SportsTicker
News Feed
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2003
- Messages
- 6,105
- Likes
- 9
- Points
- 38
1. He ain't bad...and he keeps surprising people. He didn't play varsity basketball in high school til his senior year then took off, becoming one of the West Coast's top recruiting prizes at center. He played sparingly in his first two years at Cal, then his junior year, after Leon Powe went down, he took off again, averaging 14 and 7 for Cal. He has six double-doubles that season, third in the Pac-10, behind Ike Diogu of ASU and Matt Haryasz of Stanford and tied with Channing Frye of Arizona. Among those behind him were Hassan Adams of Arizona, Bobby Jones of Washington, and Brandon Roy of Washington. He was expected to be a big part of Cal's program the next season, but tore his meniscus and fractured his foot. He was cut by Austin in the D-League after 13 games, then was picked up by the Dakota Wizards. He averaged 10 and 8 as a sixth man over the next 36. In overtime of the D-League Championship, he scored the go-ahead basket to help win it for Dakota. He finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocked shots in the game, again coming off the bench.2. He is very smart. He scored 1300 on his SAT's and had a 3.2 GPA in high school, winning Governors Scholar and Golden State Scholar awards. He was recruited by several Ivy League schools, but decided to stay out west. His high school coach, a former Division 1 college assistant and head coach, said you never needed to tell him something twice...he got it the first time. Then, despite playing both basketball and volleyball at the college level, he was able to graduate Cal Berkeley, one of the country's best schools, with a degree in political science...and in the alloted four years. For all his joking around, he is serious on the court. He is politically active, supporting Barack Obama for President.3. He is a volleyball player. He played varsity volleyball in high school before he played varsity basketball and was recognized as one of the top volleyballers in southern California, being offered scholarships in both sports. He was a middle blocker at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego and at Cal, where he helped lead the Golden Bears to the No. 1 ranking in the national club team rankings. His skills at the volleyball net are the same as those needed under the rim: quick leaping ability and shot blocking.4. He is tall and athletic. He listed at 6'10" on the NBA webside but his D-League coach said he is 6'11" and his college volleyball team listed him at 6'10 1/2". He barely weighs 230 pounds however. A lifetime of milk shakes have barely moved the scale. He makes up for his lack of physical strength with his athleticism and a nice mid-range shot. His D-League coach said that even though he is 6'11", he runs the floor like he is 6'1".5. He is younger than you would expect for a kid more than a year out of college. He is only 22, six weeks older than Josh Boone, four months younger than Mile Ilic. Being so young, he was still growing while at Cal which might be a reason for his leg injuries. That youth thing is over now. 6. He can talk...and he is highly quotable. In fact, he talked so much to the media before key Cal games that he became a prime source of bulletin board quotes for other Pac-10 teams. So much so that Cal's sports information director stopped letting him talk to the media. A word of warning to Gary Sussman is appropriate.7. He is happy to be in Nets' training camp and claims he just might be related to Jason Kidd, who also played at Cal, albeit at a bit higher level. He swears his grandmother's maiden name was Kidd. Good Luck with that one, kid...or Kidd. The Cal connection alone should be enough to get you a few alley-oops from the Cuz.8. He models himself after Kevin Garnett who he describes as "filthy rich" while describing himself as "dirty broke".9. He is currently living in New Jersey at a hotel near the Meadowlands and the Nets' practice facility. He lists his address on his MySpace page as "East Coast...Wow". 10. He has this blog...toomuchrodbenson.com...that he started this summer because "I had just been cut from Sacramento’s summer league roster, then dumped by my girlfriend the next day. I needed something to keep my mind busy." Just go there. You'll see.
