Bennie Francois Boatwright III (born July 13, 1996) 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 (appr ...

player who plays for

Shanxi Loongs The Shanxi Loongs, also known as Shanxi SDIC Raptors Club or Shanxi Fenjiu Shares are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Taiyuan, Shanxi, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Shanxi Fen ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

Early life and high school career

Boatwright is the son of police officer Bennie Boatwright Sr., who was an All-CIF shooting guard at Lutheran High. Boatwright attended Village Christian School, where he was coached by Jon Shaw. As a senior, he averaged 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. Boatwright led the team to a Southern Section 1AA championship, scoring 30 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the title game. He signed with

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

College career

Boatwright averaged 11.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and made 60 3-pointers as a freshman. As a sophomore, he averaged a team-high 15.1 points and helped the Trojans to two wins in the NCAA tournament. He declared for the NBA draft but ultimately returned to school. His junior season was shortened as he missed the final nine games. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as a junior. In the offseason after his junior year, Boatwright underwent knee surgery. As a senior, Boatwright averaged 18.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He was named to the First Team All-Pac-12.

Professional career

Memphis Hustle (2019–2021)

After going undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, Boatwright joined the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

' Summer League roster. On October 18, 2019, Boatwright signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, but was waived on October 19. He was named to the roster of the Grizzlies’

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

affiliate, the

Memphis Hustle The Memphis Hustle are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in the Greater Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi, and are affiliated with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team plays their home games at the Landers Cent ...

. Boatwright missed his rookie season due to a knee injury. On December 15, 2020, Boatwright signed with the

. He was subsequently waived on December 19, and rejoined the Hustle.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2021–2023)

On September 10, 2021, the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The M ...

acquired the returning player rights of Boatwright from the Memphis Hustle. However, he was waived on February 19, 2022, after suffering a season-ending injury. On September 16, 2022, Boatwright signed with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. He was then later waived. On September 26, he re-signed with the Mad Ants, but was waived on February 8, 2023.

Overseas (2023–present)

In December 2023, Boatwright signed with the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA) to replace

Ivan Aska Ivan Aska (born 26 June 1990) is a U.S. Virgin Islander-Puerto Rican professional basketball player for DEAC of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A. He has also represented the senior men's U.S. Virgin Islands national basketball team. He played ...

as the team's import for the 2023–24 PBA Commissioner's Cup. In his second game, he scored 51 points in a 132–110 win against the

Terrafirma Dyip The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...

. Boatwright and the Beermen won the championship by defeating the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots in six games, earning his first as a professional.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 24.4 , , .394 , , .359 , , .738 , , 5.2 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .8 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 18 , , 27.6 , , .428 , , .364 , , .907 , , 4.5 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .4 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 18 , , 27.7 , , .415 , , .346 , , .726 , , 6.4 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , .8 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 28 , , 33.5 , , .474 , , .429 , , .702 , , 6.6 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .6 , , 18.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 106 , , 96 , , 28.3 , , .432 , , .380 , , .759 , , 5.7 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .7 , , 14.5

References

External links

USC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatwright, Bennie 1996 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Basketball players from Los Angeles Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Libertadores de Querétaro players Memphis Hustle players San Miguel Beermen players Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards USC Trojans men's basketball players