Ben Strong (born September 18, 1986) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and a retired professional basketball player. Strong is of Native American descent ( Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians).

Playing career

College basketball

Born in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of ...

, Strong grew up in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

. After graduating from Chapel Hill High School in 2004, he enrolled at

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for ...

, an

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

school in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

. He left Guilford ranked second all-time in scoring (2231) as well as in blocked shots (236) and seventh all-time in rebounding (927), taking home various individual awards during his four-year college career, including NCAA Division 3 Player of the Year distinction. Strong won one

Old Dominion Athletic Conference The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other ful ...

(ODAC) championship with Guilford and led the Quakers to two appearances in the

NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament (officially styled as "Championship" instead of "Tournament") is a tournament to determine the NCAA Division III national champion. It has been held annually from 1975 to 2019 & since 2022, but no ...

. He set an NCAA Division III Tournament record by scoring 59 points in a triple-overtime win over

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) Lincoln University (LU) is a public state-related historically black university (HBCU) near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972. Lincoln is also recognized as th ...

in March 2007.

Professional basketball

Strong launched his professional career in 2008 with

Maccabi Haifa B.C. Maccabi (sports), Maccabi Haifa Basketball Club () known for sponsorship reasons as Maccabi XT Haifa () is a professional basketball club based in the city of Haifa in Israel. It is the basketball section of the Maccabi Haifa association. The t ...

in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. After a stint in the Netherlands and a return to Israel, he took his game to the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

, where he appeared in a total of 183 regular season (7.7 points, 5.5 rebounds per game) and two post season (20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds per game) contests. In the autumn of 2015, he had a brief stop in Uruguay, playing for Atletico Welcome. Rounding out his professional career, Strong played his final season in New Zealand with the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (New Zealand), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the T ...

and was named Australiabasket.com All-New Zealand NBL Center of the Year. In 2018, he played for the "We are D3" team at

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

Coaching career

After ending his playing career in 2016, he was named an assistant men's basketball coach at

Huntingdon College Huntingdon College is a private Methodist college in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1854 as a women's college. History Huntingdon College was chartered on February 2, 1854, as " Tuskegee Female College" by the Alabama State Legislature a ...

in the fall of 2016, before joining the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

’ staff as a player development specialist in 2018. On June 26, 2019, he joined the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

' staff as a player development coach. In 2021, Strong was hired by the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

to serve as their head video coordinator and player development coach.

References

External links

Profile at australiabasket.com

Profile at dleague.nba.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Ben 1986 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Uruguay American men's basketball players Austin Toros players Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players from North Carolina Basketball players from Virginia Centers (basketball) Chapel Hill High School (North Carolina) alumni Club Atlético Welcome basketball players Delaware 87ers players Guilford Quakers men's basketball players Iowa Energy players Landstede Hammers players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Native American basketball players Nelson Giants players Sportspeople from Chapel Hill, North Carolina Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Sportspeople from Manassas, Virginia Power forwards Westchester Knicks players