Ben Bentil

Early life

Bentil and his family moved from Ghana to the United States when he was 15 and Bentil's athletic prowess earned him a scholarship to St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware. He played for the school's soccer and basketball teams, ultimately earning a basketball scholarship at Providence.

College career

As a freshman at Providence College, Bentil started 23 of the Friars' 34 games, while averaging 6.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 21.5 minutes per game. He began to come into his own toward the end of the season, as he posted five double-doubles during his last 12 games, including a 21-point, 10 rebound performance on March 4 against Seton Hall.

Bentil broke out during his sophomore campaign, and he and teammate Kris Dunn – a consensus All-American – became one of the top one-two punches in college basketball. He led the Big East Conference with 21.1 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, field goal makes (246) and free throw makes (194). He also finished fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (46.2 percent), sixth in free throw percentage (78.2 percent), fourth in rebounds per game (7.7) and third in win shares (3.8). He started 32 of Providence's 35 games, scored in double-figures on 31 occasions, notched at least 20 points 21 times and tallied at least 30 points five times. Bentil recorded 31 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds on January 24 during an overtime win on the home court of eventual NCAA champion Villanova. Two and a half weeks later, he scored a career-best 42 points during a double-overtime loss at Marquette. The effort included a 14-for-17 clip from the free throw line and 12 rebounds. He hovered right around his season averages during the Friars' two-game NCAA tournament run, posting 20.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG. He played all 40 minutes of Providence's first-round effort against USC, recording 19 points and nine rebounds during the 70-69 win. The Friars then lost in the second round to eventual NCAA runner-up UNC, despite a 50-point combined effort from Bentil and Dunn. At the close of the season, Bentil was named first-team All-Big East and the conference's most improved player.

On March 23, 2016, Bentil declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.

2016–17 season

On June 23, 2016, Bentil was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 51st overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He signed with the Celtics on July 27, 2016, but was waived on October 21 after appearing in three preseason games. Three days later, he was signed and waived by the Indiana Pacers. On October 31, he was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Pacers. After appearing in just a single D-League game for the Mad Ants, he left the team in mid-November in order to play in China.

On November 25, 2016, Bentil signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association as a short-term injury replacement for Andray Blatche. He made his debut for Xinjiang that night, scoring 28 points off the bench against the Jilin Northeast Tigers. He left Xinjiang in late December 2016 after appearing in 11 games. On January 16, 2017, Bentil returned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

On February 26, 2017, Bentil signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He made his NBA debut three days later in the Mavericks' 100–95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks; Bentil entered the game in the second quarter and failed to score in 4½ minutes of playing time. He became the first Ghananian player to play in the NBA.