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(@oregonmbb_mangers)

LAS VEGAS -- In his three-plus years as a manager for Oregon, Patrick Benson has one moment that stands above the rest.

It was in the Pac-12 Tournament a year ago, when the Ducks defeated the Utah Utes in an 88-57 blowout to claim the team's first tournament title during his tenure.

Benson's family was there, so were thousands of Oregon fans who watched as Oregon essentially clinched the game by halftime.

But as the clock ticked down and Oregon players and supporters began to celebrate, Benson's managerial instincts kicked in.

Yes, it was a special moment for him as a member of the Oregon basketball program, but winning a Pac-12 title meant he and the rest of the five-member managerial squad had to go to work.

"I was in my third year and my brain is just tuned to think this way," Benson said. "My first thought when the buzzer rang was how do we get the championship hats for the players? How do we get everything off the court? Our main job is to make sure the players have the experience they want to. It's not about us. This is bigger than us."

Patrick Benson

The Oregon managers routinely log full days around the basketball program. Practice days mean getting to Matthew Knight Arena two and a half hours before, staying during and long after. Game days can be a 12-hour affair.

"They're big for us," Oregon guard Dylan Ennis said. "They do so much for us and we're really grateful for them."

Benson, a Portland native who graduated from Jesuit, chose to be a manager because he loved basketball and would like to eventually go into coaching. Being around Oregon's coaching staff and players has been invaluable over the years, he said, even if the basketball work means having to find random pockets of time to do actual homework.

There's fun to it, though. More than 2,000 people follow the Oregon managers' Instagram account, ran by Benson. There's a manager Christmas photo, a staged interview session and a picture of the managers, in full uniform, in a mocked up basketball team photo for their annual manager team calendar.

It's fun, Benson said. It's hard work, too. And if Oregon beats Cal Friday night and then wins another championship on Saturday, he and the rest of the managers will be ready to celebrate -- after dishing out the hats.

"We try and not take ourselves too seriously," Benson said. "We take what we do seriously, but I don't take myself seriously."

Here are some of the best gems from the Instagram account:

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger