Usually, it’s a walk-on that sits at the end of the bench and rises with wild gesticulations.
And that player is often a wiry guard who chucks up 3s in the final minute, much to the delight of an adoring home crowd.
For the 2022-23 Toledo Rockets, the celebrator-in-chief at the end of the bench is a 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward. Javan Simmons is neither sinewy nor a walk-on. And you won’t be seeing him on the court unless you arrive early.
“Mass is hard on us. He loves us, but he’s hard on us,” said Simmons, who is redshirting this season.