Tai Wesley
July 23, 2020
Keith Benson
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 13/08/88
- Place of Birth: Farmington Hills, Michigan (USA)
- Position: CTR
- Height (CM): 211
- Weight (KG): 105
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Oakland (2007–2011)
- NBL DEBUT: 20/09/19
- AGE AT DEBUT: 31
- LAST NBL GAME: 31/12/19
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 31
- NBL History: South East Melbourne 2020
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Keith Benson was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Benson attended Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Michigan.
On the Detroit Country Day basketball team, Benson averaged only 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a senior.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Keith Benson made his NBL debut with the South East Melbourne Phoenix at 31 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.
In 2019, South East Melbourne Phoenix became the NBL’s newest franchise, bringing in Simon Mitchell to be their first head coach and shortly after added Boomers and fringe NBA talent Mitch Creek as their marquee player. South East Melbourne then built a core group playing group with Ben Madgen (via Europe), Kyle Adnam (via Melbourne) and Adam Gibson (via Adelaide). Imports John Roberson, Tai Wesley (via Melbourne) and Devondrick Walker (via state league) were later added to round out the squad.
South East Melbourne’s first game pitted them against cross-town rivals Melbourne. In the first game between the two franchises, tagged ‘The Throwdown’, the Phoenix were able to topple United by three points (91-88) after making 12 of 23 from downtown. The team’s high-octane perimeter shooting would set the tone for the rest of the season, with the team leading the league in points per game (95.4 ppg).
The win came at a cost, however, with Tai Wesley, after scoring eight rapid points, suffering a hamstring injury in the first five minutes of the game, which saw him out of action for the next ten weeks. Import Jaye Crockett (8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steals) was brought in as an injury replacement during his absence.
Following their Round 1 victory, the Phoenix would keep it rolling, knocking over the Bullets (113-93) and the Hawks (106-102) at home, tipping off their inaugural season with a handsome 3-0 record. Despite the Phoenix taking home victories against relatively good team’s, their first real challenge came in Round 4, where they would play their first away game against Perth. Although the Wildcats’ star duo of Bryce Cotton (16 points) and Terrico White (17 points) started poorly, Perth delivered South East Melbourne their first loss (79-110), ending their season-opening winning streak.
After their trouncing in Western Australia, victories would become a rarity. The Phoenix would go down to the likes of the 36ers, the Kings and twice to United, and after coming into the mid-way point of the season, the Phoenix was the definition of average at this point.
Sitting just outside the top four with a record of six wins and six losses. It was also around this time the Phoenix chose to move on from import Devondrick Walker (7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists), who, after suffering a fracture in his left foot playing in a Perth pre-season game two years earlier, wasn’t able to deliver the production he was able to beforehand. Keith Benson (5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks) was signed as his replacement and thought he was a much bigger body, wasn’t able to add much more to the stat sheet.
While South East Melbourne were forced to rely on Creek (20.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals) and star import John Roberson (20.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.5 assists), the next ten rounds would prove to be anything but smooth.
Across the next 16 matchups for South East Melbourne they would go on to accumulate a lacklustre 3 wins and 13 losses, while also finishing their campaign on a eight-game losing streak. With 20 rounds of basketball completed, the Phoenix (9-19) would finish second last.
Keith Benson played one season in the NBL. He averaged 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 16 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 31 | South East Melbourne | 9-19 (8) | 16 | 176.9 | 92 | 63 | 5 | 31 | 32 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 29 | 34 | 68 | 50% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 24 | 33 | 73% | 55% | 50% | 20 | Totals | 16 | 177 | 92 | 63 | 5 | 31 | 32 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 29 | 34 | 68 | 50.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 24 | 33 | 72.7% | 56% | 50% | 20 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 31 | South East Melbourne | 9-19 (8) | 16 | 11.1 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 50% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 1.5 | 2.1 | 73% | 55% | 50% | 20 | Total | 16 | 11.1 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 50.0% | 0.0 | 0.0% | 72.7% | 56% | 50% | 20 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 20 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
NBA EXPERIENCE
Keith Benson was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with pick #48 in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Won a G-League Championship with Sioux Falls in 2016 and was named in the G-League All-First Team in 2017.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Belarus - Tsmoki-Minsk (2013–2014) | Bulgaria - Levski Sofia (2021) | China - Shaanxi Wolves (2014), Guizhou White Tigers (2017) | Estonia - BC Kalev/Cramo (2015) | Germany - Eisbären Bremerhaven (2018–2019) | Greece - Aris Thessaloniki (2017) | Italy - Dinamo Sassari (2011) | Japan - Osaka Evessa (2018) | Lithuania - Neptūnas (2014–2015), Rytas (2020–2021), Juventus Utena (2022–2023) | Mongolia - Zavkhan Brothers (2023) | Philippines - Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters (2013) | Taiwan - Kaohsiung Steelers (2021–2022), Taichung Suns (2023) | Turkey - Banvit (2014) | United Arab Emirates - Shabab Al Ahli (2020)
Keith Benson’s professional career outside the United States has included stints in Italy, the Philippines, Belarus, China, Lithuania and Estonia, and he has played in more than 10 different countries across Europe and Asia.
