Wikipedia

Ben Vander Plas

Bennett Vander Plas (born September 19, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for BC Šiauliai of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for the Ohio Bobcats and Virginia Cavaliers.

Ben Vander Plas
No. 8 – BC Šiauliai
PositionPower forward
LeagueLithuanian Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1998-09-19) September 19, 1998 (age 25)
NationalityUSA
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High schoolRipon (Ripon, Wisconsin)
College
NBA draft2023: undrafted
Playing career2023–present
Career history
2023MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
2023–presentBC Šiauliai
Career highlights and awards

Vander Plas was the Division I Academic All-American of the Year in 2022 and 2023.[1][2]

High school career edit

Vander Plas graduated from Ripon High School in Ripon, Wisconsin. Over his playing career he averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 steals while playing for his father Dean Vander Plas.[3] He was a three-year team captain and earned First Team All-East Central Conference three times. After both his junior and senior year he earned conference player of the year and first team all-state. As a senior he led Ripon to an undefeated regular season and a state tournament appearance.[4] He played AAU basketball with the Wisconsin Playmakers. He was rated a 2-star recruit by Rivals and committed to Ohio University.[5]

College career edit

Ohio edit

Vander Plas redshirted during the 2017-18 season with a leg injury.[3] He averaged 8.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game during his freshman season[6] In spite of only starting one game he earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors.[7] He started all 31 games his sophomore year while averaging 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds a game.[8] He was named All-MAC Third Team for the first time.[9]

He averaged 12.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists his junior season and earned All-MAC Third Team for the second straight season.[10][4] He was named an Academic All-American after the season.[4] He scored 26 points in the MAC tournament semi-final against Toledo and 9 points in the MAC Championship against Buffalo.[11][12] Ohio upset defending national champion Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament.[13] Vander Plas led Ohio with 17 points including 10 straight for the Bobcats near the end of the second half which saw the Bobcats go from down one to ahead by seven.[14]

Vander Plas averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists for his senior season and notched only the fourth triple double in program history against Central Michigan.[15][16][17] He scored a career high 30 points in a home win against Miami.[18] He earned All-MAC First Team honors and was named Division I Academic All-American of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America, now known as College Sports Communicators (CSC).[19][20] After five years at Ohio, Vander Plas had earned a bachelor's degree in communications, a master's degree in sport administration, and a master's degree in management.[3][21] After the season he entered the transfer portal[22][23]

Virginia edit

On April 23, 2022, Vander Plas announced that he had committed to Virginia.[24] Vander Plas averaged 24.8 minutes, 7.4 points, and 4.6 rebounds starting most regular season games for the ACC co-champion Cavaliers.[25][26] During a practice prior to Virginia's quarterfinal game of the ACC tournament vs. North Carolina he broke his hand and he missed the entirety of the post season.[27] He repeated as Division I Academic All-American of the Year.[2]

Professional career edit

Riesen Ludwigsburg (2023) edit

On August 4, 2023, he signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga.[28]

BC Šiauliai (2023–present) edit

On November 30, 2023, Vander Plas signed with BC Šiauliai of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[29]

Personal life edit

He is the son of Ripon High School basketball coach Dean Vander Plas who played with current Virginia head coach Tony Bennett at Wisconsin-Green Bay under Tony's father and then head coach Dick Bennett.[30] Vander Plas is named after the Bennett family.[31]

Career statistics edit

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Ohio   Redshirt
2018–19 Ohio 31 1 23.2 .407 .309 .707 5.2 1.5 0.9 0.5 8.6
2019–20 Ohio 31 31 33.0 .492 .299 .593 6.9 2.8 1.0 0.7 15.7
2020–21 Ohio 25 25 33.8 .432 .347 .764 5.8 3.8 1.4 0.6 12.8
2021–22 Ohio 35 35 35.3 .457 .338 .725 6.8 3.1 1.8 0.5 14.3
2022–23 Virginia 29 15 24.8 .412 .303 .509 4.6 1.4 0.8 0.4 7.4
Career 151 107 30.1 .447 .321 .658 5.9 2.5 1.2 0.5 11.8

Source:[10]

References edit

  1. ^ "NCAA Division I Basketball Awards". RealGM. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "2022-23 Academic All-America® Men's Basketball Teams Announced For All NCAA and NAIA Divisions" (Press release). College Sports Communicators. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Transfer Ben Vander Plas Joins Cavaliers". Virginia Athletics. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "BEN VANDER PLAS". Ohio Bobcats. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "Ben Vander Plas". Verbal Commits. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Ben Vander Plas". Real GM. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Vander Plas named the MAC Freshman of the Year". Athens Messenger. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Ben Vander Plas". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  9. ^ "2019-20 Men's Basketball Postseason Awards Announced". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Ben Vander Plas Stats". ESPN. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  11. ^ "Ohio 87 Toledo 80". ESPN. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Ohio 84 Buffalo 69". ESPN. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  13. ^ "Ohio vs. Virginia - Game Recap - March 20, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ben Vander Plas — name inspired by Bennett family — plays starring role in Ohio upset of Tony's Virginia". NCAA. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Schmock's Threes and Vander Plas' Triple Double Lead Ohio to 76-50 victory over CMU". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  16. ^ "VANDER PLAS LIFTS OHIO OVER CENTRAL MICHIGAN 76-50". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  17. ^ "Vander Plas lifts Ohio over Central Michigan 76-50". ABC. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  18. ^ "Vander Plas scores 30 to lead Ohio over Miami (OH) 91-78". ESPN. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  19. ^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Postseason Awards Announced". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "2021-22 Academic All-America® Men's Basketball Teams Announced For All NCAA and NAIA Divisions". Academic All-America. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "Virginia Basketball in the Running for Ohio Transfer Ben Vander Plas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  22. ^ "Men's Basketball: Ben Vander Plas enters transfer portal". Ohio University Post. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  23. ^ "Good Morning, Illini Nation: A look at Ohio transfer Ben Vander Plas' finalists". Champaign news Gazette. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  24. ^ Newton, Matt (April 23, 2022). "Ohio Transfer Ben Vander Plas Commits to Virginia Basketball". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  25. ^ "Ben Vander Plas". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  26. ^ "Miami earns No. 1 seed in ACC, shares title with Virginia". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  27. ^ Baxley, Rodd (April 23, 2022). "Virginia's Ben Vander Plas out vs. UNC basketball at ACC Tournament". Yahoo Sports!. The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  28. ^ "Vorbereitungsstart mit vollem Kader und Ben Vander Plas". mhp-riesen-ludwigsburg.de (in German). August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  29. ^ "„Šiauliai" pasikvietė Čempionų lygoje sezoną pradėjusį aukštaūgį". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  30. ^ "What's in a name? Bennett facing Bennett in NCAA Tournament". NBC29. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  31. ^ "Ben Vander Plas eager to start 'new chapter' playing basketball at UVA". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

External links edit

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