Say whatever you want about Bridgeport High School alum Chase Robey, but you can’t say that he’s not a basketball junkie. Growing up in a household where his father Mike was coaching from his birth to his graduation, Robey was around the game and fell in love with it.

 

When his senior year of playing concluded at Bridgeport High School in 2015, Robey looked into continuing his career. And he did have some options.

 

“My dad and I sat down and looked at schools where I might get a chance to play. There were some offers, but they were really small schools and most of them were really far away and I decided I wasn’t interested,” said Robey. “I figured I would just rather go to Morgantown (West Virginia University) and be a student even though I knew I still wanted to play.”

 

Here’s the obvious news. Robey, as mentioned above, never went anywhere for the purpose of playing basketball in college. Here’s the good news. Chase Robey is, in fact, playing college basketball and he’s playing in his second year of Division I basketball in the Big 12 Conference for the Mountaineers and has a former BHS teammate with him.

 

Confused? Or are you thinking Robey was a late addition as a walk-on for Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers men’s basketball team and you just haven’t seen him?

 

No need for confusion. And no, he’s not involved with Huggins’ squad.

 

Instead, Chase Robey is one of 17 members of the WVU practice squad that goes up against Mike Carey’s West Virginia University women’s basketball team. Every practice, whether at the practice facility or in the Coliseum, Chase Robey is competing and representing WVU and one of its two nationally ranked basketball programs.

 

So how did it happen?

 

“I’ve known Coach Carey and his family for a while and I knew they had a practice squad that went up against them from talking a lot with (2014 graduate) Ryan Sprouse,” said Robey. “I talked with Ryan and told him I was interested.”

 

From there, Sprouse did what any good friend would do. He went to bat for a former teammate. Robey said Sprouse contacted graduate assistant coach Liz Repella who put in a word to the powers that be that he was interested.

 

“After that I got a text and was told to show up. I went the first day of practice, watched to see how things went and then ended up doing a bunch of paperwork,” said Robey. “That was it. There was no tryout or anything like that.”

 

That, as Robey found out and Sprouse already knew, was the easy part.

 

Carey said that the paperwork is the start of the process that all 17 individuals that have signed up for the all-male practice squad goes through. Robey, like all WVU athletes, is vetted before taking the court.

 

“They have to be eligible and they have to go through NCAA compliance just like our players,” said Carey. “It’s nice to see kids I know like Chase and Ryan on the squad. They’re great to have on the practice team.”

 

In order to be available for the team’s practice, Robey said they have priority registration. That allowed him to fit his studies around WVU’s practice times.

 

“I practice every single day with the exception of any days that they have off,” said Robey.

 

Robey said it is full tilt practice, which includes the practice squad required to go full speed at all times or face the wrath of Carey. For those that know Mike Carey, they know it’s best to at least make an attempt to go all out all the time and make the right decisions or face the consequences.

 

“(This week), Coach didn’t like that we were being lackadaisical and let us know he wasn’t happy. I think he wants guys on the practice team that can still be coached, don’t mind being coached and can take criticism because he has no problem getting on anyone,” said Robey with a laugh. “We were coming down on a fast break recently and I know, because my dad always told me, never give the ball up to a five (center) in the open floor.

 

“Of course, that’s what I did and just like my dad, Coach Carey just ripped me for it,” Robey continued. “He told me he thought a kid coached in Bridgeport would not give the ball to five in the open court. He was all over me.”

 

Carey said the fact that he knows Chase and has known his father Mike for years makes having Chase around a good thing. And it also allows Mike Carey to do one of the things he does as well as coaching – ride you into the ground.

 

“I don’t like to see mistakes, but if Chase makes one I’m right on him. I just look at him at tell him ‘it doesn’t surprise. You played at Bridgeport and I know you didn’t get any coaching.’ He knows I’m kidding with him,” said Carey. “Honestly, Chase and Ryan have done a great job for us even though I have to get on them and the other practice players.

 

“If they’re not going hard or they’re not doing what I’ve asked, then I have no problem getting on them too,” Carey continued. “It’s addressed; you can imagine. I enjoy that, but honestly I think the players do too because they feel they’re part of the team. They’re vital to our success and we consider them all part of our team and part of our basketball family.”

 

Being a coach’s son and a basketball junkie, Robey takes the criticism – even today – as a chance to learn. The fact that he’s still playing and still learning has gone a long ways to filling the void of no longer officially being part of a basketball team.

 

“Now that I’m involved, I’m happy I made the decision because I feel like I’m part of something and helping out,” said Robey. “It’s not the same as playing, because I still miss that, but this gives me a competitive outlet to practice and to keep learning fundamentals. I could go play street ball at the Rec all day, but here I’m actually being coached in a Division I setting and not a lot of people can say that.”

Robey works with drills, scrimmages and does live game situations. He’s involved with scout defense and offense as the official scout team. Mike Carey’s son Craig, who is involved with scouting as the team’s video coordinator, does a lot of work with the practice team. If it’s not Craig Carey, then another assistant coach works on translating the opponent’s schemes into the practice sessions.

 

For Robey, there’s a reason beyond just wanting to stay competitive for being involved. He’s majoring in sports management and minoring in athletic coaching. The goal, he said, is to find a career where he can stay around the game of basketball.

 

“Ideally, I’d like to work at the college level, any level, in hopes of being a video coordinator or become a director of operations or something of that nature,” said Carey. “Coach Carey is aware of my major, but I don’t think I’m at the point yet to talk with him about what he thinks. I’m actually learning a lot from Craig in his role as video coordinator so this has been a good experience on a lot of fronts.”

 

If all goes as planned in Morgantown, the sophomore will be involved for two more years after this one. He knows he’ll walk away from it with more than just being able to shoot a women’s basketball better now than the larger men’s basketballs.

 

“I figured I would enjoy it, but it’s been fun. Everyone treats you extremely nice and it’s just been a good experience,” said Robey, who also said he plans on getting his Master’s Degree once his four years are up. “What I’m learning here is more than just practice. It’s giving me a few of some of the things to expect as I work toward a career in basketball. I don’t think this will hurt me.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Chase Robey at the head of the practice team's defense, while he's shown talking with WVU Video Coordinator and Mike Carey's son Craig in the second picture. In the third photo, former BHS teammate and fellow alum Ryan Sprouse is shown practicing as well. In the fourth picture, Robey is shown back in his high school days, while the bottom photo shows WVU Coach Mike Carey during some relaxing time on the sidelines. Top three photos courtesy of WVU Women's basketball through Russell Luna. Final two photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.