Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk brings veteran savvy and classroom smarts to USC

It takes a level of focus to adapt to new environments and situations — and South Carolina men’s basketball forward Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk is poised with it.

He graduated from Illinois in three years, spending extra time during holiday breaks to take classes.

“Even when it was hard and other people were partying or doing other stuff, playing on the game, I was reading,” said Bosmans-Verdonk, who transferred to USC this year.

He’s a law student and is one of just two active student-athletes in South Carolina’s law school with women’s soccer midfielder Claire Griffiths being the other.

Bosmans-Verdonk grew up in Belgium, where his parents instilled the value of education in him early on because basketball can “be taken away” at any point.

“It’s really hard for me to talk with him or relate to him because he’s so much smarter than I am,” men’s basketball assistant coach Tim Buckley said. “Really sharp guy, very introspective. He thinks things through. He’s great to talk with outside of basketball.”

Bosmans-Verdonk attended Ka Pegasus Ostend High School in Belgium, averaging 16 points, six assists and six rebounds. But basketball, Bosmans-Verdonk said, wasn’t as ingrained in the country’s culture as it is in the United States.

He’s seen people put a lot of time into the game and take it seriously since coming to America.

“Where I’m from, being too aggressive or too assertive wasn’t really encouraged,” Bosmans-Verdonk said. “But then I got here, and everybody’s like, ‘Man, I’m trying to get mine. This is my way to make it.’ ”

Bosmans-Verdonk’s teammates see his competitive mentality in practice.

The 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward is described as a strong and energetic player by his teammates.

“In practice, he’s loud, grabbing rebounds, yelling, ‘And-one!’ ” freshman guard Zachary Davis said.

Bosmans-Verdonk isn’t the only graduate student on the team. His roommate and fellow transfer, Hayden Brown, also brings veteran experience to the Gamecocks.

Brown said there’s a comfort playing with Bosmans-Verdonk because he doesn’t “take plays off.”

“I feel like there’s a lot of times where, especially in this day and age, you just don’t have those guys that just have that dog in them,” Brown said. “You look at a guy like Ben, and the way that he plays and the fire that he plays with, he’s just a competitor.”

Bosmans-Verdonk averaged 1.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 41 games with Illinois but dealt with his share of injuries, primarily lower leg stress fractures, that caused him to miss time.

The Fighting Illini won 68 games in the three years Bosmans-Verdonk was there. He said his time there helped teach him “how to win.”

“Understanding what that takes, that whole process, and then being able to convey that to the guys, I think that’s important,” Bosmans-Verdonk said.

Now, he joins a South Carolina team with a new coaching staff and highly-touted recruit GG Jackson.

From Belgium to the Big 10 and now the SEC, Bosmans-Verdonk has gotten a chance to learn different types of playing styles.

Though his teammates and coaching staff will tell you about his abilities on the court, Bosmans-Verdonk will focus on how to display them.

“I don’t even like talking about myself like that,” he said. “I like to show my game.”

South Carolina basketball: Next four games

• Wednesday — vs. Mars Hill (exhibition)

• Nov. 7 — vs. SC State (SEC Network)

• Nov. 11 — vs. Clemson (SEC Network Plus)

• Nov. 17 — vs. Colorado State/at Charleston Classic (ESPNU)