Keith Benson

[JasonB]

am an Oakland alum and have seen Kito play in person atleast 30 times.

People that have only seen him play a few times call him soft completely unfairly. The kid play within himself, is not a loud mouth, does not taunt the opposing team after swatting the ball back to half court, ect. Think Barry Sanders tossing the ref the ball after a touchdown. One thing that would be nice is if he attacked the rim a little harder, but he has some of the softest hands i have seen and has amazing touch in the 10 foot range so he never really need to.

OUs coach simply would NOT let him play hard in-your-face defense very often because as Coach Kampe has stated several times, he wanted Benson in the game and not on the bench in foul trouble. If you want to see a game where he did play strait up D, try and find the OU v. Kansas game 2 years ago where he made Cole Aldrich and his "NBA ready body" look foolish.

While he is 22 years old, he was only like 6-7 graduating high school. Very David Robinson esque(dont get me wrong, I'm not saying he will be David Robinson by ANY means).

He DOES need to put on 20 pounds, but he is VERY VERY strong kid, he just has no body fat.

Here is a nice highlight video from OUs site. unfortunately it wont link right to the video, but just find Benson on the list and click watch. It may take a min to load because of all the traffic the site isnt used to getting. hahaha

www.summitathletics.com/sites/oakland/mbb/pages/season_info/player_bios.html

Edited June 24, 2011 by AHF

[lethalweapon3]

I forgot about Coach Kampe. Probably couldn't have had a better coach to support his development at that collegiate level.

~lw3

[capstone21]

am an Oakland alum and have seen Kito play in person atleast 30 times.

People that have only seen him play a few times call him soft completely unfairly. The kid play within himself, is not a loud mouth, does not taunt the opposing team after swatting the ball back to half court, ect. Think Barry Sanders tossing the ref the ball after a touchdown. One thing that would be nice is if he attacked the rim a little harder, but he has some of the softest hands i have seen and has amazing touch in the 10 foot range so he never really need to.

OUs coach simply would NOT let him play hard in-your-face defense very often because as Coach Kampe has stated several times, he wanted Benson in the game and not on the bench in foul trouble. If you want to see a game where he did play strait up D, try and find the OU v. Kansas game 2 years ago where he made Cole Aldrich and his "NBA ready body" look foolish.

While he is 22 years old, he was only like 6-7 graduating high school. Very David Robinson esque(dont get me wrong, I'm not saying he will be David Robinson by ANY means).

He DOES need to put on 20 pounds, but he is VERY VERY strong kid, he just has no body fat.

Here is a nice highlight video from OUs site. unfortunately it wont link right to the video, but just find Benson on the list and click watch. It may take a min to load because of all the traffic the site isnt used to getting. hahaha

www.summitathletics.com/sites/oakland/mbb/pages/season_info/player_bios.html

Thanks for the info. I hope he pans out

[DrReality]

Great info JasonB. Here's some info from Draftnet that reflects his basketball IQ

Has a solid jump hook ... Excellent touch on mid range shots ... Effectively uses the glass ... Completes a lot of ally oop dunks ... Shows nice touch and the ability to effectively use both hands around the basket ... Uses his size well to create a big target in the post, and displays solid footwork ... Does a good job fighting for low post position ... Also shows the ability to put the ball on the deck effectively ... Good rebounder with understanding of position ... Appears to be highly coachable. Plays with solid intensity and a growing understanding of the game ... Does a good job of protecting the ball and limiting turnovers.

[warcore]

thanks for the info, JasonB

I'm liking the pick. I say when he adds 15 pounds of muscle, watch out. As JasonB stated, he's grown a lot recently and is fitting into his new frame... give it time and he'll add the weight. Great pick, even though I was sad when Travis Lesley went right before him.

[y2kenta]

I am picturing Randolph Morris

Man, I hate all the negativity on this forum ALL the time! Have some damn optimism some time!!!

Kito is kinda like a young Camby. Why not give the guys a chance to get his uniform before you start blasting him and saying he's a bust.

Plus, another positive note to look at is that he said in an interview that he was up to about 225lbs already. ESPN even has him up to 230.

I think the Hawks deserve an for him to fall to us at 48th...He was also 2nd in NCAA in blocks for a reason. I'm also glad we didn't give up Josh for a pick in the draft.

[Joker]

Man, I hate all the negativity on this forum ALL the time! Have some damn optimism some time!!!

Kito is kinda like a young Camby. Why not give the guys a chance to get his uniform before you start blasting him and saying he's a bust.

Plus, another positive note to look at is that he said in an interview that he was up to about 225lbs already. ESPN even has him up to 230.

I think the Hawks deserve an for him to fall to us at 48th...He was also 2nd in NCAA in blocks for a reason. I'm also glad we didn't give up Josh for a pick in the draft.

As bad as saying R. Morris is an example, a young Camby is too. If he gets to be a poor man's Camby which is rotational. I am happy.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

It's not negativity. It's being real.

Why even place such a high expectation on Benson, by even referring to him as a Camby type? You talk like he is a 1st round talent or something that got overlooked.

Just keep it real.

Stop with the unrealistic expectations for a late 2nd round pick, when most big men taken that late don't pan out at all. People did this same thing with Randolph Morris and Garrett Siler.

If you want to continue to believe that this guy will be a solid rotation player, then go right ahead. Just don't get mad when people keep it real about what we truly have.

[HorfordTheBeast]

What is there to agree to disagree on?

Both of you agree the stats are similar. Then the only question is whether their frames and skill sets are similar...i.e., whether they look similar. If you agree that they physically look different you are really down to the style of play which isn't captured on paper in ppg, rpg and bpg.

For example, two guys who looked nothing alike physically or in terms of their game:

Mehmet Okur 2008-09 - 17.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, .7 bpg

Paul Millsap 2010-11 - 17.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .9 bpg

So the unanswered question is whether you think their games are alike or not. If you think they play the same game, then you can agree to disagree. I just don't think you are at an impasse until you answer that question.

Ok I'll answer the question then. Yes, I think they play pretty much the same game besides the fact that Benson hit a few three pointers in his career. Youtube highlights aren't the end all be all in terms of judging one's play style against another....