Grant Benzinger is going into his senior season excited, motivated and ready to chase WSU’s goal of playing in the NCAA tournament.
Benzinger came to Wright State from Moeller high school in 2014, and he immediately made an impact on the team by playing in a team high 31 games as a freshman. His sophomore year saw him grab a permanent starting spot, and by his junior season he led the team in minutes and three point percentage (3P%).
Going into his senior season, Benzinger is excited to see what the season holds.
“I’m really excited," he said. “I am a bit nervous as to how it will go, but we are extremely confident in how good we can be. We have a lot of potential, and it’s up to us to max it out."
One of the biggest goals Benzinger has is to play in the NCAA division one tournament, something Wright State has only done twice in their history, in 1993 and 2007.
“(The NCAA tournament) is the number one thing I’d like to accomplish," Benzinger said. “My sophomore year we got to the conference championship game and lost, and that was really tough. Our first goal has to be to win the regular season, and then go to the conference tournament and keep winning."
Benzinger set WSU history last season when he set the school record for most three pointers made over a career, only needing three seasons to break it.
“I had no idea about that until my parents told me, and I said to them I think you guys are wrong on that," he said. “But when I saw that it was true, I thought it was really cool. It wasn’t one of my goals coming in to WSU, but being able to accomplish that means a lot, and I’m grateful that my teammates found me when I was open. It’s cool that I own the record at Moller (high school) and at Wright State. I’m really proud of that."
With Mark Alstork transferring to the University of Illinois, and Steven Davis graduating, WSU lost their top two scorers from last season.
When asked if they would look to him as the number one scoring option, Benzinger cited talented youth and experienced seniors as to why he won’t be the only scoring option this season.
“I could be the top option one game, but then another game it could be Justin (Hill), or it could be Mark Hughes in a different game. We have a lot of selfless players, and I truly think the leading scorer could change every game because of the amount of options we have”.
WSU men’s basketball opens their season in an exhibition game at the Nutter Center on November 3rd against Wayne State.
