Nov. 2, 2007

The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears weekly beginning in September through February with monthly updates in the off-season. This week the focus is on freshman guard Corey Stokes.

Though he is fully cognizant of the demands and stakes of college basketball as it is played in the BIG EAST Conference, New Jersey native Corey Stokes has never lost site of why his fascination with the sport began in the third grade.

"It's always going to be fun to me," says the 6-5 guard of the game that has earned him a scholarship to Villanova and accolades that suggest he may have only scratched the surface of his talent. "Basketball is what I want to do as a job one day (but) it's always going to be fun to me.

"As long as you play, it should always be fun. This is what I love so it's always going to be fun to me."

It would be understandable if a newcomer felt otherwise at this juncture of the campaign. The freshmen mental fatigue factor can start to crop into the equation at this juncture. Game action remains days away. Practice is into its third week and the learning is intense. Yet Stokes seems just as enthused now as he when he first arrived on campus last summer.

"I have a lot to learn and we're just trying to listen to what the coaches are telling us so that we can get better as a team," he states.

It helps that the 6-5 freshman feels very much at home on the Villanova campus. He first came to campus for summer classes and quickly adapted to his new locale.

"It's been fun being coached by Coach (Jay) Wright and playing with upperclassmen and the other two freshmen," he states.

"I think I'm picking up things pretty quickly. The defense that Coach Wright wants us to play is different from the high school level. I'm working on that. Coach tells me to go out and play hard, rebound and defend."

If Stokes feels comfortable it may have something to do what he sees as parallels between his prep school coach at St. Benedict's Prep, former Seton Hall guard Danny Hurley, and Wright.

"They really remind me of one another," he states. "They talk about the same things. That's why it may be a little easier for me to understand than it might be for someone who didn't have that kind of coach."

Just as important is the fact that Stokes enjoys the rest of his life at Villanova.

"I liked the people here on my visit," he says, "but as you get to know people on campus, know their personalities, I find that they are even friendlier than I expected. Everybody on this campus - professors, students, people who work here - is helpful and respectful when you need it. It's really what I like most about Villanova."

Stokes was a basketball prodigy for almost as long as he played the sport. His older brothers Brandon and Jamal Stokes and Harun Simpson played and helped nurture his affection for the sport, as did his parents, Ernest Simpson and Karen Stokes. Jamal Stokes played collegiately at William Paterson College. By the time he reached junior high, Corey Stokes had earned a place on AAU travel teams.

In addition to his family, there was a grammar school teacher who helped stoke the basketball fire in Stokes.

"My grammar school coach, Mr. Rodriguez, always said he saw something in me," he recalls. "He always worked with me and tried to help me get better."

Stokes' promise was such that some of the most powerful prep programs in the state of New Jersey were interested in him. In the end, he felt the best fit was at St. Benedict's, a prep school located 15 minutes from his home in Bayonne.

"I really liked the teachers and the academics," he says. "I took a visit there and met the headmaster and he told about what the school had to offer. I chose St. Benedict's and got myself prepared for college, living in dorms and stuff like that."

Nothing that happened over the next four years would alter his initial sense of comfort. Stokes learned what it was like to live away from home while having the luxury of being able to spend his weekends at home with his family. On the basketball court, he became one of the state's more prolific scorers, blessed with a uncanny shooting stroke from deep.

As a senior he was named a Parade and McDonald's All-American while averaging 24.1 ppg for a St. Benedict's squad that was among the nation's best. He attracted major recruiting interest and settled on his destination in the summer of 2006, between his junior and senior year.

"I was glad when the decision was made," he says. "It made my senior year less stressful. There weren't all the questions about where you were going to college or the text messages from coaches. I knew all the players here and really liked the family atmosphere at Villanova."

One player Stokes knew especially well is his classmate Corey Fisher. The two met early in their high school careers on the AAU circuit and quickly formed a bond. Fisher played for one of St. Benedict's main rivals in the state, St. Patrick's and it made for some interesting battles.

"Corey always beat me," Stokes says with a smile and sigh. "He always teases me - I'm a little upset about that." In spite of that, they became close and Fisher's decision to attend Villanova, made in the winter of 2006, certainly did not hurt the Wildcats' chances of landing Stokes. Now the two are part of a young backcourt that also includes sophomore Scottie Reynolds and fellow rookie Malcolm Grant.

Now the task is nearly at hand. The hours of summer work in the weight room and individual instruction is about to give way to BIG EAST basketball and Stokes can hardly wait.

"Coach Wright always preaches to us that we need to play hard, play smart and play together," Stokes says. "That's where my focus is right now. That's what we are going to do this year."

Sounds like fun.