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 (appr ...

player who plays for the Juventus Utena of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

. 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

Oakland University Oakland University is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Mi ...

. 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 sponsor ...

, 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

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

High school career

Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and raised in

Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the affluent suburbs northwest of Detroit, Farmington Hills is the second most-populated city in Oakland County, after Troy, with a population of 83,986 at the 20 ...

, 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 four campuses in Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan, north of Detroit. The administrative offices, facility services, safety a ...

Beverly Hills, Michigan Beverly Hills is a village in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is about north of the city of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,267. Located within Southfield Towns ...

. 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: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

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 Golden Grizzlies to their first NCAA Division I tournament and tournament win in ...

, 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 legendary Illinois Fighting Il ...

, 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 Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

, 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 aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

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 constructing building ...

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 Keith Mitchell Closs Jr. (born April 3, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played at the center position. College career At and , Closs played collegiately at Central Connecticut State University, leading the nation ...

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, United States. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut ...

from 1994–96. 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. 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 current European Cu ...

during the

NBA lockout The NBA lockout may refer to any of the four lockouts in the history of the National Basketball Association: *The 1995 NBA lockout, which lasted for three months before the 1995–96 season. *The 1996 NBA lockout, which lasted for a couple of hour ...

, 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 plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

of the

NBA Development 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 ...

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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. 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 (cellular service), TNT Tropang Giga 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 Associat ...

during the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup. 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 (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, ...

in the Chinese NBL.

2014–15 season

After initially signing with Turkish team

Banvit Banvit is a feed and poultry producer based in Bandırma, Turkey. Business and activities Starting as a feed producer in 1968, Banvit gradually moved into the production of broiler chickens. Today Banvit has the country's largest single broiler ...

, 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, known as BC Kalev/Cramo for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Tallinn, Estonia. The team plays in the Korvpalli Meistriliiga, the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the FIBA Europe Cup. They play 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

, Benson joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce for the 2015–16 season. In February 2016, he played in the

NBA D-League All-Star Game The NBA D-League All-Star Game was an annual exhibition basketball game held by the NBA Development League (D-League). The D-League was founded in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) and later as the NBA Development League. ...

. 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 LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

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 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
...

, 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 ( en, Polar Bears 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- ...

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 Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...

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. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *The ...

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

Shabab Al Ahli Shabab Al Ahli, is an Emirati professional basketball team located in Dubai. The team has competed in both the domestic UAE National Basketball League as well as the international FIBA Asia Champions Cup. Achievements * UAE National League ch ...

of the

UAE National Basketball League The UAE National Basketball League is the top professional basketball league in the United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 2013.Rytas of the LKL.

2021–22 season

On May 25, 2022, Keith Benson was drafted thirteenth overall by

Enemies Enemies or foes are a group that is seen as forcefully adverse or threatening. Enemies may also refer to: Literature * ''Enemies'' (play), a 1906 play by Maxim Gorky * '' Enemies, A Love Story'', a 1966 novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer * '' Enem ...

with their second round pick of the 2022

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

draft.

Career statistics

College

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

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, 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 , 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 theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equivale ...

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

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

References

External links