Freshman Addison Benner gives Bullets a real shot

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Addison Benner describes herself as an old soul. She has classic rock pumping into her earbuds and her basketball heroes are from a past generation.

It’s AC/DC and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Larry Bird and Charles Barkley. These aren’t the typical inspirations for a high school student.

Then again, nothing about Benner is typical.

The 5-10 freshman is off to a blazing start to her career. If she stays healthy and stays the course, she’s going to make a lasting impression at Brandywine Heights. That much is obvious.

“We all know in the back of our heads that she’s going to be a really great player,” teammate Olivia Moyer said. “She does a lot of moves when I’m like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know she could do that.’ I’m surprised by her every day.”

Wednesday night was the latest chapter. Benner finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Brandywine pulled away from Oley Valley 57-43 in a Berks IV girls basketball matchup at Oley.

Through her first nine games Benner is averaging 14.7 points. She has scored at least 19 points four times. She drilled seven 3-pointers once.

Most freshmen ease into the varsity experience. Benner has stormed the court.

“I’ve been playing all my life,” she said. “High school is kind of like AAU to me. I’m just chillin’ really. I’m not trying to be too stressed. If I start to do that, I start to overthink. So I just let everything go.”

Benner flipped this game upside down during a five-minute stretch of the third quarter. She scored 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Brandywine went from being down one to holding an eight-point lead heading into the fourth.

There’s nothing missing from Benner’s skill set. She can shoot from the outside, score with either hand at the rim and defend at the top of the zone or in the middle. Her long reach creates a lot of turnovers.

Watching Benner is a revelation for most followers of Berks basketball. It’s old news to Brandywine coach Don Vinciguerra. When he sent in preseason preview information he said Benner was going to be his leading scorer. He knew this was coming. He knows she can become one of the Bullets’ all-time greats.

“The reason why she has that chance is because of everybody else,” Vinciguerra said. “You can’t box-and-one (against us). We’re so good around her. We just have to keep playing the team game.”

Brandywine (4-0, 9-0), the only undefeated team in the league and the top-ranked team in District 3 Class 3A, returned four starters after capturing Berks IV last season: Moyer, Emily Savitz, Avery Potteiger and Caroline Fenstermacher. 

Benner stepped into a lineup that was ready to win. This didn’t happen by accident. Vinciguerra, now in his sixth season, has turned things around in Mertztown after some tough times. The Bullets had a losing record in each of his first four years before going 10-10 last winter.

When he took the job, Vinciguerra said he met with the board of the youth league. Three members were parents of Benner, Potteiger and Dana Wartzenluft, all key parts of this year’s team.

“I said, ‘I want to work with you,’ ” Vinciguerra said. “I don’t want to coach high school. I want to build a program. We started working with that group. We realized it was special. We saw it had a chance for something to happen. You never truly know exactly what.”

Vinciguerra is right about Brandywine’s depth and balance. Those things are essential. Savitz is averaging 9.8 points. Moyer is a terrific defensive point guard. Fenstermacher and Potteiger can score inside and rebound.

Benner lifts the Bullets to another level.

“I love playing with her,” Moyer said. “It’s always so much fun. She’s definitely dependable and reliable. That’s helpful on the court. We know each other’s movements and I think that helps with teamwork as well.”

Many of these girls were key players for the soccer team that won a District 3 championship in October. They’re used to success. That has carried over into the winter. Benner had two goals and three assists last fall. She’s a starter in soccer. She’s a star in basketball. 

“I expected this,” she said of Brandywine’s record. “This was one of my goals. To get a winning streak, keep going and not stop. We’ve got athletes and we’ve got players.”

Vinciguerra is constantly emphasizing team. He tells his players not to look at the 1,000-point banner in the school’s gym. To focus on the division championship banner.

There’s a good chance Benner is going to make additions to both.