Bridgeport High School graduate and current West Virginia University student Carlo Oliverio was like many across the Mountain State last month; distraught to see the Mountaineers basketball team’s season end in the Sweet 16. But Oliverio’s distress was different than most.

 

Unlike the plethora of fans rooting for the Mountaineers either in person in Cleveland or like most watching via television, Oliverio had a seat reserved for only a few. He was not only courtside, but he was “bench side.” In fact, he had a seat this year and for much of the past four years you couldn’t buy and an inside view that so very few ever have access to.

 

Oliverio’s “backstage” and “onstage” access wasn’t the result of a student lottery. And it had nothing to do with the fact many of the WVU staff frequents his family’s dining establishment – Oliverio’s Ristorante. Of course, it was at the Ristorante where Oliverio got a chance to get as close to the Mountaineer program as a student can possibly get without actually suiting up.

 

“This all started with my mom (Carla) and my brother Patrick talking with (former WVU director of basketball operations) Jerrod Calhoun about food orders in Morgantown and the next thing you know halfway through my freshman year I’m part of it,” said Oliverio.

 

What “it” turned out to be back in early 2010 was a role as a team manager that Calhoun arranged. And what “it” turned into was an incredible journey that ended with WVU’s loss to Kentucky. The journey allowed Oliverio to learn what it takes to be a coach, what hard work allows and it also gave him – as mentioned above – and all-access look inside the program headed by Bob Huggins.

 

Knowing that it all came to end in March was tough. Yet, he said it was even more difficult watching Huggins and the players following the season-ending setback.

 

“You just don’t think it’s going to end, but when it’s over you get a surreal feeling because you realized you put in four hard years of work and it’s over,” said Oliverio. “Then, you look around the locker room and you feel for guys you’ve gotten to know over the years who have become friends that have worked so hard that most people don’t understand because they don’t’ see it.”

 

Oliverio said the post-game following the loss to the Wildcats was particularly difficult. In particular, he said the reaction and interaction between seniors Gary Browne and Juwan Staten with Huggins and the rest of the team was emotionally tough to watch.

 

“To see guys like Gary and Juwan play their last game in the uniform and see their eyes filled with tears was hard. You felt bad for both of them, but for Gary, who toughed it out for four years when everyone else that came in with him left, was the hardest part,” said Oliverio. “You know, Gary isn’t as gifted as some of the guys here, but no one worked harder. Seeing him just destroyed emotionally was difficult for me and I know it was difficult for Coach Huggins.

 

“Coach Huggins talked to all the players and hugged them,” Oliverio continued. “He hugged all the managers too. He talked to me since I was a senior, gave me a hug and told me how much he appreciated what I did. That meant a lot, but it didn’t surprise me. That’s the kind of guy he is that a lot of people don’t know about.”

 

For Oliverio, getting to know Huggins as a manager was a process that has been more than worthwhile. And he said after that first year he knew it was a process was one worth repeating. During his first year and into his second season with the team, Oliverio picked up more responsibilities and eventually got more attention from Huggins.

 

“As the years go by, he knows you more. Early on, he talks to a few managers who have been around, but if you’re here and you’re doing stuff, then you’re part of the family,” said Oliverio. “He treated me great. I wish more people realized just how good of a person he is. He’s the most honest guy I’ve ever been around. People see him on the sidelines screaming at players and officials, but that’s not the real person. You won’t find anyone that cares more about their players, and the state of West Virginia, than Coach Huggins.”

 

While the duty of team manager isn’t all glamour, there are rewards. Along with the aforementioned best seats in the house, for the past two years, Oliverio has traveled with the team on all road games, including this year’s trip to Puerto Rico.

 

“Anyone that knows me knows I love basketball and I couldn’t imagine the places I got to travel to … Being able to fly to places like Texas and especially to go to Kansas and be inside a place like ( Phog) Allen Fieldhouse was incredible. There are only a few places in the country that can match that,” said Oliverio.

 

The road trip to Kansas or elsewhere didn’t end up being his favorite memory with the Mountaineers. That honor took place on March 7 – senior night. Just like the senior players, Carlo Oliverio was called out in front of a capacity crowd and recognized by the fans, the players and the staff for his contributions.

 

However, it wasn’t the recognition that made it special. Instead, it was who was with him when it happened prior to the tip of the game with Oklahoma State that made it his most memorable moment.

 

“Being able to walk out on the floor of the Coliseum and have them announce your name was a great moment, but to be able to have my parents (Pat and Carla) with me and then really see the love Coach Huggins had for me and all the managers made it unlike any experience I’ve had before,” said Oliverio.

 

While his duties with WVU basketball are over, his duties with roundball in general are likely just getting started. Oliverio is majoring in Athletic Coaching. He has a minor in communications for one simple reason.

 

“I want to be a coach,” said Oliverio, who is on track to graduate in May. “Coach Huggins told me he’d help me in any way he could to get me a graduate assistant spot somewhere and if it’s at a lower level that’s certainly not a problem. If at all possible, I want to coach college basketball, but if not I want to coach basketball somewhere. Once you’ve been exposed to something like this, you know it’s what you want to do the rest of your life.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Carlo Oliverio, right, talking with Nathan Adrian during a regular season game. In the bottom picture, Oliverio is joined by his mother Carla and father Pat on Senior Night.