler Robinson improvised in Florida, he died on the court, he was fully dead. Closed his eyes, I was over his body crying, getting really into it,” Dan says.<\/p>\n

And they stay topical, too. Over the weekend, the guys re-enacted a famous lightsaber battle from Star Wars<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n
[embedded content]<\/div>\n
YouTube<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

These antics, which were shared across social media as Vines and GIFs, have led to a ton of media attention. (It helps that their teammates have been getting it done on the court with a handful of high-profile victories.)<\/p>\n

The bench guys have played charades on national TV<\/a>, they’ve got their own Twitter handle<\/a> and the NCAA says as long as they stay off the court, it’s all in good fun.<\/p>\n

“I mean, we’re just all really good friends, to be honest,” Noack says.<\/p>\n

He says his coach loves the shtick. So do his teammates.<\/p>\n

“It’s really easy to feed off of that and to create energy for someone else that you’re just, you love them so much, and it’s just like, man I just want to support you. So it’s really easy,” Noack says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org\/content-only\/faq.php#publishers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5001\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}