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Top 20 Indiana basketball players of all-time

By Connor O’Keefe

Former Indiana Hoosiers head coach Bob Knight . (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Former Indiana Hoosiers head coach Bob Knight . (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Ashley and Kent Benson pose in Henke Hall at Memorial Stadium. /

Indiana basketball career stats: 15.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 50.3 FG%, 114 GP

Kent Benson ranked in the top three in scoring and was the top rebounder for the Indiana basketball program from 1974 to 1977. Benson earned himself first-team All-Big Ten honors in his final three seasons in Bloomington, was named a two-time Consensus All-American, and was named the NCAA Most Outstanding Player in 1976.

In his seven career NCAA Tournament games, Benson averaged 22.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and shot 55.8 percent from the field. Benson recorded one of the best games in NCAA Tournament history with 33 points and 23 rebounds in a loss to Kentucky in the 1975 Regional Finals.

Benson, a huge part of the 1976 Championship team, is ranked in the top 10 in the following statistical categories for career and single-season numbers in IU history:

  • Points: 1,740 (9th)
  • Field goals made: 722 (6th)
  • Field goal attempts: 1,346 (8th)
  • Field goal percentage: 53.6% (8th)
  • Total rebounds: 1,031 (3rd)
  • Total rebounds per game: 9.0 (10th)
  • Minutes played per game (single season): 36.0 in 1976-77 (tied for 9th)

After an outstanding career under Bob Knight in Bloomington, Benson was selected first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1977 NBA Draft and scored 6,188 career points, and grabbed 3,881 career rebounds in 680 career games.

Yes, we are only at number seven on this list, and one of the best big men to come out of Indiana is off the board. Strap in Hoosier Nation!

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