Texters land 6-11 NBA vet

MANILA, Philippines - It won’t be Gilas center Marcus Douthit manning the slot for Talk ‘N’ Text in the PBA Commissoner’s Cup starting Feb. 8 as the Tropa will parade 6-11, 230-pound former Golden State Warrior Keith (Kito) Benson instead.

Douthit, a naturalized citizen, suited up for Air 21 as an import last season. His rights were released by the Express and he’s now free to sign with any club. Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said he preferred Douthit to preserve himself for the tough grind ahead leading to the FIBA-Asia Championships in Manila on Aug. 1-11. But Talk ‘N’ Text alternate governor to the PBA Board Ricky Vargas said the other day Douthit is available to play for a team of his choice assuming he is contracted. As for the Tropa, Vargas said coach Norman Black wanted a dominating big man to match up against the likes of Rain Or Shine’s 7-2 Bruno Sundov, Global Port’s 6-11 Justin Williams, Petron’s 6-8 Renaldo Balkman, Barangay Ginebra’s 6-10 Herbert Hill, San Mig Coffee’s 6-11 Matt Rogers, Air 21’s 6-10 Michael Dunigan, Meralco’s 6-9 Eric Dawson, Alaska’s 6-9 Robert Dozier and Barako Bull’s 6-9 Evan Brock.

Talk ‘N’ Text team manager Aboy Castro admitted Douthit was under consideration for a while. “With the Philippines hosting the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championships, we all felt we didn’t want to put Marcus and Gilas’ chances at risk by asking him to play for any team, including Talk ‘N’ Text, in the next PBA conference,” said Castro. “Best is to keep him healthy and focused for the August FIBA-Asia. It’s just another one of MVP’s and the PBA’s many sacrifices to make sure that Gilas is able to form, train and compete with the best team possible. Another option was Donnell Harvey (last season’s Texters import) but he’s still in China until March.”

The Commissioner’s Cup is a shortened version of the Philippine Cup. It will feature a single round-robin elimination format after which the last two finishers drop out of contention. In the quarterfinals, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage over No. 8 and No. 7 while No. 3 battles No. 6 and No. 4 takes on No. 5 in separate best-of-3 series. The semifinals will be best-of-5 affairs unlike in the Philippine Cup’s best-of-7. The Finals will be a best-of-7 duel like before.

Benson, 24, could be just what Black is looking for. In four years with Oakland University of Rochester, Michigan, he averaged 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Benson came from the same NCAA Division I basketball program as Tropa teammate Kelly Williams. As a senior in 2010-11, he averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocked shots while hitting .547 from the floor, .391 from three-point range and .643 from the line. Oakland posted a combined 91-46 record in Benson’s four years with two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Last season, Benson played briefly with Golden State in the NBA. He was the Atlanta Hawks second round pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Benson is coming off a stint with the Erie Bay Hawks in the NBA D-League where he averaged 10.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 23.9 minutes.

A graduate of the LeBron James Academy, Benson was a skinny 6-9, 185-pound beanpole when he showed up at Oakland as a freshman in 2006. He redshirted in the 2006-07 season to bulk up then made his debut the next campaign, averaging 5.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots. Eventually, Benson matured to become a key figure in coach Greg Kampe’s system. He was described by writer Bob Asmussen as “a double-double threat.”

As a junior in 2009-10, Benson blossomed into a major force at center. Against No. 1 Kansas, he dropped 20 points on the celebrated Cole Aldrich and blocked his first two shots. He was named the Summit League’s MVP and led Oakland to the NCAA Tournament. Oakland posted a 26-9 record that year. The next season, Benson brought Oakland back to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 13 seed. Oakland was eliminated by No. 4 Texas, 85-81, to finish at 25-10. Along the way, Oakland lost a one-point heartbreaker to highly touted Michigan State. 

Armed with a 7-3 wingspan, Benson is unstoppable in the paint. NBAdraft.net said he “has a solid jump hook, excellent touch on mid-range shots, effectively uses the glass, completes a lot of alley-oop dunks and 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, displays solid footwork and does a good job fighting for low post position, has shown the ability to put the ball on the deck effectively, a good rebounder with understanding of position, highly coachable and plays with solid intensity and a growing understanding of the game, does a good job of protecting the ball and limiting turnovers, is great in the open floor, runs very well.”