As a member of the inaugural Winthrop men’s basketball team, Bennie Bennett is forever etched in Winthrop history.
A native to Clarendon, SC, Bennett began his collegiate career at Newberry College before following head coach Nield Gordon to Rock Hill. In their first competitive season (1978-1979), the Eagles went 25-10 as Bennett scored an impressive 411 points (12 points per game).
During the 1980-1981 season, Bennett became the first player ever to record 1,000 points at Winthrop. Forty years later, only 25 other Eagles have joined him in the elusive 1,000-point club.
His 1,296 points, which he amassed in just three seasons at Winthrop, still stand as tenth-most all-time in program history.
Bennett’s name appears numerous times in the Winthrop record book: eighth all-time in field goals made (497), ninth all-time in free throws attempted (402), eighth all-time in free throws made (302), eighth all-time in assists (362) and sixth all-time in assists per game (3.6).
Along with being top-10 in several single-season stat categories, he’s also one of only four Eagles to ever play in (and start in) 39 games during a single season, which he accomplished with his teammates Charlie Brunson, Tim Raxter and Rick Riese during the 1980-1981 season.
I never knew Bennie Bennett, the basketball player. But as a student in Newberry County, I was lucky enough to know “Mr. Bennett” — superintendent of the Newberry County School District.
As a kid, 6-foot-1 Mr. Bennett seemed like a giant to me. It wasn’t just his height but the fact that he held such a prominent position in the community. It felt like a privilege to get to shake his hand and pose for a picture with him at a school board meeting every now and then after being recognized for some sort of achievement.
At the time, I didn’t even know Winthrop existed, much less that I would be a student there before too long. I didn’t know how successful Winthrop basketball had been during its short existence, and I certainly didn’t know that Mr. Bennett was, in a way, a “founding father” of the program.
I wish I had known more about Winthrop at the time and how deeply rooted Mr. Bennett was (and still is) in Winthrop basketball history so that I could have asked him about his playing days.
But I also wish I had gotten the chance to ask him about some more impressive things he did in his life after his college basketball career.
Mr. Bennett was a teacher and a basketball coach at Clover and Fort Mill high schools — but he wasn’t just any teacher or coach. He was a five-time Region Coach of the Year, and he was once named Fort Mill High School Teacher of the Year.
He served as an athletic director, assistant principal, principal, superintendent and probably wore many more hats during his education career.
Mr. Bennett was recognized as one of Winthrop’s first distinguished alumni in physical education in 2000. And in 2006, he was inducted into both the Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame and the York County Sports Hall of Fame. I’m so glad he was here to see these honors.
It’s been five years since the death of Bennie Bennett. He tragically lost his life in a car accident on April 16, 2016. It was a huge loss for the people of Newberry County and so many others who he had touched throughout his life.
After his passing, Winthrop Basketball retired Bennett’s jersey number during a special ceremony on Homecoming Day in November of 2016. A framed No. 31 jersey now hangs in the Eagle Club Room in Winthrop Coliseum in his memory.
I always thought Mr. Bennett had a nice, genuine smile. I can only imagine how big he was smiling this past March as he watched his Winthrop Eagles once again competing in the NCAA Tournament.
Though he’s no longer with us, may the legacy of Bennie Bennett — the player, coach, superintendent and everything in between — live on for years and years to come.
