WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team’s coaching staff continues to mine their Ohio connections with the addition of their latest recruit – Dazhonetae (Tae) Bennett, a 6-foot, 3-inch guard from Trotwood-Madison High School in Trotwood, Ohio.
“We have signed an excellent fit for our program in Tae Bennett,” said Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker. “On top of his basketball abilities, he is a great young man.”
Bennett averaged 24.5 points, 11 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game as a senior and helped guide his Rams to a 26-3 record and the final four of the Ohio Division I State Tournament. He finished his high school career as Trotwood-Madison’s all-time leading scorer with 1,531 points, surpassing former standouts Andre Hutson, who played for Michigan State University from 1997-2001, and Chris Wright, who played for the University of Dayton from 2007-2011 and currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA. In addition, the team only lost 12 games during his varsity career.
Bennett has received numerous individual honors for efforts, including first-team all-state honors in Division I, District 15 Player of the Year, Dayton Daily News Division I Player of the Year and Great Western Ohio Conference Player of the Year. He also was selected to the all-Great Western Conference team as a junior and senior. Walker noted only five players from a 16-team conference are selected each year.
“Tae was a great leader for his team, and his achievements are exceptional,” Walker said. “He is a hard worker and a winner. He does whatever it takes to win, as you can see by the fact he averaged 11 rebounds and almost six blocks as a guard. We are excited to add him to our program.”
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball team, including complete statistics from the games, visit wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb/.