Jan. 23, 2008

The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears during the basketball season with features highlighting the men's basketball team. In this outtake we spend time with freshman swingman Corey Stokes.

Although it is just one element in a diverse skill set, for Corey Stokes, there was always something about his jump shot that got people excited. It was true when he first began playing basketball with his older brothers. It became his trademark as he emerged as a McDonald's All-American at St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey. And it was what members of the Nova Nation who watched Stokes play in an exhibition tour last September in Ottawa noticed too.

When on target, it is sweet and pure with virtually limitless range. "It will come," he says. "I just have to keep working hard and stay focused on playing Villanova basketball."

"There is absolutely no concern on our part about Corey's ability to shoot the basketball," states Villanova coach Jay Wright. "I have watched Corey play basketball for a long time and we know what a great shooter he is."

Like most new arrivals, Stokes had known nothing but success in his career. When he paced the Wildcats with 18 points in the club's exhibition victory over Bloomsburg at the Wachovia Center, it appeared his transition would be seamless. Yet it has been an uneven ride through 16 regular season games.

"I thought it would go pretty smoothly," he says. "What I didn't realize is that there is so much to learn. People think that because you made the McDonald's team, that it's simple. It doesn't work that way. We have a lot of things to learn and you have to adjust to it."

Faced with the absence of their hoops calling card, some athletes might have faltered. Stokes did not. His first semester academic work was among the best of the Wildcats. Never did he allow the shooting slump to affect his academic work and for that he credits his parents, Ernest Simpson and Karen Stokes.

"My parents have always stressed how important school work is," he says. "You never know when athletics might be taken away from you. You have to be prepared for life after basketball, whenever that comes. It's always been important to my family and you don't want to have what's going on in basketball affect what you do in class."

That's not to say his transition hasn't weighed on him at times. He understands others have expectations for him and is as eager as anyone to fulfill them.

"It's hard for a lot of athletes in a lot of sports," Stokes states. "You are used to having success or you wouldn't have reached this point. So when you do have some challenges, it's easy to lose a little confidence. I have tried to have a great attitude and keep working.

"My friends, family and everyone at Villanova have really been supportive. They encourage me and tell me to stay with it. Coach (Jay) Wright talks to me every day. That's been a big help."

"The way Corey has handled himself has been very impressive," states Wright. "He stays on a very even keel - he never gets too high or too low. We haven't seen any signs of frustration, which would be understandable. The way he excelled in the class room is another sign of his maturity because for some freshmen the academic transition can be more difficult than the basketball one."

Stokes was also encouraged when Wright mentioned to him the career arc of Curtis Sumpter. Like Stokes, Sumpter arrived in 2002 as a decorated high school prospect with lofty expectations. Through the first half of his freshman year, however, Sumpter saw only sporadic action off the bench and never looked entirely comfortable until late in the season. Of course, the 6-7 Brooklyn, N.Y. product ended his career as an all-BIG EAST pick, No. 12 on Villanova's all-time scoring and rebounding list.

And while others have been fixated on the jumper, Stokes has been toiling diligently on all facets of his game. Each day he takes extra jumpers before practice. More time is spent on agility drills with strength coach Lon Record. And he has spent considerable hours of practice doing the dirty work in the trenches, to the point where Wright has begun calling on him to help contain opposing perimeter players. In Villanova's 76-69 win over DePaul on Jan. 16, he logged 25 minutes, often being used to slow the Blue Demons' Draelon Burns.

"It would have been easy for Corey to get down on himself," says Wright. "But he's done a great job developing the other parts of his game. He is very solid with the basketball and makes good decision. His defense is becoming very good. The job he did in slowing Draelon Burns in the second half of the DePaul game was excellent.

"Corey looks much more comfortable and we're really excited about what he can do in the second half of the season."

"I feel I'm getting better defensively," Stokes adds. "My footwork is better and it's something you just have to work at. I think I'm becoming a better rebounder too."

In January, Stokes' minutes on a deep roster have begun to rise. Those jumpers which were so much a part of his prep career have begun to drop more regularly in practice. And all that attention to the less glamorous components of his game now stand him in good stead.

Make no mistake: Stokes is as hungry to drain a stream of triples as any resident of the Nova Nation. But that desire is only one item on a list. More important is the commitment to defense and hard work that have grown to define Villanova basketball.

"I need to play hard, rebound and defend," he says. "If I take care of those things, the jumpers will fall."

When they do, Stokes realizes that they may well be the part of his game that the public zeroes in on. But for Stokes, the lonely days when the shots weren't falling may ultimately be recalled as a time when his other talents were forced to compensate for the absence of that sweet stroke. The fact that he has been able to utilize them effectively to earn minutes suggests that the future remains quite bright.