After sensational freshman season at Villanova, Jasmine Bascoe is playing internationally — and adding to her game

TORONTO — In explaining her motto during a break at Canada Basketball’s training camp, Jasmine Bascoe showed the personalized necklace she was wearing.

Bascoe’s mother, Mary Beth, had the jewelry made for her 16th birthday to feature the word insane. The Villanova standout guard is 19 now and always wearing it off the court. It’s a reminder that she’s “got to be insane to stay sane.”

“For me at least when I think about putting in all the extra hours and everything, that’s when I play at my best,” Bascoe said. “There’s times when I’m kind of relaxed, chilling, and I’m not happy with the outcome. So just knowing that I’m putting in all that extra work in — not driving myself literally insane — but doing so, so much that the outcome, it’s perfect and I’m happy and I’m relaxed."

The mindset helped make Bascoe a two-way sensation as a freshman. She knew she had to work that much harder coming into Villanova, as Lucy Olsen’s transfer meant more opportunity for playing time. Bascoe proceeded to take over as starting point guard, led the Wildcats in scoring, set the school record for steals by a freshman with 66, and was named to the All-Big East first-team.

» READ MORE: ‘About time’: Big 5 coaches, Philly’s WNBA stars, and more react to the city finally getting a team

There’s work to be done for Villanova to return to the NCAA Tournament, and ahead of her second season, Bascoe is having a busy summer with Canada Basketball looking to improve. She’ll compete starting Saturday in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Czechia and also play next month with more experienced players on the U23 team in the GLOBL JAM international showcase in Toronto against Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the University of Texas.

Facing older competition enabled Bascoe, who grew up in small-town Milton, Ontario, to make a smooth transition to the college game. The national team experience not only helped her game, but has also allowed her to observe the work ethic of the senior players as she looks to hone her leadership skills.

“I think I naturally lead by example, but there are times when I have had to learn to use my voice more,” Bascoe said.

“It’s what [Villanova coach Denise Dillon] says to me. Just use your voice, lead. … I can’t just expect people to be on the same brain wave as me all the time. Just know that if I use my voice, all five of us will be on the same page, and then we’ll also be on the same page with Denise, [which] is something that I have to remind myself.”

Shortly before Villanova announced in April that Bascoe would stay with the program for her sophomore season, she learned that the news would appear on the team’s social media accounts. They posted images of her and the words “I’M BACK.”

Bascoe said that she hadn’t considered leaving the program and that her coaches and teammates knew that. She also understood the need to make it clear she would return given how the transfer portal has transformed college basketball.

She had heard the inaccurate assumptions about her possible departure after Villanova ended its season in the WBIT semifinals. But those ran counter to the good chemistry between her and the program that existed during the recruitment process and extended into her standout season.

“Denise, she trusts me, and I have all my trust in her, so I’ll do whatever she needs me to do,” Bascoe said of Dillon, who now won’t have to replace the team’s top scorer after eventual WNBA draft picks Olsen and Maddy Siegrist departed in consecutive years.

“I love it in Philly — nowhere else I’d rather be.”

» READ MORE: Before Philadelphia had a WNBA franchise, it had the Rage. Their former players are celebrating a full-circle moment.

So Bascoe has her focus on skill development. At 5-foot-7, she’s the smallest player on the roster for both Villanova and Canada’s U19 team. While she showed the ability to use her ballhandling to create her own shot and for others in averaging 16.2 points and 4.3 assists for the Wildcats, Bascoe is also getting stronger and learning how to be the aggressor and use her body to initiate contact with bigger defenders.

Bascoe draws inspiration from watching former Villanova men’s star Jalen Brunson do that in the NBA. They’ve spoken a couple of times, and Bascoe said her coaches joke about how she talks about him so much.

“I am strong," Bascoe said. “I’m just smaller.”

Mutual trust between Dillon and Bascoe, the lone returning starting guard at Villanova, has led to the Big 5 rookie of the year evolving as a floor general.

“We’ve talked about that a lot just because I do take it really serious on the court and sometimes honestly maybe a bit too serious,” Bascoe said. “It kind of starts building up in me, so she’s like, ‘Come on, just relax, let it out.’ She’s good at that, and the rest of my coaches are, too.

“I’ll be on the court and they’ll kind of just say something to me to make me laugh or make a joke in the middle of the game. And I’m like, OK, I can just breathe.”

In Milton later this month, Bascoe is set to host a girls’ basketball camp. The website quotes Bascoe on how being “insane” — putting her heart into basketball — has brought her joy.

As the youngest in a basketball-oriented family, Bascoe is able to rely on those close to her for advice and inspiration.

Her father, Shane, trains her and is a longtime coach after playing professionally in Slovakia and Slovenia. Her parents met while playing for the University of Guelph — Mary Beth later coached as well — and make it to the Main Line for weekend games. Her brother, Josh, signed last month with a team in France after playing four seasons for Bucknell.

Bascoe was born into the game, and there was a time when she was young when her parents offered her the choice of not having to play if she didn’t want to. They wondered aloud again and again: Was she truly serious about basketball?

Said Bascoe: “I’m like, ‘Oh believe me, I am.’”