Prayer Thread

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,744]

58 minutes ago, coonhounds said:

My uncle tim died today at work. Big iu basketball fan and sad loss to family.

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Sympathies to you and your family.  

[HoosierAloha 30,068]

Thoughts and prayers coonhounds


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[Naturalhoosier 15,434]

Sucks man. Thoughts and prayers. 

[JaybobHoosier 11,843]

Aloha and Coons, prayers! Hate to hear that and will remember you all in my prayers.

Want to give a quick shoutout to the good man upstairs, my wife and I were blessed with our second child, another baby boy last week on Monday. Momma and baby are doing awesome, and big brother has been great with him so far (even though I think he does it for the praise lol, darn 2 and a half year old stinkers).


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[LamarCheeks 18,937]

Prayers go out to Babe -- a former Hoosiers QB -- and his family. His son had cancer -- was only 21. Was just getting started in life ... Very sad. 
 

 

[cleeter 2,128]

Friday night my fiancé’s father passed away. He was 60. He had a major heart attack and didn’t make it. Retired 2 months ago with his wife after 40 years of working. He left behind his wife and 2 daughters. Yes he was a Purdue fan, but that didn’t hinder him from being a role model to me and a great man to so many. His daughters and i’s wedding in two months will not be the same without him and our lives won’t be either.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,744]

Sympathies to you and your future wife's family.  Terrible blow for you all.

[mamasa 15,305]

Friday night my fiancé’s father passed away. He was 60. He had a major heart attack and didn’t make it. Retired 2 months ago with his wife after 40 years of working. He left behind his wife and 2 daughters. Yes he was a Purdue fan, but that didn’t hinder him from being a role model to me and a great man to so many. His daughters and i’s wedding in two months will not be the same without him and our lives won’t be either.

Very sorry to hear this- prayers for all affected!


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[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,225]

Friday night my fiancé’s father passed away. He was 60. He had a major heart attack and didn’t make it. Retired 2 months ago with his wife after 40 years of working. He left behind his wife and 2 daughters. Yes he was a Purdue fan, but that didn’t hinder him from being a role model to me and a great man to so many. His daughters and i’s wedding in two months will not be the same without him and our lives won’t be either.

Prayers

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[HoosierAloha 30,068]

Prayers cleeter


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[Naturalhoosier 15,434]

12 hours ago, cleeter said:

Friday night my fiancé’s father passed away. He was 60. He had a major heart attack and didn’t make it. Retired 2 months ago with his wife after 40 years of working. He left behind his wife and 2 daughters. Yes he was a Purdue fan, but that didn’t hinder him from being a role model to me and a great man to so many. His daughters and i’s wedding in two months will not be the same without him and our lives won’t be either.

All the best Cleeter.  Prayers.

[LamarCheeks 18,937]

Prayers to anybody who might be in the path of Dorian. He/she is proving to be a monster. And just a few days ago -- after forming -- it was considered to be a relatively small storm as hurricanes go. It sure grew up in a hurry. I'm in Virginia Beach, so we could see some affects by Thursday night/Friday morning or afternoon. It's still way too early to determine exactly what those affects might be. But those along the Florida, Georgia, S.C., and N.C. coasts will get the worst of it. 

Stay safe, everyone! 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,744]

IU basketball 'gentle giant' Kent Benson battling devastating losses

I've no doubt many other Hoosier athletes have experienced very serious issues in their personal lives most of which are never known except to close friends and relatives.   Kent's struggles were made public in an Indy Star article published yesterday.  And I'm not posting it just because it's Kent Benson.  I'm certain we have btb members who have also gone or are going through extremely difficult times and our thoughts and prayers would be with them just as they are for the Benson family.

 

The love of Kent Benson's life, Ann, is in a hospital bed at St. Vincent, Stage 4 cancer invading her blood cells. 

His brother, Kim, died unexpectedly Sunday night after a blood clot in his lung traveled to his heart. The day after Thanksgiving, Benson will bury his baby brother.

Benson lives in New Castle with one of his four daughters, who has a chronic illness. He cares for her and helps tend to his parents, both in their 80s in nursing care.

It's a different time, a much sadder time than those days in New Castle 40-some years ago when Benson was the 1973 IndyStar Mr. Basketball. When he was the hometown hero who went on to play for Indiana University and the 1976 Bob Knight-led undefeated Hoosiers. When he was the 6-10, 250-pound center who was the No. 1 pick in the 1977 NBA draft.

On the court, Benson was the monstrous redhead who brought fiery intensity to the game. Off of it, he has always been known as a gentle giant.

As his childhood friend Scott Clampitt talked of Benson on Tuesday, there was sorrow in his story. Benson, who will turn 65 next month, has fallen on hard times. Botched business deals and bankruptcy of the past. And now family health struggles.

"He has so many of his family members that are just going through incredible trials right now," said Clampitt, who grew up in the same neighborhood as the Benson family. 

The emotional burden is overwhelming — as is the financial one. Benson doesn't want to ask for help, so his friends are doing it for him.

"I don’t know a harder working man than Kent Benson," Clampitt said. "In the face of all his trials, he is constantly giving praise to Jesus Christ. He is always positive."

Inside 1000 Degree Wood Fired Pizza in Mt. Summit last week, people came together for Ann and for Benson. This health journey, after all, has been both of theirs.

