UB Spotlight: ‘Benedict Men’ Executive Produced by Stephen Curry

Benedict Men Available on Quibi | Starts today September 19th • A Documentary Sports Series
New season. Same goal. Coach Mark Taylor leads the St. Benedict’s boys basketball team as they strive to add another state championship to their legacy. Along the way, they uncover the true meaning of unity, selflessness, and hard work.

Founded in 1868 and sustained by the monks of Newark Abbey, St. Benedict’s
Preparatory school is devoted to educating young men from Newark, N.J., its surrounding area,
and beyond. The school’s motto, “whatever hurts my brother, hurts me,” asks that the student
body be accountable and responsible for each other. Benedict Men examines the application of
this philosophy through a group of student athletes as they struggle to achieve their goals on and
off the court.

In August 2018, Whistle Studios, executive producer Mike Basone, executive producer
Mark Ciardi, and acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jonathan Hock filmed St. Benedict’s
nationally ranked basketball team for two days with the hope of using the material to pitch and
produce a series. Why St. Benedict’s? The Catholic school, which has grown to prominence
under the leadership of Father Edwin Leahy (affectionately known as Father Ed), consistently
ranks in the top twenty-five high school basketball teams in the country. The school gives a voice
to an underrepresented, underserved community. Benedict Men’s executive producer Mike
Basone explains, “Our fascination was that this always felt larger than basketball. Father Ed’s
unique educational approach of putting the students in charge of the school has given the young
men who have walked the St. Benedict’s halls an opportunity to rise up and find their voice.”
St. Benedict’s was instrumental in rebuilding Newark’s community following devastating
riots in 1967. The school has built upon that legacy in the decades since. Mark Ciardi comments:
“It’s a special place where the students take care of each other, and where brotherhood is the
foundation. It’s an oasis in the middle of Newark, and they thrive. This is a beacon of light in a
neglected area.”

Hock, an eleven-time Emmy Award winner, cites the two elements that attracted him to
the project: “One was Father Ed. This was someone I felt would give us a story that was unlike a
conventional sports documentary. The second thing that was important to me were the young
men on the team. They were diverse in terms of where they were from, what they were playing
for, what they were risking, how much they had riding on it, and their personalities also seemed
very diverse. You had a really interesting mix of bookish kids, street kids, braggadocious kids.
They were an interesting group, and I thought there was a lot of tinder there for some material
that could spark up.”

Famed basketball player Stephen Curry joined Benedict Men as an executive producer
and presenter. Curry’s company, Unanimous Media, teamed up with Whistle Studios,
Entertainment 360, and Select Films on the production. “I had met with him and worked with him
a bit. I knew that he was a really genuine person,” Hock says of Curry. “There were two things
that his involvement did for us. First of all, you’ve got to get the basketball right, because he’s
going to know the difference. The second thing is that you want it to be about something more
than basketball. The reason he was drawn to this project is that he saw it as a way to take the
temperature of youth basketball in America.”

Curry and Unanimous co-founder Erick Peyton were immediately inspired by the prospect
of executive producing the series and gladly joined the team. “Benedict Men takes an inside look
at one of the most unique high school basketball teams in America,” Curry and Peyton noted. “It
tells the story of a brotherhood of young men who seek to balance life in complicated
surroundings. At Unanimous, we believe that there is no shortage of good stories to tell, and
now more than ever, we can all use entertainment that uplifts and captivates.”

On November 7, 2018, the production for Benedict Men made its home base in an
unoccupied office in the St. Benedict’s gym. At St. Benedict’s, the student body leads morning
convocation, while Father Edwin Leahy, the school’s headmaster, oversees from a distance.
Father Ed is a genuine person who empowers these children to step up and look out for each
other in all aspects of their lives.

“The ones that show the most commitment become mentors to
the younger students and leaders within the school. He’s found a lot of success with this
philosophy and helped a generation of young men reach their full potential,” says Basone.
Father Ed operates from an acute awareness that the odds of success in basketball are
not stacked in the player’s favor. “They’re playing a game that is designed for them to lose, and
they get up every morning and fight like hell to win. And the school provides the environment to
foster that, and that’s Father Ed’s own heroism at work,” Hock says.

