Dec. 8, 2006
The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears each Friday from September through February and monthly from April through August. This week our subject is sophomore guard Bilal Benn.
The words had echoed often during Bilal Benn's freshman campaign in 2005-06. They were spoken frequently by head coach Jay Wright to his squad. As this Philadelphia native watched his longtime friend Kyle Lowry go through the process of moving from Wildcat underclassman to National Basketball Association millionaire, they took root.
"The thing I took from watching Kyle last spring was to just be who you are," says Benn, now in his second season on the Main Line. "Kyle has gotten way better as a player since I first knew him but he's the same person I have known for years. He is comfortable with himself and he has gotten exactly where he wanted to go. He is who he is.
"I have learned that I just have to be myself. I want to be coachable and a good teammate. I want to have a great attitude and play hard every minute I am on the floor."
It is a recipe that has become familiar to Villanova basketball fans in the first decade of the 21st century. Yet it is serving this product of Cardinal Dougherty High School and Hargrave Military Academy exceptionally well. In his second season as a `Cat, Benn has seen his role evolve to the point where he is now a trusted member of the playing rotation and is often the first guard off the bench. He is averaging just under 14 minutes per outing and has provided valuable relief in the eight games played thus far.
Benn came to Villanova with memories of watching the Wildcats play on television as a youngster and seeing the likes of Kerry Kittles, Alvin Williams and Gary Buchanan. As a youth he first focused on football before developing into a solid hoops prospect at Dougherty, where he teamed with Lowry and Shane Clark among others on one of Philadelphia's strongest Catholic League clubs.
Ultimately, Benn completed his pre-college career at Hargrave Military Academy. It was there that he found out how much he enjoyed being around his home town.
Eighteen months into his stay at Villanova, Benn is content in his environment. It is not uncommon to see him chatting with almost anyone on campus - teammate, fellow student, faculty member or staffer. Wright has encouraged him to be vocal on the court too.
"Coach wants us to think of ourselves as Villanova basketball players," states Benn. "When you are a Villanova guard you have to be vocal. He wants me to open my mouth and be a leader when I am on the floor instead of looking at it like I'm just a sophomore and should stay in the background."
Like the rest of his fellow members of the class of 2009, Benn observed the gold standard for Villanova guards last season. Each day the 6-5 rookie learned his lessons from a group that included Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Lowry and current senior Mike Nardi.
"We had such great leadership and they taught us that you can never relax, not in practice or games," says Benn. "You always have to be together whether you are up or down. No matter what the score is, you have to keep playing hard and together."
In large part due to the presence of those four guards, Benn's opportunities to shine were limited. He helped play an instrumental role in a 62-55 win at the Palestra over Penn when Lowry fell into early foul trouble. In February, he contributed nine points in a win over DePaul on an afternoon when Nardi was sidelined by tonsillitis.
It was, not, however a wasted season. Benn's size and ability to rebound gave the upperclassmen a daily reminder of what they would face in BIG EAST action. When his chances arrived, he was ready.
This season he has built upon that. With a solid handle and ample size, Benn offers excellent defensive tools and has developed his offensive game as well. He is adept at using his body to get into the lane and has spent hours toiling to enhance his perimeter jumper.
"This has been a different experience for me than last season was," he says. "I'm playing more, which is part of it. But we have so many young guys on this team and we're all learning about one another as we go. We have learned a lot already and think we still have things we can improve upon. And we also still have the same kind of leadership we did last year with Curt (Sumpter), Mike (Nardi) and Bump (Sheridan), which is important."
While Benn likes where this 2006-07 edition is, he is most excited about its prospects for growth on the court.
"We have had some good games and we have some guys who can really score," he notes, "but I think the one area where we have a chance to become really tough is on defense. We have a lot of length and quickness. We're very long and I think we can become an intimidating defensive team."."
In Benn's mind it is less an issue of chemistry than it is of having developed the kind of rapport that only comes through repetition.
"I think it's knowing what to expect from one another," he says. "What happens sometimes now is that when someone gets by one of our teammates, we feel like we should switch off our man to come help. We're not sure if they will recover. We're starting to see, though, that they (teammates) are very good at recovering and don't need our help. As we spend more and more time together on the court, I think that's something we'll get better at."
Benn is likely to be a vital ingredient in the development of that defense. Wright and his staff are comfortable matching Benn against opponents of virtually all shapes and sizes. He has the potential to become a defensive stopper on the wing while also adding some muscle and hoops savvy to the offensive attack.
For his part, Benn worries little about such labels. He prefers to be viewed as a Villanova basketball player, one who is ready to contribute when tapped by the coaching staff. He plans to bring energy and intensity whenever called. Such is his dedication to the cause that the staff sometimes switches him to the white team in practice to give that group of young players a jolt of electricity.
Be it in practice or before the watchful eyes of more than 20,000 at the Wachovia Center, Benn's mindset is uncluttered. It is based in no small part on the advice offered to him by his coach.
"I want to be myself," he says.
Wise words suited for the basketball court and life itself.
