WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State opponents grab an average of 29 rebounds in men's basketball games this season.

Terry Benton met that team rebounding mark with his own two hands in a 1971 game.

This month marks the 40^th anniversary of Benton's record-setting performance Feb. 6, 1971 against North Texas State. Benton, then a junior, recorded 29 rebounds in the 84-81 win in Wichita - one of several Benton records that still stand in the Shocker record books.

"That's amazing still some 40 years later," Benton said about the record in a recent telephone interview.

Benton, a Wichita native, became the most prolific rebounder in Shocker history by the end of his college career at Wichita State. He still owns four of the Shockers' top nine single-game rebounding performances. His 12.7 career rebounding average ranks as the best all-time at WSU. His average of 16.8 rebounds per game in the 1970-71 season remains a Shocker record. He also owns the most recent triple-double in Shocker history, scoring 20 points, adding 22 rebounds and 10 assists against Tulsa in 1972.

Benton, a 6-foot-8 center/forward, compiled 1,003 points and 963 rebounds in his time as a Shocker from 1969-72. Freshmen were not allowed to compete due to NCAA eligibility rules at the time.

"My numbers were based on about 2 ½ years of playing," said Benton, now 60. "I just wonder what they would have been if I would have played as a freshman."

Today Benton works as cable TV manager in media services at Santa Clara University. He moved to California in 1989 and has worked as a communications contractor for more than 20 years, including 16 at Santa Clara.

His story began in Wichita.

He remembers picking up a basketball for the first time in south central Kansas at age 11 when he started playing Salvation Army Biddy Basketball. He went on to play middle school basketball at Horace Mann.

"I wasn't very good," Benton said. "I was tall."

He wasn't even planning to try out for the squad at Wichita High School East until he stopped for a drink in a hallway lined with photos of past, great East teams. East's basketball coach tapped him on the shoulder and encouraged Benton to attend tryouts.

"(He) said, 'I want you to come to the gym. Have you ever played basketball?'" Benton recalled. "I went there and such it began."

After Benton's successful high school career, college offers flowed in - "50 to 60 offers from major and minor places all over," he said. Hometown Wichita State was in the mix.

An ailing father, and a mother working two jobs to make ends meet for six children, prompted Benton to stay in his native Wichita and help his family. He became the first in his family to attend college. His father passed away during Benton's sophomore year, as he started his Wichita State basketball career under coach Gary Thompson.

"They played run-and-gun basketball and that's another thing I liked about Wichita State, they didn't hold the ball," Benton said. "Sometimes we'd score 100 points. We were fun to watch...Defensive rebounding was my forte so there were more balls in the air to grab. We played in the land of no shot clock, so it was tougher to get rebounds. Teams would hold and grind it down if they thought you were fast - and we were pretty fast."

He remembers the heated rivalry with Tulsa, and tough, tight losses to powerful Louisville throughout his career.

Benton grabbed 20 or more rebounds in seven games during his junior year alone and averaged 16.3 points. He compiled 28 rebounds in January 1971 against Loyola-Chicago, which ranks second among Shocker single-game performances behind his own record. Benton reached 20 points and 20 rebounds in six games during his career - second most in Shocker history.

Mike Kennedy, play-by-play voice of the Shockers, attended Wichita State at the same time as Benton and broadcasted basketball games for the university's radio station.

He remembers Benton as a tenacious rebounder that won over fans.

"He was an extremely popular player," Kennedy said. "He was a local kid and had a very outgoing personality. He was popular with his teammates and the fans."

Kennedy recalls working the game in which Benton grabbed the school record 29 rebounds. The university radio station had a small crew of students in attendance keeping statistics.

"I remember him getting 20, then 22," Kennedy said. "We were just blown away. We checked our numbers against the official stats and we both had 29."

Benton, a two-time first team all-conference performer, ended his WSU career playing for coach Harry Miller, who took over the program for Benton's senior season. Miller stressed defense, leading the Shockers to their first winning season in five years with a 16-10 mark. Benton averaged 16.2 points as a senior.

The NBA Detroit Pistons drafted Benton in 1972, as did the ABA Kentucky Colonels. He also received a letter from the Harlem Globetrotters asking him to try out.

"None of the three I opted to go to," Benton said. "I went for awhile to Kentucky because I was interested in the ABA and I wanted to see what that was like. I went to camp there and thought that wasn't for me. I left and came back to Wichita."

He instead enjoyed a brief professional basketball career in Italy. A snapped Achilles tendon ended his playing days during his first season, however, and he once again returned to Wichita.

Benton had studied broadcast journalism at Wichita State and chose to pursue jobs in radio and television. He worked in the Wichita and Omaha markets as a disc jockey and television news reporter, eventually choosing to leave the cold Midwest winters behind for California.

He now works "on the other side of the camera - back to engineering, back to school; turned into an I.T. person," he said. "Best thing that ever happened to me."

He keeps tabs on Wichita State Athletics and returns to his hometown to visit family.

He fondly looks back from the west coast on his time at Wichita State.

"Without regrets and with the smiles of knowing I'm part of a fabric that is strong and colorful and wonderful," Benton said.

Staying close to home for college proved to be an ideal choice for Benton. He encourages others to give their local schools a close look, especially in today's widely televised sports world.

"You can be seen from right there," Benton said. "You don't have to go away to try to find notoriety. You can make something really wonderful and strong right there in your own backyard."

Benton still owns the Wichita State records to prove what's possible.

- Lisa Johnson, WSU Media Relations

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