Hall of Fame
Jerrelle Benimon made the most of his two- year career in a Tiger basketball uniform, knocking down numerous records while engineering the biggest single-season turnaround in college basketball history.
After two years at Georgetown Jerrelle transferred to Towson. It was the pre-portal era so Jerrelle rode the bench for a transfer year where he agonized while witnessing Towson’s worst season in program history, only one win in 32 games. The following year Jerrelle was back on the floor, leading the 2012-13 Tigers to a historic 18-13 turnaround with a 17.1 scoring average and 11.2 boards per game. In his senior year he put up 18.7 ppg and 11.2 rpg as Towson finished with a Division I program record 25 wins for 43 combined victories in his two seasons with Towson, more than any other two-year total to date. Jerrelle’s contributions did not go unnoticed.
The big 6-8 forward out of Warrenton, Va., was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year both years to become just the 8th in conference history to win that honor consecutively and the only Tiger to be so honored POY by the league. An Associated Press honorable mention All-American, he was a two-time first team NABC All-District selection. He was named to the Lou Henson Mid-Major All-American team. Towson’s Athlete of the Year in 2013, he was selected MVP of the 2014 Reese’s College All-Star Game in the Final Four.
Jerrelle rewrote Towson’s single season rebounding record with 404 rebounds which ranked him second in CAA history behind NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson. He was the first player in program history to grab more than 400 rebounds in a single season. His senior season his 11.2 rebounds per game ranked him 2nd nationally. He registered 21 double-doubles to rank third best in the country. He was the 5th player at Towson to score over 1,000 career points (1,203) in just two years. He logged the most minutes in a single game of any player in program history when he played all 48 minutes in a 99-86 overtime victory against William & Mary in 2013.
Early in his senior year Jerrelle registered Towson’s first-ever triple-double with 17 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. That feat is tucked up high in his memory bank along with a quadruple-double (13 points, 17 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 blocks) he recorded as a prep player at Fauquier High School.
Undrafted, Jerrelle worked his way through various NBA summer and developmental leagues. In 2015 he signed a 10-day contract with the Utah Jazz to become only the third Tiger to see action in the NBA along with Towson Hall of Famers Kurk Lee and Gary Neal. He subsequently turned his attention abroad, playing for teams in Germany, China and Israel before retiring as a player.