The pressures of high school are amplified for the St. Benedict’s basketball team, as
potentially life-changing scholarships and professional careers hang in the balance. Faced with
these goals, St. Benedict’s motto is put to the test. “I think that was the central challenge for the
team was to decide, as individuals and together as a team, whether they were going to abide by
that motto ‘whatever hurts my brother, hurts me,’ or they were going to leave that at the gym
door.”

This internal conflict ultimately becomes a driving force in the documentary, as students
face challenges that could determine the rest of their lives. “That’s why it was really dramatic to
me, because everybody in their lives outside of the high school basketball program is
encouraging them to do what’s in their own self interest,” Hock says.

Head Coach Mark Taylor and Assistant Head Coach Art Pierson lead the Gray Bees, St.
Benedict’s basketball team. Benedict Men focuses on a handful of students, including Aaron
Estrada, Jake Betlow, Zarique Nutter, C.J. Wilcher, Madani Diarra, and John Orogun. “The kids’
biggest challenge was if they could stick together and put the team before themselves,” Basone
says.

Cameras recorded early morning practices, classroom activity, home life, and at each of
the team’s thirty games. “We mic’d the coaches at every game. We mic’d a few of the players,
although they didn’t love it because they felt it was a little restricting at times,” Basone says.
“The kids were really polite and cordial uniformly, and they were also friendly and warm.
They didn’t feel threatened by the cameras,” Hock adds.

The players’ families also agreed to be filmed. “To them, their kids are stars. They were
really happy to participate. I think what some of them didn’t realize was what a hard time their
son was having on the team that season, because it was a very difficult season for a number of
them,” Hock says.

A candid conversation between the players and Taylor and Pierson showcases their
maturity and their ability to confront problems with grace. “The students are asked to come to
this meeting to clear the air, and they speak their minds openly about the way the coaches are
handling the team, and the way certain players are letting their teammates down. That was
amazing to me. I would have never had the nerve to speak to an authority figure like that. They
weren’t disrespectful or rude. They were smart, and they made points that made sense. They
were honest and constructive. That was the day that Father Ed’s philosophy of education really
stood out to me,” Hock says.

“I had to remind myself that they are just teenagers. Most people don’t typically learn
these types of skills at their age. Everything they’re learning now is going to set them up for
success no matter the path that they take,” Basone adds.

ST. BENEDICT GRAY BEES
2018-2019 Season

Toks Bakare #4
Year: Junior
Position: Guard
Hometown: Newark, N.J.
Update: Toks attends and will play for the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Jake Betlow #1
Year: Senior
Position: Guard
Hometown: Mendham, N.J.
Update: Jake is currently a sophomore at Lehigh University, where he continues to play
basketball.

Madani Diarra #21
Year: Senior
Position: Center, Co-Captain
Hometown: Bamako, Mali
Update: Madani played for the St. Louis Billikens before transferring to Eastern Illinois University,
where he is currently a sophomore.

Aaron Estrada #3
Year: Senior
Position: Guard
Hometown: Woodbury, N.J.
Update: After completing his freshman year at St. Peter’s in Jersey City, Estrada has committed
to play for the University of Oregon Ducks.

Mounir Hima #23
Year: Junior
Position: Center
Hometown: Tillaberi, Niger
Update: Mounir graduated from St. Benedict’s and is now a freshman at Duquesne University in
Pittsburgh.

Toby Okani #5
Year: Senior
West Orange, NJ
Update: Toby went onto Cushing Academy in Massachusetts for a postgraduate season, and is
now a freshman at Duquesne.

Zarique Nutter #2
Year: Junior
Position: Forward
Hometown: Newark, N.J.
Update: After transferring to the Patrick School in Hilliside, N.J., Zarique committed to play at St.
Peter’s College in Jersey City, N.J.

C.J. Wilcher #35
Year: Junior
Position: Guard, Junior Co-Captain
Hometown: Elizabeth, N.J.
Update: C.J transferred to Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J. for his senior year, and
now plays for Xavier.

Hock and the filmmakers hope that the events of the past year, including the Black Lives
Movement and recent athletic protests, enhance the experience of watching Benedict Men. “The
thing that has changed is that resistance is accepted. It’s understood. We get it now. And yes,
we should all be resisting this kind of institutionalized racism. The whole reason St. Benedict’s
exists as a school is to challenge and overcome institutional racism. We were really fired up by
Father Ed’s words,” Hock says.

“The story took place before George Floyd and this summer of unrest, but it should be
watched through the eyes of post-George Floyd, post-Breonna Taylor,” says Hock.