Bender, ‘Gray Squad’ sharpen up Hawks

IOWA CITY — As the old saying goes, ‘you practice like you play.’

The University of Iowa women’s basketball team has played well enough this season to capture the attention of the sports world. The Hawkeyes are a the second-ranked team in NCAA Division I, a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Iowa is looking to make another dream run, similar to last year’s, which ended in the national championship game.

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So, one could assume the Hawkeye women are doing something right in practice. But what one might not know is those practices have quite the tie to basketball in the Union coverage area.

Last winter, 2023 Hillcrest Academy graduate Grant Bender was starring for the Raven boys’ basketball team. This winter, he has still been playing plenty of basketball, just in a new location, and for a different reason.

Bender is a member of the University of Iowa’s ‘Gray Squad,’ a team of male students who practice against the Hawkeye women to get the team ready for each game.

The Gray Squad is a little known but very important piece to head coach Lisa Bluder’s practice schedule. The team learns the opposing offense of the Hawkeyes’ next opponent, wears jerseys with the numbers of the players represented and helps Iowa players get a real look at what the Hawkeyes will see on game day.

“We help them out in drills,” Bender says. “We practice against them 5-on-5, and we learn the other team's offenses the day of and become kind of a player for the other team.”

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The Gray Squad can dress as the Hawkeyes’ next opponent anywhere from one to three days before game day. Bender, who scored 18.4 points per game in his senior year at Hillcrest Academy, often mimics a wing player. He says he is often used to practices as a drive-heady guard.

Both Bender and 2023 Washington player Lucas Kroll were on the squad at the beginning of the year. Bender is currently one of around 10 regulars who go at it with the Hawkeyes regularly. Bender says he had an in with the University due to knowing student manager Cale Robertson, a Kalona resident and former Mid-Prairie athlete who is currently a senior at the University.

Bender often finds himself matched up with either Kate Martin or Molly Davis. He says the scrimmages do get competitive when Coach Bluder lets the teams go at it.

“For the first half of the drills, it's pretty light,” Bender says. “When we do the scrimmages, it gets pretty intense, especially if it's against a good team coming up.”

Bender says the Gray Squad plays the Hawkeye women fairly evenly. He says they can go all out, aside from a just a couple of rules.

“They don't want us to do any chase down blocks ever, because you can land on them,” Bender says. “And you're not allowed to dunk on anyone.”

And naturally, the competitiveness leads to a little trash talk. Bender says he’s been on the receiving end a few times, but he’ss playing it smart with his words in his freshman year.

“I'm a zero (out of 10), because I'm a freshman,” Bender says. “Other people get into it, more likely the older guys. I don't want to get kicked off this thing.”

Bender says one of the biggest thrills is seeing just how competitive the Iowa women are. He ranks Caitlin Clark as the most so, but says Martin isn’t too far behind.

“It's so cool to play against them,” Bender says. “And to experience what Caitlin is like.”

The Hawkeyes will tip off their NCAA tournament run on Saturday evening against either the University of Tennessee at Martin or Holy Cross. Bender says he sees plenty of potential in another big run.

“Their dynamic and how they play together is crazy,” Bender says. “They do everything without saying it. They're so fluid in their offense.”

If Iowa wins on Saturday, the Hawkeyes will play against either West Virginia or Princeton on Monday. A win in the second round would send Iowa into next week’s Sweet 16.