Glue Guys: Two DU Men’s Basketball Players Start a Podcast

Drake Muller, Jessica Hutchinson and Ben Bowen pose for a photo after recording an episode of the Glue Guys podcast.

Drake Muller and Ben Bowen are used to being recognized on campus as members of the men’s basketball team, but since starting a podcast last month, they are also becoming known as the “Glue Guys.”

In the sports world, a glue guy is generally defined as someone who may not show up at the top of the stat sheets or get a lot of personal accolades. Instead, they focus on what’s best for the group—becoming the “glue” that keeps a team together.

It’s also a term that can extend beyond sports.

“It can be in an office, work setting, in a classroom, whatever it may be, just somebody that's doing what's best for the greater good of the community that they're in and the thing that they're a part of,” Bowen says.

Both Bowen and Muller believe they’ve embodied that this season for the University of Denver’s men’s basketball program, so the name seemed to be a no brainer for their budding podcast—which just released its fourth episode.

In addition to being able to talk about sports as they so often do with one another, both Bowen and Muller see the podcast as an opportunity to share the stories of those within University of Denver Athletics on a larger stage.

“A big reason for starting the podcast was to gain some exposure for the athletics department and some of the phenomenal athletes we have in the Ritchie Center,” Muller says. “The podcast seemed like a great way of getting those stories out there and then also allowing us to talk sports.”

The podcast provides a unique viewpoint in that they are student-athletes interviewing their peers. Guests so far have included men’s basketball player Tommy Bruner, women’s lacrosse player Trinity McPherson, gymnast Jessica Hutchinson and men’s lacrosse player Noah Manning.

The podcast interviews include questions about the guest’s respective sport, but also focus on their personal stories, how they grew to love the sport they play and the challenges they’ve overcome along the way.

Because there’s already that initial level of comfort, the podcast episode feels more like a conversation than an interview, Bowen says.

“We can relate being student-athletes, we go through a similar grind, a similar sort of situation. Especially in this DU community, we have a sense of we're all in this together … that sort of culture has been built here in the Ritchie Center,” the redshirt sophomore guard and Wyoming transfer adds.

The encouragement they’ve received, both from their team but also the greater student-athlete community at DU, has also been incredibly rewarding for Bowen and Muller.

“The support from the athletics department, our team, other athletes—it's really cool to see that they’re willing to help us out and promote it. I love walking down the hallway hearing someone say, ‘I listened to the last episode,’” the redshirt junior guard says.

That kind of tightknit support has been present for Muller at DU since he stepped on campus back in September 2020.

“I feel like personally I've really grown not only as an athlete, but as a young man here at DU,” he says. “I’ve seen highs, I’ve seen lows, but one thing that's been constant, regardless of who's been on my team or who's coaching me, I've had support from those around me, and that's a huge thing.”