The origin of the Redwing

Benet basketball players have a word for those exaggerated stories that simply need to be called out: Haggerty-esque.

The word origin derives from Ryan Haggerty, the senior forward with the one-liners, impressions and ability to stretch the truth as if it were a zone defense. But it could just as easily describe his basketball transformation, from a freshman B team player into a potential Division I prospect.

Of course it helps that Haggerty has grown into a 6-foot-8-inch frame, a development that leads senior guard Jono Davern to wonder: If Haggerty were 6 feet tall, where would he play?

"Now it's something my teammates and I kind of joke around about, the fact that freshman year I just sat there and watched them play," Haggerty said.

Yet in an age of fast Internet hype and AAU buzz, Haggerty is slowly, quietly carving out an identity. This, then, is a story of basketball Darwinism.

Back then Haggerty figured what worked at St. James elementary school in Glen Ellyn would probably work at Benet. Not so much. The spot-up shooter used to running point was forced to play off the ball, and ultimately shocked to find himself left off the freshman A team.

"(Haggerty) just played kind of soft and weak," remembered Benet senior forward Alex Gasick.

Sitting at a long desk in the Benet athletic office, Haggerty recently described the demotion as a wake-up call, one that in hindsight was probably the best thing that could have happened to him.

A growth spurt followed, and those ball-handling skills never abandoned Haggerty as he developed into a sophomore team regular and a varsity starter a year later. He used an old-school work ethic to ride basketball's new wave, where 6-8 players can wander the perimeter.

Benet coach Marty Gaughan uses a numbering system mostly for organizational purposes, not to define a player, and Haggerty slides throughout this motion system of ball screens and backdoor cuts.

"Within our offense, it kind of allows for a mismatch," Haggerty said. "If I sense that ... maybe I've got a bigger, slower kid on me, I can pop out and hit a jump shot or maybe take him to the rim. Or - other way around - if I kind of sense a smaller kid on me, then I can roll down to the block."

That's where the game is heading, and that ability to create mismatches is what makes Haggerty attractive to college coaches. Haggerty is being recruited more on potential than production - the forward scored 8.7 points a game as a junior and that average is up to 11.4 this season for a 5-6 team.

"He's not the type of kid who's going to peak out in high school," Gaughan said. "Right now, he's kind of starting to understand, you know, where his game could go."

To take it to the next level, Gaughan would like to see the easygoing Haggerty play with more of a snarl. Gaughan recalled a brief 10- to 12-minute scrimmage last month when Haggerty stole the ball, dunked it and also buried a 3-pointer. But afterward the coach pointedly asked him how many rebounds he grabbed during that sequence (zero).

It's part of the learning curve for Haggerty, who began playing AAU ball only last spring with the Illinois Wolves. A player who once measured himself against eighth-graders in Glen Ellyn was now competing in national tournaments in Boston and Las Vegas.

At this point, Haggerty falls in what Gaughan called a gray area. Haggerty could project as a mid-major Horizon League-type player. At the same time, a Division III or NAIA program would welcome such an athlete. Decision time is likely months off, but the campaign has already begun with letters and phone calls to college coaches.

"Our message pretty much has been the same," Gaughan said. "(Haggerty) may not be a name that you have on a list right now but, you know, he might be one of those kids that might be a great story later on."

Contact Patrick Mooney at pmooney@scn1.com or 630-416-5107.