RealGM

ven412 wrote:I’m fine with the trade, even if Luke pops this year into a 20ppg 45% 3pt guy he’s gonna need to take a big salary slot soon after one great season.

Are there any particular topics from your studies that stood out to you and interested you?

SB: That’s a great topic. We learned [about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave] in philosophy at Villanova. It’s just about man’s reality and what we see and the sun is supposed to represent knowledge and stuff like that. But in the caves, there were cave dwellers that were chained and they were facing toward a wall so they couldn’t see behind them. All they could see what was in front of them. So it kind of symbolizes what their perspective was in life: whatever was in front of them was all they could see. All they could see was shadows behind, they couldn’t see what was outside the cave, which was enlightenment. The people that were able to get out of the cave, they were able to see the full enlightenment, basically, God. So it kind of ties into life, man, because everybody has a different perception of reality. I think about it whenever life feels stressful or something about the game feels stressful. I look back and think: how big really is your problem, you know, in the grand scheme of things? It kind of helps to relax you. It helps you center back in about different things.

I think, just thinking about the game, just doing what I love, it shouldn’t be any pressure or stress. Because you’re doing something that you love every day and that you want to be the best at. For me, I think a lesson I’ve learned in life, not trying to compare myself to anybody else. You just compare and just see: can you be the best each and every day and can you be better than you were yesterday? I think once you do that, then you can reach your full potential in anything you want to do. I think once you start comparing yourself to others, that’s not your reality, that’s somebody else’s and they go through what they go through every day. You can only do your best you can be every day. We think about our thoughts so much. We just have to kind of think about the bigger picture. I think that helps you do what you love. I think once you figure out what you want to do in life, do what you love, I think you should. I think we all try to get closer to the truth each and every day. But yeah, that’s just some of the philosophy, man, that I love. [Laughs] I was not expecting to talk about that.

How do these things, which help shape your worldview, apply to your daily life?

SB: I’m continuing to learn. I’m always studying from different philosophies. I’m trying to be the best human I can be. I’m always trying to learn. I remember hearing a quote [from Lucius Annaeus Seneca] saying that we suffer more in imagination than we do in reality. I truly believe that. I’m really spiritual. I’m a firm believer in God. I love the study of the mind. I’m always trying to learn and apply things to my life to help me be the best I can be.

[Bey's] a rangy, strong, 6-foot-8 forward (with a 6-foot-11 wingspan) who drained a staggering 45.1 percent — fourth-best in the NCAA and first in the Big East — of the 5.6 threes he launched per game last season. (According to KenPom, Bey also finished 85th overall in effective field-goal percentage (58.5) and first in offensive rating in the Big East (119.0) among all players whose usage rate was at least 20 percent.)

Bey can function in any offensive or defensive system, rebound, move the ball and, if all goes well, eventually make decisions with it in his hands. On offense, Villanova coach Jay Wright believes Bey can even play some point guard, while his defense could be even more versatile. Last season, Bey was an across-the-board stopper, according to Wildcat assistant coach Kyle Neptune: “If it was the point guard, Saddiq would guard him. If it was a two or three man, Saddiq would guard them. If the best player was a four man, Saddiq would guard him, too.”