Things come full circle at Tech for Benson
Sometimes things are just meant to be. You might say that's the case with Springfield (Arkansas) Southwest Christian Academy shooting guard Avery Benson, who decided to commit to Texas Tech as a preferred walk-on on Monday afternoon.
When Benson was just a sophomore in high school, he was being recruited by Chris Beard at Arkansas-Little Rock, a time when the guard got a clear picture into what kind of coach and mentor the now-Texas Tech head coach could be. In fact, he got to see how Beard coached and treated his team first hand at a game in December a few years ago.
Benson bought in right then and there.
"He's a phenomenal guy and surrounds himself with great people. When he was at Little Rock, he had all the guys bought in. We went and watched a game that year, was one of the later games," he said. "Just how he talks to his players, how he gets them hyped up, how he treats them with such high respect. He's like one of your best friends while also being your coach. He's just a phenomenal guy, and he treated me like family. I wasn't even on the team. It definitely made me feel right at home."
"Coach Beard and Coach Burg, I've known them since they were at Little Rock, so definitely a great relationship there for a long time. I kind of got discouraged when he went to UNLV, but it kind of sparked back when I found out he was going to Texas Tech. I was excited about that."
So, when the opportunity came a few months ago, Benson decided to try and get back in touch with Beard and the staff at Tech to let them know he was still interested in playing for the man who recruited him a few years earlier.
When that happened, the Red Raiders were clearly interested in getting things going with the Arkansas native once again, so he made a trip out to Lubbock in late April.
"I love Tech. It's a beautiful campus, it's very large, but it was a great environment. All of the people happened to run into were very kind, and the players were phenomenal. There wasn't a knot head in the bunch of them. All of the athletic facilities were beautiful."
So, with a visit in the books and a little time to think things over, Benson decided he wanted to walk on at Tech. He watched what was going on in Lubbock from a far, so the shooting guard shared a few of his thoughts about the 2016-17 hoops season on the South Plains and what he expects to be a part of moving forward.
"Last season he had to work with what he had in his first season, and I think he did the best he could. It obviously wasn't how he wanted it to turn out to be, cause he's a winner. Definitely has a lot of upside this next year and for the next year on. I fell in love with how they play the game with motion, reading the defense, being able to play within yourself, being able to go around with the team. I'm also looking forward to their weight program. They have an amazing strength program with Coach Reilly. He's phenomenal. So, I'm excited to gain a few pounds."
Coach Beard and the staff clearly have a vision for what they'd like Benson to be within the program as well.
"I get down and do the jobs that most people don't want to do. I shoot the ball, and (Coach Beard) knows that, and we talk about the goals he has for me in that. We talk about just being kind of a spark plug with the team and just bringing the guys together, bringing the chemistry, be kind of a glue guy."
"I love team ball. There's five guys on the court for a reason. I love fast paced offense, love to get down on defense, and the 50-50 balls are always mine, cause the little stuff adds up at the end of the game. I definitely try to hang my hat on being the hardest working guy every day in and out."
Now, Benson will prepare himself to become a Red Raider. He couldn't be more excited, either.
"I was beside myself when I announced, and even before that when I went out there and got to see Coach Beard and Coach Berg face to face again. I just had an amazing time, and I was just pumped. It's a once in a lifetime experience that I've worked for, so definitely a dream come true."