Keith Benson

Keith Benson
Keith Benson
Born	August 13, 1988 (age 38); Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Playing as center in various international basketball leagues and NBA Development League

Keith Anderson Benson Jr. (born August 13, 1988) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States. He competed at the collegiate level for Oakland University. Standing 6 feet 11 inches tall and playing as a center, Benson was chosen 48th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. His professional tenure includes experience across various international leagues such as those in Italy, the Philippines, Belarus, China, Lithuania, Estonia, along with participation in the NBA Development League.

High school career

Originating from Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan, Benson attended Detroit Country Day School located in Beverly Hills, Michigan. As a senior on the school's basketball squad, he posted averages of 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Initially committing to Fairfield, he later accepted an athletic scholarship from Oakland following a change in Fairfield's coaching staff.

College career

Benson redshirted his initial year at Oakland before becoming a regular starter during the 2007–08 season, starting in 20 out of 29 games and averaging 5.2 points alongside 3.5 rebounds per game. He recorded 40 blocks that season—just one shy of Oakland's single-season record—but was benched prior to the conference tournament due to defensive issues noted by coach Greg Kampe.

In his redshirt junior year, Benson received the Lou Henson Award as the premier mid-major player and was honored as Summit League Player of the Year. Although he declared for the 2010 NBA draft, he withdrew because a right thumb injury hindered his ability to participate in workouts with NBA franchises.

Before his senior year commenced, Benson earned a Bachelor of Integrative Studies degree with a minor in art history in August 2010 and concurrently took graduate-level architecture courses at Oakland. He broke the Summit League career blocks record by surpassing Keith Closs’s previous total of 317. Benson repeated as Summit League Player of the Year in 2011.

2011–12 season

Anticipated as a late second-round selection, Benson was drafted 48th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2011 NBA draft, marking him as Oakland University's first-ever draftee. During the 2011 NBA lockout, he competed professionally in Italy for Dinamo Basket Sassari. After participating in Hawks’ preseason activities in December 2011, he was released and subsequently signed with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League in January 2012. On March 24, Benson obtained a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors, appearing in three games.

2012–13 season

Following preseason involvement with Atlanta, Benson joined the Erie BayHawks of the NBA D-League for the 2012–13 campaign. In January 2013, he played for Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the Philippines during the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup before rejoining the BayHawks in March.

2013–14 season

During the 2013–14 season, Benson competed for Belarusian team Tsmoki-Minsk and later signed with China's Shaanxi Wolves in May 2014.

2014–15 season

Although initially contracted with Turkish club Banvit, Benson spent the opening half of the 2014–15 campaign playing for Lithuania’s Neptūnas. In February 2015, he made a midseason move to Estonian outfit BC Kalev/Cramo.

2015–16 season

Following a preseason stint with the Miami Heat, Benson joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce for the 2015–16 season. He earned a spot in the NBA Development League All-Star Game in February 2016. Benson played a key role in leading the Skyforce to a league-best 40–10 record and contributed to their NBA D-League championship victory, clinching the Finals series 2–1 against the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

2016–17 season

After participating in his second consecutive preseason with Miami Heat, Benson returned to compete with the Sioux Falls Skyforce during the 2016–17 season.

2017–18 season

During August and September 2017, Benson appeared in two games for the Guizhou White Tigers competing in China’s NBL. He began the 2017–18 season representing Aris Thessaloniki in Greece before transferring in January 2018 to Japan’s Osaka Evessa.

2018–19 season

Benson spent the entirety of the 2018–19 season playing for Germany’s Eisbären Bremerhaven.

2019–20 season

On August 1, 2019, Benson inked a deal with the South East Melbourne Phoenix for the 2019–20 NBL season. He parted company with the Phoenix on January 4, 2020, and shortly thereafter signed with Shabab Al Ahli competing in the UAE National Basketball League.

2020–21 season

Benson joined Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) team Rytas on December 17, 2020.

2021–22 season

In the second round of the 2022 BIG3 draft held on May 25, 2022, Benson was selected thirteenth overall by the Enemies.

2022–23 season

On March 8, 2023, Benson was officially registered as an import player by the Taichung Suns, signing with them on March 9 for participation in the T1 League.

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08 | style="text-align:left;"| Oakland | 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;"| Oakland | 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;"| Oakland | 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;"| Oakland | 35 || 35 || 32.4 || .547 || .391 || .643 || 10.1 || 1.1 || .8 || 3.6 || 17.9 |-

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" | Overall | 3 || 0 || 3.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0

Personal

Janice Ellen Hale, Benson's mother, serves as a professor specializing in early childhood education at Wayne State University and is the founding director of Wayne State’s Institute for the Study of the African American Child.

External links