K-State announces the signing of Jason Bennett
Apr 13, 2006 | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. Kansas State head men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins announced the signing of consensus top-50 high school recruit Jason Bennett (Arlington Country Day HS/Jacksonville, Fla.) to a National Letter of Intent on the first day of the spring signing period on Wednesday.
Bennett is the first player to ink with the Wildcats since the introduction of Huggins as the Wildcats’ head coach on March 23. He joins junior college forward Kenny Williams (St. Petersburg (Fla.) College/Miami, Fla.) as Kansas State’s new additions for the 2006-07 season.
“Jason is going to be the centerpiece of what we build in the future here at Kansas State,” said Huggins. “He is an outstanding shot blocker. He has a great presence around the goal and that will enable us to do more offensively. I fully expect Jason to come in and contribute immediately to this program. He is going to get nothing but bigger, stronger and better as we move closer to the fall.”
A 7-foot-3, 265-pound center from Jacksonville, Fla., Bennett is the tallest player to ever sign with Kansas State and one of just five seven-footers in the program’s 102-year history. Other seven-footers in school history include Roger Suttner (7-0, Ridgway, Ill., 1962-64), Nick Pino (7-1, Santa Fe, N.M., 1966-68), Dax Jones (7-0, Junction City, Kan., 1996-97) and Joe Leonard (7-1, St. Louis, Mo., 1998-2001).
A consensus Top 50 high school recruit, Bennett is rated as the No. 23 high school prospect (a five-star recruit) in the Rivals.com Top 150 as well as the No. 47 prospect by Scout.com (a four-star recruit). He is also regarded as a top-10 center recruit by both recruiting services, including No. 5 by Rivals.com and No. 8 by Scout.com. Bennett was nominated to the McDonald’s All-American Team this past season. He was also selected to participate in the Nike All-American Camp each of the past three years and was named to the camp’s first-ever all-star squad this past summer.
Bennett was a four-year starter at Arlington Country Day High School in Jacksonville, Fla., where he had been a member of the varsity squad since the seventh grade. The Apaches posted a 169-22 (.885) record during Bennett’s tenure at the school which included back-to-back Class 2A State Championships in 2005 and 2006. The school has not lost to an in-state rival in more than two and half seasons. This past year, Bennett helped the school to a 27-3 overall record, the Class 2A state title and a No. 14 final ranking in the USA Today Super 25 High School rankings. Bennett averaged 12.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 8.0 blocks as a senior en route to earning first team Class 2A all-state honors from the Florida Sports Writers Association. He was also named to the all-state second team as a junior and earned honorable mention honors as a sophomore.
“Jason’s best attribute is that he really wants to be good,” said Huggins. “He really wants to work hard to be good. He is not afraid of hard work. He is the kind of young man that got up early every morning, lifted and did acceleration training then went to school and practice. He wants to be successful.”
In addition to averaging a double-double, Bennett recorded a triple-double in four games this past season. His best game came against Lake Howell High School when he recorded 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in helping Arlington Country Day upset the top-ranked Class 5A school, 88-80, in overtime. Bennett also collected 10 rebounds and six blocks in the 73-37 win over North Palm Beach Benjamin High School in the Class 2A State Championship game in March.
Bennett helped Arlington Country Day to a 28-3 overall record as a junior in 2004-05, which included the school’s first-ever state championship. The Apaches finished No. 8 in the USA Today Super 25.
“I think he is the best defensive player in the high school ranks this year and that includes (Ohio State signee and top-rated recruit) Greg Oden,” said Arlington Country Day head coach Rex Morgan. “On average, teams shot 15 percent worse against our team than any other and that is a direct result of Jason’s presence. Of the shots that he doesn’t block, there is a great many that he alters. He doesn’t give anything up. He is also a tremendous rebounder.”
Arlington Country Day, which has not been out of the USA Today Super 25 in the past two seasons, has produced a number of top-rated players the past few seasons. Bennett played alongside Florida State signee and 2006 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year Josue Soto the past season, while former teammates Sammy Hernandez (George Mason) and David Huertas (Florida) were on teams that played in the 2006 NCAA Final Four.
“I expect Jason to come into Kansas State and have a very, very good freshman season,” said Morgan. I think he is going to have the opportunity to contribute immediately. I think he can average between 30-32 minutes per game and double figures in both points and rebounds. I think he will be a great fit for a very physical conference in the Big 12 because he is a very physical player. He is only going to get stronger, tougher and better as a player under coach Huggins’ guidance.”
Bennett also found success playing for the Miami Tropics during the summers of 2004 and 2005 for head coach Art Alvarez. Last summer, he helped guide the Tropics Elite squad to a 19-14 overall record and a tournament championship at the prestigious Copa McDonald’s in Puerto Rico. The team was one of 24 AAU teams nationally to receive a bid to Peach Jam Tournament, where Bennett led the tournament in blocked shots. He also averaged a double-double in rebounds and blocks for the Tropics during the 2005 Las Vegas Spring Showcase.
Bennett chose Kansas State after receiving interest from a number of schools, including Alabama, Auburn and Michigan. He also garnered scholarship offers from several schools, including Cincinnati, Clemson, Georgia and Miami (Fla.).
