Hot, Local and Fast Breaking

The Bellarmine Knights men's basketball team works hard, plays team ball and wins--a lot. They ran off 14 straight wins to start the season, climbing to a number two national ranking before falling for the first time on January 15. Why do they win? Maybe it's because so many of them have known each other or played against each other for years. Maybe it's the energy of their head coach, Louisville native Scott Davenport. Maybe it's just that they're a group of talented kids with a solid core of them from Metro Louisville and Southern Indiana. Seven of the team members grew up 20 minutes or less from the campus: Forrest Smallwood (Male), Chartrael Hall (Manual), Doug Davenport (Ballard), Kevin Allen (North Oldham) and Kevin Cain are from Louisville, and from across the river come Braydon Hobbs (New Albany) and Justin Benedetti (Providence). Head coach Davenport and their two assistant coaches Drew Cooper (St. Xavier) and Mark Bugg (Iroquois) are also local products. Davenport is a former Ballard High School head coach and University of Louisville assistant coach "Playing in front of our hometown crowd is incredible," says the team's senior leader Hall after the Knights defeated Division II traditional power Kentucky Wesleyan 69-48. "I'm a local kid and my friends and family don't have to come far to watch us play. It's a great feeling." Getting talented kids to give up their dreams of playing at a higher level and come to Bellarmine, a Division II school, can be a challenge. Davenport is familiar with high-end basketball. He assisted head coaches Denny Crum and Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville from 1996 -2005. He makes sure his recruits understand that Bellarmine offers athletic and academic challenges and benefits. "You've got to have young men who aspire to go to a tremendous institution academically, athletically and socially," says Davenport. "Every one of the local kids--as well as the rest of the team--understands that coming to Bellarmine affords them the opportunity to experience four of the greatest years of their lives in preparation for their life's work." Sophomore Benedetti embraces those benefits: "I had an option to go Division I, but I knew that if I came to Bellarmine, I'd have the chance to play right away. I heard nothing but great things about Bellarmine academically and athletically and coach Davenport really sold me on the college experience here." Besides that, Benedetti gets to play with an old high school rival, freshman Braydon Hobbs. "I love being on the court with him," says Benedetti of Hobbs. "He's a great player and he makes me a better player by what he does for the team." All of these players have found that Bellarmine provides a good fit and an opportunity to play quality ball. Chartrael Hall may have said it best: "Never, ever give up on yourself or your dreams. Find someone who cares about your dreams and who will help you achieve them. Coach Davenport has been a major factor in helping me achieve my dreams." Davenport is surely proud of his talented group and their number two ranking in the Division II polls. But there is more to his mission than top rankings and praise from the media. "We're very lucky to have these kids here," says Davenport. "We're going to push them as hard as they've been pushed in their life, but we're going to support them as much as they've ever been supported. We really want them to have four great years here and then 40 years of success once they're gone." Paul Najjar is a freelance writer and sports commentator. Read his sports commentary at www.paulonsports.com.