Benson’s first overseas move came in Italy, where he signed with Dinamo Sassari on August 18, 2011, before being released on October 31, 2011.
He later played in the Philippines, signing with Talk N Text Tropang Texters on January 17, 2013, and in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup he averaged 23.6 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game before being released on March 7, 2013.
In Belarus, Benson signed with Tsmoki-Minsk on August 19, 2013, and in EuroChallenge play he averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over 12 games.
He moved to China in 2014, signing with the Shaanxi Wolves on April 25, 2014, and then joined Turkish club Banvit on August 1, 2014, before departing on September 20, 2014.
Benson began the 2014–15 season in Lithuania after signing with Neptūnas on October 31, 2014, and he remained there until leaving on February 27, 2015.
On February 27, 2015, he signed with BC Kalev/Cramo in Estonia for the rest of the season.
In 2017 he had a two-game stint in China with the Guizhou White Tigers before signing a one-year deal with Aris Thessaloniki in Greece on September 28, 2017, and in the Basketball Champions League he averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds across nine games, including a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double against Promitheas on December 2, 2017.
Benson moved to Japan in January 2018 to join Osaka Evessa, and he spent the 2018–19 season in Germany with Eisbären Bremerhaven.
In January 2020 he signed with Shabab Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates, and on December 17, 2020 he returned to Lithuania by signing with Rytas, where he appeared in three Basketball Champions League games in 2021 and averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in that competition.
Benson signed with Levski Sofia in Bulgaria on February 8, 2021, and later that year he joined the Kaohsiung Steelers in Taiwan, where he averaged 18.0 points and 13.47 rebounds per game over 15 appearances while playing alongside imports Anthony Tucker and Taylor Braun and later sharing the frontcourt with Anthony Bennett.
In 2022–23 he played again in Lithuania with Juventus Utena, then signed with the Taichung Suns in Taiwan in March 2023 after being registered as an import on March 8, and he later played in Mongolia with Zavkhan Brothers.
COLLEGE
Keith Benson attended Detroit Country Day School in Michigan and initially committed to Fairfield, but after a coaching change he switched his commitment and signed with Oakland after the Golden Grizzlies offered him a scholarship.
Benson played at Oakland from 2007–08 through 2010–11, developing from a part-time starter into one of the most decorated big men in Summit League history while finishing his career with 1,903 points (13th in league history) and 1,103 rebounds (2nd in league history).
As a freshman in 2007–08, Benson started 20 of 29 games and averaged 5.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks, including 40 blocks on the season, which left him one shy of Oakland’s single-season record at the time.
He broke out as a sophomore in 2008–09 by starting all 36 games and jumping to 14.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 62.2 percent from the field.
Benson’s junior season in 2009–10 turned him into a national mid-major headline as he averaged 17.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game, was named Summit League Player of the Year, and won the Lou Henson Award as the nation’s top mid-major player.
In the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Benson delivered one of his signature performances with 28 points and nine rebounds against Pittsburgh in the Round of 64, and later that same season he helped Oakland announce itself nationally with a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in an upset win over No. 7 Tennessee.
As a senior in 2010–11, Benson averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game, repeated as Summit League Player of the Year, added Summit League Defensive Player of the Year (the first in league history to win both in the same season), earned AP All-America honorable mention, and set a school single-season blocks record with 127 while becoming the Summit League’s all-time blocks leader with 371.
Benson also anchored Oakland’s back-to-back Summit League tournament championships, scoring 28 points in the 2011 title-game win over Oral Roberts on the way to another NCAA Tournament berth, and he finished his Oakland career with school records including 49 double-doubles and 772 defensive rebounds while becoming just the second player in Summit League history to surpass 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds.
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