Please give us printouts of the two JPGs here to go with a Thursday sports story on former Brainerd High School and Lee University basketball player B.J. Benning.

Former Brainerd High School basketball standout B.J. Benning watched the NBA draft Thursday night on television from his home near St. Louis.

He wasn't expecting to hear his name announced, although he has NBA aspirations.

Benning said earlier in the week that he had a couple of friends who might get selected in the draft. Another reason he wanted to watch was to listen as experts talked about various franchises and their needs.

If one could use a 6-foot-8, 245-pounder who feels he can play either forward position and was born to rebound, Benning would like the chance to fill that bill. With the help of agent James Allen Jr., he's probing.

"Right now me and my agent are working on trying to get me in the NBA's summer league in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting July 10," Benning said. "I had sent my resume to the league office in New York. Four weeks later I got a letter back saying I was eligible for the 2008 draft, but since I didn't get drafted, now I'm in the free-agent pool and I can sign with any team."

Benning graduated from Brainerd in 2004, then played two years for Moberly Area Community College in Missouri -- averaging 18.2 points a game as a sophomore -- before coming back to the Chattanooga area and playing one season at Lee University. Brainerd coach Robert High recalled a season at Moberly in which Benning was on top of the NJCAA rebounding leaderboard. While in high school, Benning pulled down 26 rebounds in a game against archrival Howard.

"That's a number that's probably going to be there for a while," High said of Brainerd's single-game record.

Benning believes he's a capable player on the offensive end. Defense is the area where he's been told his game needs some improvement.

He spent one season playing professionally in Martilgny, Switzerland. Last season he played a few games in Frankfort, Germany, before returing stateside because of family reasons.

"I actually turned down a deal to play in Iceland last month, as soon as I got that letter," Benning said. "They're on hold right now. If things don't work out with the NBA, I'll be happy to go back overseas."

High said rarely has he discussed a professional basketball career with any player during his time at Brainerd, choosing instead to emphasize the importance of attending college. But now that Benning is on the brink of possibly fulfilling the dream of an NBA tryout, High is among his many well-wishers.

"He came to us as a ninth-grader but was not able to play with us until January of his junior year because of a heart problem," High said. "He only played like a year and a half of high school ball. A kid like that, there's no telling how good he could actually end up being. He was like a sophomore when he left, as far as actual time on the court.

"He put up some stats that were unbelievable. I do know that. But it's like I tell them all, a lot of times where you end up can come down to being at the right place at the right time."