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Ben Strong (basketball)

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Ben Strong
Phoenix Suns
PositionPlayer development
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1986-09-18) September 18, 1986 (age 38)
Manassas, Virginia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolChapel Hill
(Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
CollegeGuilford (2004–2008)
NBA draft2008: undrafted
Playing career2008–2016
Career history
As player:
2008–2010Maccabi Haifa
2010Landstede Zwolle
2010–2011Hapoel Kiryat Tivon
2011–2013Iowa Energy
2013–2014Delaware 87ers
2014Austin Toros
2014–2015Westchester Knicks
2015Atletico Welcome
2015Westchester Knicks
2016Native Pride
2016Nelson Giants
As coach:
2016–2018Huntingdon College (assistant)
2019–presentPhoenix Suns (player development)
Career highlights and awards

Ben Strong (born September 18, 1986) is an American basketball coach and a retired professional basketball player. Strong is of Native American descent (Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians).[1]

Playing career

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College basketball

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Born in Manassas, Virginia,[2] Strong grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[3] After graduating from Chapel Hill High School in 2004, he enrolled at Guilford College, an NCAA Division III school in Greensboro, North Carolina. He left Guilford ranked second all-time in scoring (2231) as well as in blocked shots (236) and seventh all-time in rebounding (927),[4] taking home various individual awards during his four-year college career, including NCAA Division 3 Player of the Year distinction.[5] Strong won one Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championship with Guilford and led the Quakers to two appearances in the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament. He set an NCAA Division III Tournament record by scoring 59 points in a triple-overtime win over Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) in March 2007.[6]

Professional basketball

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Strong launched his professional career in 2008 with Maccabi Haifa B.C. in the Israeli Premier League.[7] After a stint in the Netherlands[8] and a return to Israel, he took his game to the NBA Development League, where he appeared in a total of 183 regular season (7.7 points, 5.5 rebounds per game) and two post season (20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds per game) contests. In the autumn of 2015, he had a brief stop in Uruguay, playing for Atletico Welcome.[9]

Rounding out his professional career, Strong played his final season in New Zealand with the Nelson Giants[10] and was named Australiabasket.com All-New Zealand NBL Center of the Year.[11]

In 2018, he played for the "We are D3" team at The Basketball Tournament.[12]

Coaching career

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After ending his playing career in 2016, he was named an assistant men's basketball coach at Huntingdon College in the fall of 2016,[13] before joining the Philadelphia 76ers’ staff as a player development specialist[14] in 2018.[15] On June 26, 2019, he joined the Phoenix Suns' staff as a player development coach.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Three American Indians to Watch in NBA D-League This Season". Native News Online. November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  2. ^ "Ben Strong". Guilford. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Etter, Dan. "Ben Strong muscles his way into the spotlight". www.guilfordian.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Guilford College Basketball – Career History". Guilford. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  5. ^ "Guilford's Ben Strong Named NABC NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Year". Guilford. March 21, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Guilford shocks Lincoln in triple-OT thriller". Retrieved May 5, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ Halip, Matt. "Ben Strong adjusts to life and basketball in Israel". www.guilfordian.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  8. ^ "Ben Strong verlaat Landstede Basketbal". sportiefzwolle.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  9. ^ "Ben Strong llega al Parque Rodó". ovaciondigital.com.uy (in Spanish). October 12, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  10. ^ "Nelson Giants sign D-League player Ben Strong for National Basketball League". Stuff. February 7, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  11. ^ "NBL_2016 Basketball League NEW-ZEALAND". eurobasket.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  12. ^ "We are D3 falls in TBT opener". D3hoops. July 15, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  13. ^ "Huntingdon". www.huntingdonhawks.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  14. ^ "Front Office Directory". Philadelphia 76ers. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  15. ^ "Huntingdon MBB on Instagram: "Ben Strong, former Huntingdon College assistant coach, doing big things in his new role on staff with the Philadelphia 76ers @sixers ...…"". Instagram. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  16. ^ "Phoenix Suns announce complete coaching staff". nba.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
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