'Benedict Men' Creator Mike Basone Details Compelling Story Behind New Basketball Docuseries (Exclusive)

Basketball season is over, but it doesn't mean fans can't still get their basketball fix. Benedict [...]

Basketball season is over, but it doesn't mean fans can't still get their basketball fix. Benedict Men is a new Quibi docuseries that focuses on the St. Benedict's Preparatory School boys basketball team in New Jersey. Ahead of the unfortunate news that Quibi is shuttering, PopCulture.com had a chance to speak with Benedict Men creator Mike Basone, and he revealed why he wanted to tell the story of one of the top basketball programs in the country.

"It's a story that's much larger than basketball," Basone said. "Whenever I'm looking at doing sports documentaries, the sport is really a Trojan horse to tell a much greater story about humanity, about characters and societal issues that are going on." St. Benedict's is an all-boys school with a basketball program that has won multiple state championships and is constantly ranked as one of the country's top 25 basketball programs. The team's core belief is, "Whatever hurts my brother, hurts me," and that motto is put to the test throughout the season. The 12-part series on Quibi focuses on the team throughout the 2018-19 season and its quest to win a state title — as well as the trials and tribulations the players go through daily on and off the court.

"Each one of them is going through different things in their life," Basone said when talking about the players. "We're able to touch on the different scenes that are happening in society. Our story is a basketball story and high-level basketball... These kids have that burden on their shoulders. They fight through it."

Die-hard basketball fans will recognize a few of the players in Benedict Men. C.J. Wilcher, a freshman guard at Xavier, was a co-captain for St. Benedict's. Aaron Estrada, the MAAC Rookie of the Year after a standout season at St. Peter's, is also featured on the show. But all fans will recognize three-time NBA Champion Steph Curry, an executive producer of the series who is also a narrator.

"We were extremely excited when Steph decided to come on board," Basone said. "He was our first choice. His brand, his message, just lined up so perfectly with the story we were trying to tell. He is an amazing man, an amazing basketball player and we were just so happy to work with him and the process was a joy." Benedict Men, which is available to stream now on Quibi, is produced by Team Whistle, which has shows on NBC, HBO Max, TBS, The CW and Facebook Watch.

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