City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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A year ago, Nal’la Bennett had her patience tested. 

The Friends’ Central 5-foot-8 shooting guard had one college offer. She always knew she had the talent. She just needed a few college coaches to take notice. As a sophomore, she scored 39 points in a game for the Phoenix, dropping a school-record 11 3-pointers in a victory over Academy of the New Church. As a junior, she averaged 14 points a game in leading Friends’ Central to the Friends Schools championship game against powerhouse Westtown.

Suddenly, as this summer approached, one offer blossomed into 13.

“It was kind of a stressful, slow process,” she said. “At first, I wasn’t getting what I wanted. I had one offer last year. I knew when the offers came in, I wanted to choose what was best for me. When the offers grew to 13, it gave me a nice boost of confidence.”

On Tuesday, Bennett narrowed it to one again, her one, going public with her commitment to Stony Brook.

“I wanted to commit early so I can go into my senior year and have fun,” Bennett told CoBL last week. “It’s relieved a lot of stress off me going into the live period, knowing what I wanted to do and where I’m going. 

“It was between UMass and Stony Brook,” she added. “The difference was I could come in and play right away at Stony Brook. I will have a chance to prove myself. I liked the coaches and they showed me what they will use me for. It is a good academic school.

“My recruitment really picked up this summer. I really proved myself. I got what I wanted.”

Knowing Bennett has a college destination was comforting to Simpson, too.

“This is a big relief,” Simpson said. “I just think that any kid committed early can enjoy the process of playing basketball and enjoy the rest of their summer and the rest of their senior year. There is a lot of pressure trying to get that offer. Once you get it, that pressure is off. She can play free. Nal’la does not have to worry about a college coach looking over her shoulder. She can freely make mistakes. All she has to do is play basketball. It is a great thing. I’m happy for her.

“Stony Brook runs a lot of the same stuff we run. They get up and down and play fast paced. Their system fits Nal’la well. The style of play, in my opinion, was one of the main things she (liked about) Stony Brook. It is also the No. 1 public college academically in New York state. It all fits for her.”

Entering the summer, Simpson tasked Bennett with working better off pick-and-rolls and shooting off the dribble. He has been very pleased.

“Nal’la could always do it,” Simpson said. “She just lacked the confidence to do it. Seeing the way she trains, those skills would not translate into games. Everything works well. That came with feeling more relaxed and comfortable with her game.”

Bennett committed to new Stony Brook head coach Joy McCorvey, who was named by the school in April, on July 8. Bennett announced her commitment on social media on Tuesday, July 16. 

McCorvey takes over for Ashley Brooke Langford, the 2024 Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year and Central Dauphin grad who once played for the Philadelphia Belles AAU team. After guiding the Seawolves to a 28-5 finish and to the CAA championship game, where they lost to Drexel, Langford accepted the coaching job at her alma mater Tulane.

Bennett said Stony Brook projects her to be a combo guard and being able to score on all three levels.

There will also be a new role for Simpson this season. She will be moved to point guard.

“This will be different, and I know I have to turn into a point guard going into college,” said Bennett, who surpassed 1,000 career points last season. “I’m learning this summer. Being a small guard, I have to turn into a point guard. I will have to make the right plays and think more about if I need to make the extra pass. 

“I like both roles (as a point guard and shooting guard). I like being able to control the floor and seeing everything and being able to score when I have to. I’ve worked on my ballhandling and working on being a truer point guard this summer.”

The Phoenix, who finished 8-1 in the league and 25-7 overall, return a lot of talent for head coach Vinny Simpson. Returning with Bennett, a three-year starter, will be rising seniors Logyn Greer, a national-level recruit, 6-3 wing/forward; Division I recruit Kaiya Rain Tucker, a 6-0 forward; plus Sydney Williams, Jordyn Adderly and Saniyah Washington.

“As a team, we can be really good,” Bennett said. “I think we could be good enough to win the league championship this year. We have to come back with the same mentality that we all want to win and we all want to work harder to get there again.”

“I can’t wait for the season.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.