Benson Earns AP All-America Honorable Mention Honors
ROCHESTER HILLS – Oakland University’s Keith Benson was named to the 2011 Associated PressHAll-America Honorable Mention team, announced on Monday afternoon.
Benson, a native of Farmington Hills, Mich., led the Golden Grizzlies to back-to-back Summit League titles.
Benson, a 6-foot-11 center, blocked a single-season school record 127 shots this season and went on to become The Summit League’s all-time shot blocker with 371. He led the league with 10.1 rebounds per game and finished second in the country with 3.6 blocked shots per game. Benson was named Summit League Player and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to earn both those awards in the same season.
He helped Oakland to a program-best 91 wins over his four years, including a nation’s best 34-2 league record over the last two seasons. Benson ranked sixth in the country with a school record 20 double-doubles and 31st in the nation with a .547 field goal percentage. His team-high 17.9 points per game finished fifth in the league.
Benson is the first OU player to earn AP All-America honorable mention honors in two seasons at the Division I level, repeating his performance last season. Mike Helms was named to the honorable mention team in 2003.
The two-time All-American became just the second player in Summit League history to surpass 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds, finishing second in career rebounds with 1,103 and 13th in scoring with 1,903. Benson’s block total ranks third in single-season league history and his 354 rebounds stands fourth.
FIRST TEAM
Jimmer Fredette, BYU, 6-2, 195, senior, Glens Falls, N.Y., 28.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 40.4 3-pt fg pct, 89.1 ft pct. (64 first-place votes, 323 points).
Nolan Smith, Duke, 6-2, 185, senior, Upper Marlboro, Md., 21.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 81.6 ft pct. (61, 315).
Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, 6-9, 280, freshman, Columbus, Ohio, 17.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 53.6 fg pct. (58, 311).
Kemba Walker, Connecticut, 6-1, 172, junior, Bronx, N.Y., 23.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.9 steals, 37.5 minutes (51, 297).
JaJuan Johnson, Purdue, 6-10, 221, senior, Indianapolis, 20.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 81.5 ft pct, 2.3 blocks (44, 277).
SECOND TEAM
Marcus Morris, Kansas, 6-9, 235 junior, Philadelphia, 17.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 58.7 fg pct. (14, 208).
Derrick Williams, Arizona, 6-8, 241, sophomore, La Mirada, Calif., 19.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 61.5 pg pct, 60.3 3-pt fg pct. (16, 205).
Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame, 6-3, 203, senior, Poplar Bluff, Kan., 18.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.3 apg, 44.1 3-pt fg pct, 81.4 ft pct. (7, 184).
Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin, 6-1, 195, junior, Bloomington, Minn., 18.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.7 apg, 43.3 3-pt fg pct, 84.9 ft pct, 4.2 a/to ratio (2, 122).
Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State, 6-7, 225, sophomore, Riverside, Calif., 15.4 ppg, 10.7 rpg. (2, 107).
THIRD TEAM
Jordan Hamilton, Texas, 6-7, 220, sophomore, Compton, Calif., 18.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 apg. (1, 84).
Kenneth Faried, Morehead State, 6-8, 228, senior, Newark, N.J., 17.6 ppg, 14.5 rpg, 64.4 fg pct, 2.4 blocks, 2.0 steals (2, 72).
Jacob Pullen, Kansas State, 6-0, 200, senior, Maywood, Ill., 19.5 ppg, 3.7 apg, 1.7 steals. (1, 68).
Tu Holloway, Xavier, 6-0, 185, junior, Hempstead, N.Y., 20.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 5.5 apg, 38.4 minutes, 86.9 ft, pct, 1.5 steals (0, 45).
Marshon Brooks, Providence, 6-5, 200, senior, Stone Mountain, Ga., 24.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.5 steals (1, 32).
HONORABLE MENTION
Harrison Barnes, North Carolina; Talor Battle, Penn State; Devon Beitzel, Northern Colorado; Keith Benson, Oakland; Solomon Bozeman, UALR; Alec Burks, Colorado; Gilberto Clavell, Sam Houston State; Norris Cole, Cleveland State; Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech; Austin Freeman, Georgetown; Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh; Andrew Goudelock, College of Charleston; Justin Greene, Kent State; Dwight Hardy, St. John’s; John Holland, Boston U; Ken Horton, Central Connecticut State; Reggie Jackson, Boston College; Rick Jackson, Syracuse; Charles Jenkins, Hofstra; John Jenkins, Vanderbilt; Aaron Johnson, UAB; Terrence Jones, Kentucky; Trevele Jones, Texas Southern; Brandon Knight, Kentucky; Jon Leuer, Wisconsin; Mickey McConnell, Saint Mary’s; E’Twaun Moore, Purdue; Markieff Morris, Kansas; Mike Muscala, Bucknell; Chandler Parsons, Florida; C.J. Reed, Bethune-Cookman; Ryan Rossiter, Siena; Jesse Sanders, Liberty; Kyle Singler, Duke; Mike Smith, East Tennessee State; Isaiah Thomas, Washington; Tristan Thompson, Texas; Nikola Vucevic, Southern California; Brad Wanamaker, Pittsburgh; Casper Ware, Long Beach State; Kyle Weems, Missouri State; Taj Wesley, Utah State; Jordan Williams, Maryland; Isiah Williams, Utah Valley; Keith Wright, Harvard.
Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, Oakland University
