jeffpatterson
04-18-2008, 11:22 PM
Proving time for Crabbers’ Bennett
The junior, playing for Boo Williams’ team, hopes to enhance her reputation starting this weekend.
By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com | 247-4648
HAMPTON — By Alyssa Bennett’s estimation, the last time she had to impress a coach was when she was a 10-year-old pipsqueak trying out for the Aberdeen Lady Hornets.
That went well enough for her to go from virtual unknown to contributing starter.
“I was a decent player,” said Bennett, a 6-foot-1 junior forward at Hampton High who will suit up for the Boo Williams Summer League 16-and-under AAU team this weekend. “Things worked out for me in that situation.”
She hopes to have similar success this AAU season, trying to impress specific college coaches enough to pull the trigger on an offer.
That all starts at 12:30 p.m. today when she and BWSL face the Orlando Comets on Court 1 at the Boo Williams Sportsplex to kick off the Battle of the Best tournament.
“I expect big things from her this summer,” Hampton High coach David Six said. “It’s just a matter of her putting her best foot forward and doing it. Alyssa finished the year really strong.”
That’s evident.
Bennett has offers — Virginia, Virginia Tech, Northeastern, Georgetown, James Madison, North Carolina State, Old Dominion — that most high school players would drool over. Still, she wants to expand her options even more.
Schools like Maryland, Illinois and North Carolina have expressed interest, but plan to evaluate Bennett this AAU season. All likely will be on hand for this weekend’s tournament, which has several sites but is based at the new, eight-court facility.
“I know that the coaches will be there and everything,” Bennett said. “I’m not gonna try and score every time that I get the ball. I’ll just play hard the whole game and let that take care of itself. I don’t have any idea where I want to go, but I just want everyone to offer.”
Last year in this tournament, Bennett played sparingly on a team that ended up winning the AAU national title.
Now a likely starter, Bennett will need to produce on a young but talented team.
“She is gonna help us out a lot,” said BWSL guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, whom a recruiting service, the Blue Star Report, rated as the No. 2 prospect in the country. “She’s one of only four girls that are back, so we’ll need her.”
Added Bennett: “I feel more confident this year. I’ll have to work on talking more this year because we have a younger team. I’m too nice. I’ve gotta get out of that. That’s something I’m getting better with.”
It will help that she’s got a new vigor after what she considered a “disappointing” high school season, by her lofty standards.
The Crabbers finished second in the Peninsula District to Heritage, the eventual Group AAA state champion, and lost to the Hurricanes three times. That ended Hampton’s seven-year reign atop the district.
The Crabbers ended any chance of repeating as state champs with a loss in the second round of the Eastern Region tournament at Princess Anne.
“I like winning,” said Bennett, who averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Crabbers this season. “I like being known.”
Bennett said that when the Crabbers won the state title in 2007, strangers would approach her regularly and tell her that they saw her on TV.
“Even if they don’t know me, I like for them to say they’ve heard of me,” Bennett said. “That means I’m doing my job. That’s what I want the coaches to see this weekend. I want to make the top-10 (alumni) list next year. I want people to leave here saying ‘she did a good job.’ ”
Good enough to pick up more offers.
The junior, playing for Boo Williams’ team, hopes to enhance her reputation starting this weekend.
By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com | 247-4648
HAMPTON — By Alyssa Bennett’s estimation, the last time she had to impress a coach was when she was a 10-year-old pipsqueak trying out for the Aberdeen Lady Hornets.
That went well enough for her to go from virtual unknown to contributing starter.
“I was a decent player,” said Bennett, a 6-foot-1 junior forward at Hampton High who will suit up for the Boo Williams Summer League 16-and-under AAU team this weekend. “Things worked out for me in that situation.”
She hopes to have similar success this AAU season, trying to impress specific college coaches enough to pull the trigger on an offer.
That all starts at 12:30 p.m. today when she and BWSL face the Orlando Comets on Court 1 at the Boo Williams Sportsplex to kick off the Battle of the Best tournament.
“I expect big things from her this summer,” Hampton High coach David Six said. “It’s just a matter of her putting her best foot forward and doing it. Alyssa finished the year really strong.”
That’s evident.
Bennett has offers — Virginia, Virginia Tech, Northeastern, Georgetown, James Madison, North Carolina State, Old Dominion — that most high school players would drool over. Still, she wants to expand her options even more.
Schools like Maryland, Illinois and North Carolina have expressed interest, but plan to evaluate Bennett this AAU season. All likely will be on hand for this weekend’s tournament, which has several sites but is based at the new, eight-court facility.
“I know that the coaches will be there and everything,” Bennett said. “I’m not gonna try and score every time that I get the ball. I’ll just play hard the whole game and let that take care of itself. I don’t have any idea where I want to go, but I just want everyone to offer.”
Last year in this tournament, Bennett played sparingly on a team that ended up winning the AAU national title.
Now a likely starter, Bennett will need to produce on a young but talented team.
“She is gonna help us out a lot,” said BWSL guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, whom a recruiting service, the Blue Star Report, rated as the No. 2 prospect in the country. “She’s one of only four girls that are back, so we’ll need her.”
Added Bennett: “I feel more confident this year. I’ll have to work on talking more this year because we have a younger team. I’m too nice. I’ve gotta get out of that. That’s something I’m getting better with.”
It will help that she’s got a new vigor after what she considered a “disappointing” high school season, by her lofty standards.
The Crabbers finished second in the Peninsula District to Heritage, the eventual Group AAA state champion, and lost to the Hurricanes three times. That ended Hampton’s seven-year reign atop the district.
The Crabbers ended any chance of repeating as state champs with a loss in the second round of the Eastern Region tournament at Princess Anne.
“I like winning,” said Bennett, who averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Crabbers this season. “I like being known.”
Bennett said that when the Crabbers won the state title in 2007, strangers would approach her regularly and tell her that they saw her on TV.
“Even if they don’t know me, I like for them to say they’ve heard of me,” Bennett said. “That means I’m doing my job. That’s what I want the coaches to see this weekend. I want to make the top-10 (alumni) list next year. I want people to leave here saying ‘she did a good job.’ ”
Good enough to pick up more offers.