By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Once Caleb Bennett had gone through Lafayette, setting multiple boys' basketball program records along the way, a lot of eyes were on his younger brother, Camden, once he got to high school.
Once big brother Caleb came back home to St. Joseph to finish his college basketball career at Missouri Western, many people by then had seen for themselves - Camden was something special on the basketball court at Lafayette as well.
Garnering all-city, conference and district honors each of the last two seasons, Camden Bennett announced his verbal commitment to Missouri Western men's basketball in early September and officially put pen to paper Wednesday.
Bennett says head coach Will Martin's demeanor and overall enthusiasm made his choice to sign with the Griffons an easy one.
"He's always been there," Bennett said. "He's always checked up on me. I'm just excited to be able to play for him. He's a good dude, he's a great coach and everything about him is just amazing. It's going to be an amazing four years."
Lafayette boys' basketball coach Kevin Bristol commends Camden for handling the pressure of following in Caleb's footsteps so graciously.
"Knowing what (Caleb) did here and to come in knowing that and to be able to excel like he's done, it's an extraordinary task," Bristol said of Camden. "He just shows who he is. The impact he's had on this basketball program, it will last for awhile."
Bristol says if anything, coming in after Caleb was a great motivator for Camden.
"I think that drive, now that he's following Caleb to Western," Bristol continued, "that drive is something he's going to continue to use to be successful."
Camden says the relationship with his older brother goes far beyond basketball.
"He's always been just that father figure towards me," Camden said of Caleb. "He's always just been there and being able to follow in his footsteps and go to the same school, I mean that's just a blessing and, yeah I'm excited for it."
Bennett plans to study education at Missouri Western, with the hopes of one day getting into coaching himself. Getting to stay home in St. Joseph was another big factor driving his decision to wear black and gold.
"All my friends plan on going to MoWo, too," Bennett said. "It's a win-win. Just being able to stay with them and stay close to family, it's always just amazing."
Bennett has been a part of Irish teams that have won district titles in 2020 and again this past spring, when the Irish outlasted Benton in overtime for the Class 4 District 16 crown.
Starters Sam Ryan and Drake Davison have since graduated, but with so many other pieces back, Bennett is excited show everyone what the Irish can do, starting with the city jamboree on November 17.
"We can definitely make a push in the offseason this year," Bennett said, as Lafayette is coming off of its eighth district title since 2013. "Just from the early practices so far. I think we need to just keep building up and getting ready and when the jamboree hits, everyone will see it."
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