Basketball has been good to Tayler Bennett.
It not solely allowed her to check structure and inside design, but additionally has taken her to Norway and Malta. Bennett started her collegiate profession at Rice, enjoying three seasons for the Owls earlier than transferring to Academy of Artwork College for her last season. Final season, she performed for Caffe Moak Luxol in Malta, averaging 17.8 factors, 9.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a couple of.8 steals per recreation.
Whereas she’s in search of a brand new workforce, she discovered time to speak in regards to the variations between Division I and Division II basketball, cooking at house and following your goals. Some highlights from our dialog embody:
On her father being her assistant coach in highschool:
He was excellent at discovering the stability. Once I stepped on the courtroom, he put his basketball hat on, and once we step off the courtroom, he will get to place his dad hat again on. So no matter he stated to me on the courtroom, I knew it was from coming from my coach. If I had questions on it afterwards, we might simply discuss it. Or a play or observe or something that got here to thoughts. There was by no means any sort of, “Oh, my gosh, he’s being so onerous on me immediately. Why is my dad doing that?” No, we we undoubtedly knew the way to maintain issues separate relating to basketball and him being my precise dad.
On what’s higher for participant growth, being on the bench at a Division I college or a starter at a Division II college:
You’re going to be taught much more about basketball, when it comes to basketball IQ, out of DI college. Even in case you’re on the bench, you’re going to watch, observe and take in loads out of your teammates or coaches since you’re at that DI stage. All of those folks surrounding you might be there for a cause, together with you, as a result of what you probably did in highschool, it acquired you to a DI college. I didn’t play loads such as you stated, however my expertise and work ethic nonetheless acquired me there, so I’m nonetheless grateful to have the ability to be surrounded by the teammates that I had and to soak up all of the information that my coaches needed to instill in me. Mindset, onerous work, work ethic-wise… I really feel like I absorbed loads from all people that was round me, so if I used to be giving recommendation to anyone who’s making an attempt to decide on between beginning at DII and never enjoying at D1, I’d nonetheless say, like, go to DI as a result of there may be that likelihood which you could nonetheless play. In case you have that drive and you’ve got that work ethic and you place in all of the work there, there might be instances the place you’re going to get within the recreation.
A particular thanks to Samuel A. Diomande of Dreamer Sports activities Company for arranging the interview.
