Ben Bentil

Benjamin Bentil (born March 29, 1995) is a Ghanaian professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played two seasons of college basketball for Providence before being drafted 51st overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft.

Ben Bentil
Bentil playing for Providence in 2016
No. 50 – Panathinaikos
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueGreek Basket League
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1995-03-29) March 29, 1995
Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Andrew's School
(Middletown, Delaware)
CollegeProvidence (2014–2016)
NBA draft2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 51st overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2016Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2017Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2017Dallas Mavericks
2017–2018Châlons-Reims
2018Bilbao
2018–2019Peristeri
2019–presentPanathinaikos
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Bentil and his family moved from Ghana to the United States when he was 15 and Bentil's athletic prowess earned him a scholarship to the Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania before leaving for St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware. He played for the school's soccer and basketball teams, ultimately earning a basketball scholarship at Providence. He was a star player for Saint Andrews.[1]

College career

As a freshman at Providence College, Bentil started 23 of the Friars' 34 games, while averaging 6.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 21.5 minutes per game. He began to come into his own toward the end of the season, as he posted five double-doubles during his last 12 games, including a 21-point, 10 rebound performance on March 4 against Seton Hall.

Bentil broke out during his sophomore campaign, and he and teammate Kris Dunn – a consensus All-American – became one of the top one-two punches in college basketball. He led the Big East Conference with 21.1 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, field goal makes (246) and free throw makes (194). He also finished fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (46.2 percent), sixth in free throw percentage (78.2 percent), fourth in rebounds per game (7.7) and third in win shares (3.8). He started 32 of Providence's 35 games, scored in double-figures on 31 occasions, notched at least 20 points 21 times and tallied at least 30 points five times. Bentil recorded 31 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds on January 24 during an overtime win on the home court of eventual NCAA champion Villanova. Two and a half weeks later,[2] he scored a career-best 42 points during a double-overtime loss at Marquette. The effort included a 14-for-17 clip from the free throw line and 12 rebounds. He hovered right around his season averages during the Friars' two-game NCAA tournament run, posting 20.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG. He played all 40 minutes of Providence's first-round effort against USC, recording 19 points and nine rebounds during the 70-69 win. The Friars then lost in the second round to eventual NCAA runner-up UNC, despite a 50-point combined effort from Bentil and Dunn. At the close of the season, Bentil was named first-team All-Big East and the conference's most improved player.[3]

On March 23, 2016, Bentil declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.[4]

Professional career

2016–17 season

On June 23, 2016, Bentil was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 51st overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.[5] He signed with the Celtics on July 27, 2016,[6] but was waived on October 21 after appearing in three preseason games.[7] Three days later, he was signed and waived by the Indiana Pacers.[8] On October 31, he was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Pacers.[9] After appearing in just a single D-League game for the Mad Ants, he left the team in mid-November in order to play in China.[10]

On November 25, 2016, Bentil signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association as a short-term injury replacement for Andray Blatche.[11] He made his debut for Xinjiang that night, scoring 28 points off the bench against the Jilin Northeast Tigers.[12] He left Xinjiang in late December 2016 after appearing in 11 games. On January 16, 2017, Bentil returned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.[13]

On February 26, 2017, Bentil signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks.[14] He made his NBA debut three days later in the Mavericks' 100–95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks; Bentil entered the game in the second quarter and failed to score in 4½ minutes of playing time,[15] becoming the first player born in Ghana to play in the NBA.[16] On March 8, 2017, after two more games with the Mavericks, the 10-day contract expired and returned to the Mad Ants.[17][18]

2017–18 season

Bentil was included in San Antonio Spurs roster for 2017 NBA Summer League. [19] On August 28, 2017, Bentil signed a deal with the Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket out in France's LNB Pro A.[20]

In February 2018, Bentil left Châlons-Reims and signed with Bilbao Basket in Spain for the remainder of the season.[21]

2018–19 season

On September 25, 2018, Bentil signed with Peristeri in Greece.[22] He averaged 12.5 points (49.7% in 2-point attempts and 37.9% from the 3-point line), 6.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.8 steals in 35 games in the Greek Basket League.

2019-20 season

On June 21, 2019, Bentil re-upped his contract with Peristeri for another season, NBA and EuroLeague opt-outs included.[23] On July 17, 2019, the player used his EuroLeague opt-out and signed with Panathinaikos for the next two years, following there his former coach, Argyris Pedoulakis.[24]. With the Greens, Bentil had 4.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in the Greek Basket League and in his very first season in the EuroLeague his stats were 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game. As a member of Panathinaikos, he won the Greek Championship.

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Dallas 303.3.000.000.000.7.0.0.0.0
Career 303.3.000.000.000.7.0.0.0.0
gollark: Is this a bot imitating andrew badly?
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References
  1. Forgrave, Reid (February 9, 2016). "Far from Ghana, Providence's Ben Bentil has found a home". FoxSports.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  2. "Draft Profile: Ben Bentil". NBA.com. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  3. McNamara, Kevin (March 7, 2016). "Big East names Kris Dunn Defensive Player of Year, Ben Bentil Most Improved". Providence Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  4. Goodman, Jeff (March 23, 2016). "Providence's Ben Bentil to declare for draft, forgo hiring agent". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  5. "Boston Celtics 2016 Draft Results". NBA.com. June 24, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  6. "Celtics Sign Five Players". NBA.com. July 27, 2016. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  7. "Celtics Waive Bentil". NBA.com. October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  8. "Pacers Sign, Waive Ben Bentil". NBA.com. October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  9. Needham, Vinessa (October 31, 2016). "Mad Ants Finalize Training Camp Roster Following 2016 Draft". NBA.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  10. Hayes, Reggie (November 19, 2016). "Ghana's Ben Bentil makes long journey to Mad Ants, on to China". News-Sentinel.com. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  11. "Bentil signs for CBA side Xinjiang Guanghui". BasketballGhana.com. November 25, 2016. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  12. Considine, Debbie (November 28, 2016). "Fort Wayne Mad Ants' Ben Bentil Scores 28 Points in China Debut". 8points9seconds.com. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  13. "Ben Bentil Returns To Mad Ants". NBA.com. January 16, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  14. "Mavs sign Ben Bentil to 10-day contract". Mavs.com. February 26, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  15. "Paul Millsap helps Hawks hold off rallying Mavericks 100-95". ESPN.com. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  16. Zurek, Kweku (March 2, 2017). "History: Ben Bentil becomes first Ghanaian to play in the NBA". Graphic.com.gh. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  17. "NBA D-League Transactions". NBA.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  18. "Ben Bentil: Won't stay with Mavs". CBS Sports. March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  19. "SPURS ANNOUNCE 2017 UTAH SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER". NBA.com. June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  20. "Ben BENTIL signe au CCRB". Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket (in French). Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  21. "El ala-pívot Ben Bentil se convierte en nuevo MIB". Bilbao Basket (in Spanish). February 24, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  22. "Peristeri signs Ben Bentil". Sportando. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  23. "Peristeri keeps Ben Bentil for another season". Sportando. June 21, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  24. Ben Bentil officially joins Panathinaikos
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