| Ben Strong | |
| Team: | Phoenix Suns |
| League: | NBA |
| Position: | Player development |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 220 |
| Birth Date: | 18 September 1986 |
| Birth Place: | Manassas, Virginia, U.S. |
| High School: | Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) |
| College: | Guilford (2004–2008) |
| Draft Year: | 2008 |
| Career Start: | 2008 |
| Career End: | 2016 |
| Years1: | 2008–2010 |
| Team1: | Maccabi Haifa |
| Years2: | 2010 |
| Team2: | Landstede Zwolle |
| Years3: | 2010–2011 |
| Team3: | Hapoel Kiryat Tivon |
| Years4: | 2011–2013 |
| Team4: | Iowa Energy |
| Years5: | 2013–2014 |
| Team5: | Delaware 87ers |
| Years6: | 2014 |
| Team6: | Austin Toros |
| Years7: | 2014–2015 |
| Team7: | Westchester Knicks |
| Years8: | 2015 |
| Team8: | Atletico Welcome |
| Years9: | 2015 |
| Team9: | Westchester Knicks |
| Years10: | 2016 |
| Team10: | Native Pride |
| Years11: | 2016 |
| Team11: | Nelson Giants |
| Cyears1: | 2016–2018 |
| Cteam1: | Huntingdon College (assistant) |
| Cyears2: | –present |
| Cteam2: | Phoenix Suns (player development) |
| Highlights: |
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Ben Strong (born September 18, 1986) is an American basketball coach and a retired professional basketball player. Strong is of Native American descent (Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians).[1]
Born in Manassas, Virginia,[2] Strong grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[3] After graduating from Chapel Hill High School in 2004, he enrolled at Guilford College, an NCAA Division III school in Greensboro, North Carolina. He left Guilford ranked second all-time in scoring (2231) as well as in blocked shots (236) and seventh all-time in rebounding (927),[4] taking home various individual awards during his four-year college career, including NCAA Division 3 Player of the Year distinction.[5] Strong won one Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championship with Guilford and led the Quakers to two appearances in the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament. He set an NCAA Division III Tournament record by scoring 59 points in a triple-overtime win over Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) in March 2007.[6]
Strong launched his professional career in 2008 with Maccabi Haifa B.C. in the Israeli Premier League.[7] After a stint in the Netherlands[8] and a return to Israel, he took his game to the NBA Development League, where he appeared in a total of 183 regular season (7.7 points, 5.5 rebounds per game) and two post season (20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds per game) contests. In the autumn of 2015, he had a brief stop in Uruguay, playing for Atletico Welcome.[9]
Rounding out his professional career, Strong played his final season in New Zealand with the Nelson Giants[10] and was named Australiabasket.com All-New Zealand NBL Center of the Year.[11]
In 2018, he played for the "We are D3" team at The Basketball Tournament.[12]
After ending his playing career in 2016, he was named an assistant men's basketball coach at Huntingdon College in the fall of 2016,[13] before joining the Philadelphia 76ers’ staff as a player development specialist[14] in 2018.[15] On June 26, 2019, he joined the Phoenix Suns' staff as a player development coach.[16]