Journal News articles on Shanty Robinson & Keith Benjamin

Shanty Robinson: Former Knight finds Division II perfect fit

Joe Lombardi • The Journal News • January 22, 2008

But when the Mount Vernon boys basketball team beat Lincoln to win the Federation championship in 2004, it was Shanty Robinson who was named tournament MVP.

And that's not the only distinction he holds when compared to Keith Benjamin (Pittsburgh), Jonathan Mitchell (Florida), Michael Coburn (Rutgers), Chris Lowe (UMass) and Dexter Gray (Iona).

That's because Robinson didn't wind up in the Big East, SEC, Atlantic 10 or MAAC.

Robinson, who is now a senior star for the College of Saint Rose, has found Division II to be a perfect fit.

"He's one of those guys that picked a correct level and was able to parlay that into an excellent career," Saint Rose coach Brian Beaury said. "He stepped in as a freshman and contributed from Day One. He's learned and improved and developed his game. Now we expect a double-double from him every night."

He's pretty close to that. His 8.6 rebounds-per-game average is second on the team, and his 13.5-point scoring average is third-best.

For Robinson, the D-II level proved to be a perfect fit because of his height. He admits to not quite measuring up to the 6-foot-4 he's listed at, often leaving him at a size disadvantage when matched up against other power forwards.

"Everybody has about two inches on me," Robinson said. "I make up for my lack of height with my strength. I feel like I'm one of the strongest guys in the league. Coach tells me, what's the point of being strong if you're not going to use it?"

Beaury said Robinson's strength is his biggest asset.

"At 6-3, 6-4 - whatever you want to call him - he's very powerful," Beaury said. "He's the perfect Division II player. He's really one big muscle. He's stronger than perimeter players he may match up against and can guard anyone from the one (point guard) to five (center) spots. He proved that in high school when he guarded (Lincoln's) Sebastian (Telfair) at Glens Falls Civic Center. He has to decide if he's stronger than them or quicker than them - sometimes he's both."

No matter what the situation, Robinson plays with the same reckless abandon.

"I try to score in the paint rather than settle for the jumper," he said. "If they push me out a little bit, I can face up."

Robinson's highlights this season include a game-high 24 points in an 84-77 win at Pace on Dec. 4.

"I've gotten more physical in drawing contact in the paint," he said. "The key thing this year is that I haven't really been in foul trouble."

The Golden Knights have made the NCAA tournament twice in Robinson's previous three seasons and last season won a first-round game. Robinson hopes he can help lead the team to its best postseason showing yet. The team is off to an 12-5 start.

After his college career, Robinson hopes to land a spot on a pro team in Europe.

"Absolutely he can play there," Beaury said. "We are already talking to people over there."

No matter what happens, Robinson hopes to eventually coach basketball - possibly even at Mount Vernon.

"I love where I came from," he said. "I still think Mount Vernon is the greatest place ever. I would love to go back to Mount Vernon and coach."

And for Robinson, Saint Rose has been a pretty special one, too. He's on schedule to graduate in May with a degree in criminal justice.

"I'm going to leave with a diploma and a lot of maturity," he said.

Benjamin's time finally comes at Pitt

Kevin Devaney Jr. • The Journal News • January 24, 2008

NEW YORK - On more occasions than his mother can remember, Keith Benjamin looked up to her in the stands behind the Pittsburgh bench and offered the same message. Sometimes it was verbal. Usually, though, it was through a frustrated glare.

"He'd tell me, 'I'm leaving,' '' Vicky Benjamin said at halftime of Pittsburgh's 81-57 rout of St. John's at Madison Square Garden last night. "He was so frustrated."

Keith Benjamin's role and playing time in his first 3 1/2 seasons at Pittsburgh were limited, and time was running out on what was supposed to be a promising college career for the Mount Vernon phenom.

But Benjamin never pursued transferring, instead heeding the advice that could have only come from his mother.

"I always told Keith to stick with it," Vicky Benjamin said. "Pittsburgh is a great school academically and it's a great program. Eventually, something good was going to happen. He was going to get his opportunity."

Through injuries to Levance Fields and Mike Cook, Benjamin finally got that opportunity, and has capitalized.

The 6-foot-2 guard has helped rescue what could have been a spiraling season for the Panthers, averaging 16 points in six starts entering last night - nearly 12 points above his career average. Pittsburgh is 5-2 since Benjamin stepped into the starting lineup and is ranked No. 13 in the nation.

"It's almost like he's been given some oxygen in a stuffy room," said Bob Cimmino, Benjamin's coach at Mount Vernon. "He's worked hard over the years and he's always been on the short end of the stat sheet, as far as minutes go. Now he's getting an opportunity and he's definitely shown he can do the job."

Benjamin entered last night 14th in Big East play in scoring (15.2), 12th in field-goal percentage (.531) and third in 3-point shooting (.467).

He had a quiet nine-point effort last night, hitting 3 of 7 shots with four assists, three steals and three rebounds. He also did a solid job defensively in the time he was on Anthony Mason Jr., who had 29 points.

The key figure for Benjamin, though, was the 35 minutes he played. He hadn't seen seen more than 21 minutes in Pittsburgh's first 11 games and hasn't seen less than 30 minutes in the eight since.

"I'm playing the way I know I could always play," Benjamin said. "I never cared what people said. Nobody had ever seen me play basketball like this. Whether I've been a surprise or whatever, I knew I could get the job done."

The injury to Fields initially looked devastating for Pittsburgh. With the Panthers 11-0 and coming off a win over Duke at the Garden, the junior point guard went down with a broken left foot in an ugly 80-55 loss at Dayton.

Benjamin got his break the next game. Starting against Lafayette, he scored a career-high 20 points, hitting 7 of 9 shots, and handed out five assists in the 96-75 win. He followed that up with 15 points in a heartbreaking loss to Villanova on Jan. 6, and then scored 20 at South Florida three days later.

"As players, we knew what Keith was capable of," Pitt guard Ronald Ramon said. "We knew that he was going to come in here and step up in the situation that we were in. He gave us significant minutes right away."

Those close to Benjamin insist that if he was frustrated, he never showed it.

Iona College senior forward Dexter Gray was one of Benjamin's closest friends growing up and playing together at Mount Vernon. They still talk frequently, and Gray said yesterday that Benjamin never mentioned transferring to him.

"Keith never really talked about leaving," said Gray, who transfered from St. John's during his sophomore season. "He said he wanted to stick with it because things would eventually come his way."

Things finally are coming Benjamin's way, just in time for Pittsburgh to make a run at a Big East title.

As tough as the first three seasons were for him, his future finally looks bright.

"I'm from Mount Vernon, New York. We don't quit out there," said Benjamin, who has a biceps-long ''Mount Vernon'' tattoo on his right arm. "I had to work my way into the rotation at Mount Vernon; why wouldn't I here? Nothing in life is a given. Now that it's finally here, I want to play basketball. I could care less about the last three years. This is my time now."

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