(Beverly) Ben Chase is having the time of his life.
The former Newburyport Clipper basketball player is in his senior year at Emerson College in Boston and was an important part of a team that crushed Endicott College at Beverly on Wednesday evening, 85-53, in a nonconference game.
I spoke with Emerson coach Hank Smith prior to the game about Ben. With no prompting, he paid the young man some significant compliments including;
“Ben is the only person in my 14 seasons as head coach to serve as captain for three years and we’ve had some great players at Emerson during that time. He was not over his head in that position even as a young player.
“He has a serious approach to everything he does. He is the type of role model you want for everybody.”
Coach Smith also added that, “Ben has always put himself in a position to succeed because his attitude and effort were always good.”
In the game against Endicott, Ben poured in 21 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. With the lead over 30 (76-44) Ben sat the last 6 ½ minutes or his totals might have been even higher.
Ben admitted afterwards that the 21-point first half was the best he had ever had. Good time to have a big game since his parents, Robert and Lynn, were in attendance as well as his girlfriend Kim. “This is the closest game we’ve had to Newburyport since I’ve been at Emerson so it was easier for them to see me play.”
At 6’1”, you might assume that Ben would be a guard. You would assume wrong. “He’s basically a 3 or 4 man because we play all small guys,” said Coach Smith. “At times he’s our biggest player.”
Endicott was taller at every position than Emerson but it didn’t make an ounce of difference. The Lions never pressed but still forced 26 turnovers in a relentless half-court, man-to-man defense. On offense the Lions were in perpetual motion and made many successful darts to the basket. When asked about his team’s quickness Ben said, “We don’t have any height. All we have is quickness.” That quickness has taken Emerson to an 11-1 start.
Ben said that he grew up playing basketball in Newburyport. “I learned so much from my high school coach and from Coach Lucey when I was younger. Coach Lucey retired when I was in 8th grade but I played at youth camps he ran. They started in me a love for the game that I haven’t lost.”
Coach Smith saw Ben play for Newburyport. “He was a pretty good player in high school. However, I wasn’t sure how he would do at the college level. He could shoot the ball but what I liked the most about him was his attitude and the way he approached the game.”
Attending Emerson was a nice fit for Ben. “It is a small art school and I figured that I could do film. I also saw the opportunity to continue to play basketball.”
You get a sense of the “good” attitude that Coach Smith alluded to when Ben talks about his freshman season at Emerson. “I barely played but we had some great senior leaders on that team. I had the best seat in the house to learn from them.”
Ben has not been an all-league player in Emerson’s conference (Great Northeastern Athletic Conference) but that will almost certainly change at the end of this season. Ben is scoring over 16 points per game with a number of outstanding performances in the mix.
“He has had a lot of memorable games this season,” recalled Coach Smith. “He was MVP in the tournament at Vassar. In the championship game, he had 25 points and was 11-for-13 from the field. The two shots he missed he got his own rebound. Against MIT, he was 9-for-10 and had 23 points in 21 minutes. In a big win at Lasell he had 30 points. He has been hitting at a very high percentage.” Ben continued that high percentage versus Endicott making 11-of-17 shots.
Ben has high praise for Coach Smith. “He is fantastic. He knows more about basketball than anyone I’ve met in my life.” When asked specifically about what Coach Smith had taught him he replied, “To make a long story short – everything.”
Ben says that he still spends a lot of time in Newburyport visiting his mother, father, and sister at Parker Ridge. However, that could end if things go as he hopes after graduation. “An alumnus from the Emerson basketball program (Sam Presti) was named General Manager of the Seattle Supersonics last year. With a little luck, I am hoping to get an internship position out there. It would start out as a generic internship and then possibly move to player development and scouting.”
Blessed with a remarkable attitude and work ethic it is not difficult to picture Ben Chase leading the Emerson Lions to the best season they have ever had as well being highly successful in life after college.
( January 17, 2008 – appeared in the Newburyport Daily News )
McClelland Miscellanea 
