Benson opted to be a doctor, not a dunker

Dr. Larry Benson could have been a Division I basketball player, but he decided to concentrate on becoming a doctor. From the Detroit area, Class of '91, heralded high school basketball hotshots included Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Shawn Respert . . . and Larry Benson.

All eventually went pro - Rose, Webber and Respert to the NBA, Benson to the medical profession.

Local sports buffs may not have heard of Benson. But if you've got a tender ankle or throbbing pitching arm, you might give him a call.

Dr. Benson has joined the CJW Sports Medicine Team with headquarters in Chester. Founder Dr. Douglas Cutter and Dr. Katherine Dec are his colleagues.

The program - now in its 20th year - is geared to get athletes (young and young at heart) back in action, the quicker the better.

"I remember when I was playing, there was nothing more important than the next ballgame," Benson said. "I understand the passion."

Much of Benson's practice involves treatment of teenage athletes in Chesterfield County.

"But then, there are the dancers, karate . . . and with the Ukrop's 10K, a lot of older athletes with leg injuries," he said.

Background check: A 6-2 shooting guard, Benson averaged 22 points and seven rebounds at suburban Detroit's De La Salle High in '91. He earned all-state honors.

He kept a Detroit Free Press article listing him as a Top 20 prospect in Michigan.

From that lineup, Rose and Webber went to Michigan and Respect became one of Michigan State's all-time scorers.

Benson mostly was recruited by Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools such as Eastern and Western Michigan, Kent State and Miami-Ohio.

"But I really wanted to play Big Ten ball, and I was offered a preferred walk-on spot at Northwestern," he said.

Choosing stethoscope over sneakers, he turned down all offers to concentrate on his premed studies at Michigan State.

"I still kept playing recreationally," he said. "My team won the campus [intramural] championship three straight years."

He earned his medical degree from Wayne State in Detroit and did his residency at Henry Ford Hospital in the Motor City.

The right to place "M.D." beside your name represents one upside of placing school over sports.

And another plus: "I've still got two good knees," he said.

Big-time Spartan: In 2005, Benson served on the Michigan State's Sports Medicine Fellowship Team.

Duties included accompanying the Spartans to the men's NCAA Final Four in St. Louis, and the women's Final Four in Indianapolis.

As a former athlete, Benson says he may have an advantage in his chosen field.

"I know what they're going through," he said. "We've all had to fight through injuries."