Alicia Payne's role is different for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team.
Her importance isn't.
The former UTC guard is in her first season as a graduate assistant for the Mocs, after a playing career she capped off as back-to-back Southern Conference defensive player of the year and the 2016 SoCon tournament most outstanding player.
Now her primary role is to talk with players throughout the course of a game, hoping to provide a mentoring influence.
"The biggest difference from last year to this year is that her feet don't hurt as much," UTC coach Jim Foster said. "She's got bad feet. As much as she used them last year, she walked around like she was 90.
"This year she looks like she's about 75."
Maybe it's because of Payne's "bad feet" that she had no desire to be out on the court toward the end of last week's SoCon tournament championship game against Mercer, when the Mocs entered the fourth quarter trailing by 10 yet found a way to win.
"It's pretty different," she said. "To be out there, to have been in a lot of close situations and being able to impact the game, but this year I feel like I can do it in other ways - whether I'm sitting on the bench and talking to whoever is over there or trying to get somebody's head right by encouraging them.
"It's different, but I like both, so it's been cool."
Said Foster: "She's still an observant person. I think she has a great rapport with the players. They have a great deal of respect for her because of the way she played, and I think she can answer some questions.
"I have a really good staff with a lot of attributes, and if you can't find somebody on this staff to help solve a problem, there are professional services available for you. There are a lot of folks with a lot of different experiences and a lot of different backgrounds. It's a good group, they work well together and she just adds to that."
The team took a couple of days off after the SoCon championship game but resumed practice Wednesday. After three months of constantly preparing for the next opponent, practices this week have been geared toward getting better, with no known opponent until Monday night when the Mocs find out whom they'll play in the NCAA tournament.
Every season that Payne has been part of the program, the Mocs have qualified for the national tournament, and with a number of experienced players on the roster, they know about the week of preparation prior to it.
And if they don't, Payne knows how to help them.
"I'm just telling them to get prepared and ready," she said. "The NCAA tournament is another level, so I'm just trying to get them engaged and take another step, but they know because of their nonconference schedule, so they know what to expect and I'm just trying to get them back in that mindset.
"I'm here to let them know that you don't want to win all these SoCon championships and not do nothing in the NCAA tournament - take it from me, I know - so I'm trying to get them to realize that this is the only opportunity they know they're going to have, so try to make the most of it and don't waste it."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.