#GDTBATH: Caleb Dixon

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Like most of his fellow Carolina students, Caleb Dixon will be rooting hard for the Tar Heels in both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments this week. But as the women’s team takes the floor against Stephen F. Austin University on Saturday, Dixon will watch with extra interest, insight and enthusiasm.

The senior from outside of Charlotte has spent the past four seasons with Carolina women’s basketball as a practice squad member, joining a group of about 10 male students who compete against the women’s team in practice several times a week.

“They want me to try to be more like some of the players that they’re scouting [from other teams], and try to emulate them as best as possible, where it’s just like being big, blocking shots, running drop coverages,” said Dixon, who played basketball in high school.

Practice squads of male players that compete against women’s basketball teams are common in many of the nation’s top programs. The players volunteer their time to help prepare the women’s teams for opponents.

“Watching the girls have success in the game is very satisfying,” Dixon said. “Seeing their product on the court when you come to games and just seeing the plays that you emulate, seeing them guard those really well, or seeing them score in the actions that you defend them in, I think that’s just a really fulfilling part of just what being a practice player is. It’s for something that we know will be beneficial to this program, to this University.”

The Carolina women’s basketball team’s first NCAA tournament game will tipoff on March 19 at 7:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPNews.