Keith Anderson Benson Jr. (born August 13, 1988) is an American professional

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 ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for

Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...

. A 6-foot-11

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, Benson was a second-round pick (48th overall) in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponso ...

, selected by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. He has since played in Italy, Philippines, Belarus, China, Lithuania, Estonia and the NBA Development League.

High school career

Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

and raised in

Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States censu ...

, Benson attended

Detroit Country Day School Detroit Country Day School (also known as DCD, DCDS, or Country Day) is a private, secular school located in three campuses in Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan, north of Detroit. The administrative offices, facility services, safet ...

Beverly Hills, Michigan Beverly Hills is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Beverly Hills is located within Southfield Township, roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the village had a pop ...

. On the Detroit Country Day basketball team, Benson averaged only 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a senior. Benson initially committed to Fairfield, but changed his mind after a coaching change and committed to Oakland after they offered him a scholarship.

College career

After

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ing his first year at Oakland, Benson became a starter for the 2007–08 season. Benson started 20 of the team's 29 games and averaged 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds. He finished the season with 40 blocks—one shy of Oakland's single-season record. However, he was benched prior to the conference tournament because OU's head coach,

Greg Kampe Greg Charles Kampe (; born December 9, 1955) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Oakland University. He guided the Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball, Golden Grizzlies to their first NCAA ...

, felt Benson was not playing good enough defense. At the conclusion of his redshirt junior season, Benson received the

Lou Henson Award The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually by Collegeinsider.com to the most outstanding mid-major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award, established in 2010, is named for esteemed men's college basketball ...

, given to the "mid-major player of the year". Benson was also named the Summit League Player of the Year. Benson declared himself eligible for the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Daylight Time (2300 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), was broadcast in the ...

, but withdrew himself after he was unable to work out with NBA teams due to an injured right thumb. Benson earned a Bachelor of Integrative Studies degree with a minor in

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

from Oakland in August 2010, prior to his redshirt senior season. During his senior season in 2010–11, Benson enrolled in master's-level

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

courses in Oakland. In basketball, he set the Summit League's record for career blocks. He broke the record of 317, set by Keith Closs of

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...

from 1994 to 1996. Benson was named the Summit League's Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in 2011.

Professional career

2011–12 season

After being projected as a late-second round pick, Benson was selected with the 48th overall pick in the

by the

, becoming the first player from Oakland University selected in the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. After playing in Italy for

Dinamo Basket Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the 2018–19 European ...

during the

NBA lockout The NBA lockout may refer to any of the four lockouts in the history of the National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the Unit ...

, he joined the Hawks for preseason in December 2011. After being waived by the Hawks, he joined the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

of 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, ...

in January 2012. On March 24, he signed a 10-day contract with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He appeared in three games for the Warriors.

2012–13 season

After spending preseason with the Atlanta Hawks, Benson was acquired by the Erie BayHawks of the NBA D-League for the 2012–13 season. In January 2013, he moved to the Philippines to play for the

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The ...

during the

2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2012–13 PBA season, 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) PBA Commissioner's Cup, Commissioner's Cup was the second conference of the 2012–13 PBA season. The tournament began on February 8 and ended on May 19, 2013. The tournament i ...

. He returned to the BayHawks in March 2013.

2013–14 season

Benson spent the 2013–14 season in Belarus with Tsmoki-Minsk. In May 2014, he joined the

Shaanxi Wolves The Shaanxi Xinda Wolves are a Chinese professional men's basketball club based in Weinan, Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the nort ...

in the Chinese NBL.

2014–15 season

After initially signing with Turkish team Banvit, Benson spent the first half of the 2014–15 season in Lithuania with Neptūnas. In February 2015, he left Neptūnas and signed with Estonian team

BC Kalev/Cramo BC Kalev, also known as BC Kalev/Cramo for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Tallinn, Estonia. The team plays in the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML), the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the FIBA Europe Cup. Their ...

2015–16 season

After spending preseason with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, Benson joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce for the 2015–16 season. In February 2016, he played in the NBA D-League All-Star Game. He helped the Skyforce finish with a league-best 40–10 record in 2015–16, and went on to help the team win the NBA D-League championship with a 2–1 Finals series win over the

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

2016–17 season

After spending a second straight preseason with the Miami Heat, Benson once again played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce during the 2016–17 season.

2017–18 season

In August and September 2017, Benson had a two-game stint with

Guizhou White Tigers The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called the Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese. ...

in the Chinese NBL. He then began the 2017–18 season in Greece with

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

, before joining Japanese team

Osaka Evessa is a professional basketball team playing in the B.League, the top-tier professional basketball league of Japan. The team is operated by the Human Group Sports Entertainment Company. The team is named after Ebisu. In July 2015 it was announced ...

in January 2018.

2018–19 season

Benson's 2018–19 season was spent in Germany with

Eisbären Bremerhaven Eisbären Bremerhaven () is a professional basketball club from Bremerhaven, Germany, that competes in the ProA. The team was established as the professional section of the club BSG Bremerhaven and played in the first-tiered Basketball Bundesliga ...

2019–20 season

On August 1, 2019, Benson signed with the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The t ...

in Australia for the

2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. The Perth Wildcats became champions. They drew an average home attendance of 12,974, the highest in the 2019–20 NBL season. Team ...

. He parted ways with the Phoenix on January 4, 2020. Days later, he signed with Shabab Al Ahli of the

UAE National Basketball League The UAE National Basketball League is the top professional basketball league in the United Arab Emirates. The league was founded in 2013 and features 7 teams.Rytas The Lithuanian Education Society Rytas (; "rytas" means ''morning'' or ''dawn'') was a Roman Catholic society fostering education in the Lithuanian language mostly in the Vilnius Region, then fiercely contested between Lithuania and the Second Poli ...

of the LKL.

2021–22 season

On May 25, 2022, Keith Benson was drafted thirteenth overall by Enemies with their second round pick of the 2022

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3x3 basketball, 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former National Basketb ...

draft.

2022–23 season

On March 8, 2023, Taichung Suns registered Benson as import player. On March 9, Benson signed with the Taichung Suns of the

T1 League The T1 League ( zh, T1聯盟) was a professional basketball league in Taiwan. It was the third Taiwanese professional basketball league after the now-defunct Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA; 1994–1999) and P. League+ (PLG; founded in 2020). ...

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, 29 , , 20 , , 13.4 , , .505 , , .000 , , .667 , , 3.5 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.4 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 36 , , 27.8 , , .622 , , .000 , , .667 , , 7.8 , , .7 , , .6 , , 2.4 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 31.3 , , .533 , , .400 , , .724 , , 10.5 , , .8 , , .4 , , 3.3 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 32.4 , , .547 , , .391 , , .643 , , 10.1 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 3.6 , , 17.9 , -

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 3 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 3 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0

Personal

Benson's mother Janice Ellen Hale is a professor of

early childhood education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of Education sciences, education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is ...

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

and founding director of the Institute for the Study of the African American Child at Wayne State.

References

External links