Jerrelle Benimon (born August 1, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. In college, he was the 2012–13 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year as a

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 ...

junior after leading the

Towson Tigers The Towson Tigers, formerly the ''Towson College Knights'', are the athletics teams of Towson University. All of the major athletic teams compete in the Coastal Athletic Association with 19 Division I athletic teams (13 in women's sports, 6 in me ...

to the greatest single-season turnaround in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I history; the Tigers finished with a 1–31 record in 2011–12 before completing an 18–13 season the following year. Benimon also tied for the second-highest rebounding average (11.2) in Division I behind only

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

's O. D. Anosike's 11.4 per game average. Benimon repeated as the player of the year as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 2013–14 and, coincidentally, finished second in the national rebounding average for a second consecutive season (11.2).

High school career

Benimon attended Fauquier High School in

Warrenton, Virginia Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 10,057 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 9,611 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and 6,670 at ...

. In his junior season in 2007–08 he averaged 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and 3.5 assists per game. Then, as a senior, he averaged 21 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks per game en route to his second consecutive Cedar Run District Player of the Year award. On February 17, 2009, Benimon recorded a

quadruple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assist ...

against Osbourn High School with 13 points, 17 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 blocks.

College career

Benimon spent his first two collegiate seasons playing for the Hoyas of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. He saw limited action in both seasons and scored a total of 84 points in 61 game appearances. He decided to transfer after his sophomore year in 2010–11, one in which he only averaged 10.2 minutes per game. Benimon said he "probably got 100 phone calls" from schools who were trying to recruit him as a transfer player, but he ultimately decided on Towson because "...the assistant that recruited me from Towson. He treated me like a big deal. He’d send me an e-mail 1,000 times a day. He’d call me all the time." Having to sit out the 2011–12 season due to NCAA by-laws, Benimon flew under the radar heading in the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

's 2012–13 season. He was not even selected to an All-CAA team during the conference's preseason media day. Benimon burst onto the national scene during his junior year after averaging 17.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. He was named the CAA Player of the Week four times, its player of the year at the end of the regular season, and guided its 17.5-game turnaround from 2011–12 (the biggest turnaround in Division I history) by leading Towson in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. In an early season loss against

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, Benimon scored 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds; in an improbable road win against Oregon State, he recorded 20 points and 21 rebounds. Benimon was a top 10 finalist for the Lou Henson Award, given to the nation's best

mid-major Mid-major conferences in American college sports at the NCAA Division I level are athletic conferences that are not among the power conferences. The grouping is most commonly used in men's college basketball to describe conferences outside of the ...

men's basketball player. Benimon's senior season in 2013–14 saw him lead the Tigers to a second-place finish in the CAA behind

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, finishing the year with a 13–3 conference record (25–11 overall). The 25 wins is a program record for their Division I era. Towson, seeded second in the 2014 CAA tournament, was upset in the semifinals by third-seeded William & Mary, ending their chance at an automatic NCAA tournament bid. The Tigers accepted an invitation to play in the 2014 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, however, and won their first two games before falling in the quarterfinals against Murray State. For the year, Benimon averaged 18.7 points, 11.2 rebounds (second best in the nation behind

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

's Alan Williams), 3.6 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. Benimon's 404 total rebounds set a new school single-season record; it also ranks second all-time in CAA men's basketball history. For the second straight season, Benimon was voted to the CAA's All-Defensive Team as well as being named the CAA Player of the Year.

Professional career

2014–15 season

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Benimon joined 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 ...

for Orlando Summer League and the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 30, 2014, he signed with the Nuggets, but was later waived by the team on October 22 before the start of the

2014–15 NBA season The 2014–15 NBA season was the 69th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA draft took place on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where Andrew Wiggins was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The ...

. On November 18, he was acquired by the Idaho Stampede 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, ...

. On February 4, he was named to the Futures All-Star team for the 2015 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On March 6, 2015, Benimon signed a 10-day contract with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. Following the expiration of his contract on March 16, he was not offered a second 10-day contract by the Jazz, parting ways with the team after appearing in just two games and returned to the Stampede that same day. On April 22, he was named to the 2015 All-NBA D-League first team and the All-Rookie first team.

2015–16 season

In July 2015, Benimon joined the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three professional sports, pro basketball sports league, leagues organized by the National Basketball Association, NBA: the Orlando Magic, Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas S ...

. On September 17, he signed with the Foshan Dralions.

2016–17 season

Benimon joined the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

for the 2016 NBA Summer League. On September 10, he signed with Qingdao DoubleStar of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional 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 ...

. On March 2, 2017, Delaware 87ers acquired rights to Benimon.

2017–18 season

On October 29, 2017, Benimon signed with German club

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the major German professional league an ...

2018–19 season

On August 15, 2018, Benimon signed with the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

for the 2018–19 NBL season. He was released by the Breakers on September 3 due to personal issues. On January 10, 2019, Benimon signed with Bnei Herzliya of 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 ...

for the rest of the season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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References

External links

Towson bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benimon, Jerrelle 1991 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball players from Virginia Bnei Herzliya basketball players Fauquier High School alumni Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Guangzhou Loong Lions players Idaho Stampede players People from Warrenton, Virginia Sportspeople from Fauquier County, Virginia Power forwards Ratiopharm Ulm players Qingdao Eagles players Towson Tigers men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players Utah Jazz players Shaanxi Wolves players 21st-century American sportsmen