Paris Bennett- Wearing #23 Well

Paris Bennett is an integral part of the St. Patrick's (NJ) Celtics, despite not being one of the most well-known members of the team. Bennett is a versatile player, and he had his talents on display in his team's game on February 10th at the Prime Time Shootout against Oak Hill Academy (VA). Bennett struggled the previous night against the Gray Bees of St. Benedict's (NJ), but rebounded with a stellar performance to help his squad pull off the upset. I chatted with Paris for a few minutes after the big win.

NB: That was a great game out there. How’d you guys pull off the win against such a tough opponent?
PB: Really, we came off a big loss yesterday, so we couldn’t let Coach [Kevin] Boyle down, it couldn’t be three [losses in a row]. He [has] never had that in 20 years, so we had to come out with a win. . . . Our backs [were] against the walls. . . . Everybody don’t want St. Pat’s to win, but we got to pull through somehow.

NB: Does this big win at all ease the pain of the loss yesterday, or is it still lingering?
PB: It’s still lingering, because we expect to win every game when we go out there. We still got to be St. Pat’s, we still got to win big games.

NB: With that loss to St. Benedict’s [last night] and now the win against Oak Hill, what’s your outlook for the rest of the season? . . . Maybe this could be a turning point where you start just going down a hot stretch right now, what do you think?
PB: Now I think this [is] the part of the season, my . . . three years here, if we get that loss, we get that win, and then it like we [are] rolling ball. We start out, we get momentum, we [are] not going to be stopped.

NB: What are you looking forward to accomplishing the rest of this season?
PB: [Winning] counties, states, and the TOC [Tournament of Champions].

The Celtics are poised for another great season in 2008-2009, in part due to the talents of Paris Bennett. Although the junior is certuanly no Michael Jordan, he certainly isn't disrespecting His Airness' number, 23. Bennett is a good talent, with the potential to become even better if he puts on a few more inches. Number 23 could be a dangerous player is he grows to about 6'9 down the road. Paris Bennett is definitely a high caliber player.

Note- photo is from http://scouthoops.scout.com