Lou scores again

By Paul Pickering
LOU Godfrey has done it again.
The recruiting specialist who brought Americans Lester Strong and Vince Inglima to the Dandenong Rangers has snared another gem in Jenni Benningfield.
That much was clear when the towering import dropped 22 points on the Bendigo Spirit in her Women’s National Basketball League debut a fortnight ago – and backed it up with 21 against Adelaide on Friday night.
Benningfield’s first-up performance was another feather in the cap for Godfrey, who proudly boasts a 100 per cent success rate with the imports he has lured to Stud Road.
Godfrey, who has been on the Dandenong Basketball Association board for three years, first became involved in the recruiting caper when Warren Dawson – who coached Lou’s son, David, in the juniors – was appointed coach of the senior men’s team.
He soon became Dawson’s eyes in the US, making several visits to the States while David was playing college ball for Colorado Christian University – alongside future Rangers teammates Brent Hobba and Ash Cannan.
A first-hand look at the NCAA Division Two competition gave Godfrey the platform and the contacts to launch his recruiting venture.
His first acquisition was a powerful forward from Westmont College in California.
“The first guy I brought over was Brian Gomes and he ended up playing in the SEABL all-star five that year (2001),” Godfrey recalled this week.
“So the first guy I brought in was a hit, and I got the job from then on.”
As successful as Gomes was, the recruitment of Strong in 2005 raised the bar to another level for Godfrey.
Strong, who went to Metro State University, was on the Rangers’ radar two years before they signed him and he went on to be the 2006 Big V league MVP.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) – which includes Metro State and Colorado Christian – has become something of a goldmine for the Rangers, with Godfrey’s growing network of connections uncovering current import Vince Inglima and 2009 arrival Dusty Jura.
Godfrey says his relationships with American coaches and scouts had allowed him to separate a player’s talent and character from the hype – to “break down the B.S.”.
He was asked to recruit his first WNBL import this year, and the pressure grew when the import he was eyeing withdrew just two months before the season-opener.
“We were left in the lurch a bit. So we were just lucky that Jenni was a bit sick of playing in Europe and wanted a bit of a change,” he said.
Benningfield had just finished her fourth season in the top Spanish league, having played for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA in 2004.
If she succeeds at Stud Road, Godfrey will be among the proudest onlookers.
He still gets a kick out of seeing his imports perform.
“It’s just the thrill of seeing what happens – being as right as you can be,” he said.
And as Dawson notes, being “right” usually translates into on-court success.
“The difference between a good import and an average import might be a championship,” Dawson said.
“So it pays to find the right guys.”