It was 2010 when Ann, who is Benson's longtime girlfriend and whom he refers to as his wife, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that accumulates in the bone marrow, crowding out healthy blood cells. It is the second most commonly diagnosed blood cancer, after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and it is deadly.

In the United States, nearly 74,000 people have multiple myeloma and an estimated 10,700 die from the disease each year, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"Since being diagnosed... Ann Benson has kept her head held high and her spirits even higher during this exhausting and very challenging battle," the pizza restaurant's fundraiser post read. "Kent has fought this battle with Ann, never leaving her side, whether traveling for miles or caring for her at home. It has been a fight that is both costly and exhausting."

Last week, as supporters were there for Benson, the outlook was dire for Ann. Over the weekend, "she did recover a little bit and they were able to take her off of the respirator," Clampitt said. But time isn't on her side, doctors say.

As Benson tried to come to terms with the reality of Ann's prognosis, he learned of his brother's death. Kim Benson, 62, died at his Greens Fork home Sunday. The note Clampitt received from Kim Benson's wife, Natalie, read: "He died peacefully."  

"But totally unexpectedly," said Clampitt. "His brother was extremely physically fit and a physically active person. It's just another terrible blow for Kent."

Remembering basketball

Kent Benson 1973 Indiana Mr. Basketball. He averaged 27.6 points and nearly 30 rebounds per game on a team that finished 20-5 and reached the regional final. (Photo: File photo)

Clampitt was 12 and Benson was 10 when Clampitt moved into the neighborhood. He still remembers that huge, 5-9 fifth grader who was the same height as him, a seventh grader. By the time Benson hit seventh grade, he was 6-2. In high school, he was 6-10.

"I tried to sneak over to his house and drink the water," Clampitt joked.

All the families in the neighborhood were big families and the kids were always playing something, basketball in the driveway, football in the streets.

But Benson made it clear early on what his dream was.

"Kent was talking about playing in the NBA when he was in junior high," Clampitt said. In eighth grade, a coach encouraged Benson to not give up on his dream. 

“The coach saw a doodle I had made of a basketball player with a No.1 on the uniform,” Benson said during a speaking engagement in August at Indiana Grand. “I explained to him I was working on my future and wanted to be Mr. Basketball my senior year. He told me to achieve that, I would have to implement four things to get there: desire, determination, dedication and discipline.”

While at New Castle, Benson scored 1,496 points and had 1,585 rebounds in three varsity seasons and, just as he had dreamed of, he was named Mr. Basketball.

Clampitt said he'd never seen a work ethic quite like Benson's. 

"That's the reason why he was a such a stellar athlete," he said. "His training was over the top."

After his freshman year at IU, Benson decided he wanted to be stronger. He spent the summer in the weight room and put on 30 or 40 pounds. Benson told Clampitt that Knight didn't like that.

"He made him run and get the weight off," Clampitt said. "Knight wanted him to be faster, not stronger."

That sophomore season turned out to be magical. Benson helped lead the Hoosiers to an undefeated conference record and on to an Elite Eight appearance. IU lost its only game of the season to Kentucky 92-90; Benson recorded 33 points and 23 rebounds.

Little did Benson know then, the next year, his junior season, would be even more magical.

Along with seniors Quinn Buckner and Scott May, Benson led the team to the national title and the last undefeated season in college basketball, finishing 32-0. Benson was voted the 1976 NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player. 

"Yeah, we played against opponents but it was playing against ourselves, playing to our potential," Benson said of that 1976 season in a 2014 IndyStar story. "We strived for perfection and we reached excellence."

'He's suffered'

Benson was the No. 1 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1977 NBA draft. During his 11 years in the league, he also played for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 9.1 points and 5.7 rebounds for his career.

Shortly after he retired from the NBA, Benson got into the auto business, a dealership called Benson Egan Chevrolet Cadillac. The business hit tough times; GMAC closed the doors.

"Kent has struggled with a lot of things," Clampitt said. "He's suffered. He has."

Benson declared personal bankruptcy in 1999 and was a shareholder of Benson Egan Chevrolet Cadillac, Inc. when the corporation declared bankruptcy. 

Since then, Benson has had his hand in a variety of ventures, including two business with Clampitt and a quest for the office of Indiana's Secretary of State. Benson ended that pursuit in 2002, leaving four candidates for the Republican nomination.

He also worked for Kruse International, doing car auction commentary and The College Network. He worked in life insurance and estate planning for 14 years.

Despite what some might say hasn't been an easy life after basketball, Clampitt said Benson has never changed or complained.

He's kind and always tries his best to have a smile on his face.

"And he's loyal," Clampitt said. "You'll never have a more loyal or sympathetic friend than Kent."

[Alford Bailey 12,384]

Does anyone know if Benson is still involved in the farm equipment dealership?

[8bucks 6,452]

IU basketball 'gentle giant' Kent Benson battling devastating losses

I've no doubt many other Hoosier athletes have experienced very serious issues in their personal lives most of which are never known except to close friends and relatives.   Kent's struggles were made public in an Indy Star article published yesterday.  And I'm not posting it just because it's Kent Benson.  I'm certain we have btb members who have also gone or are going through extremely difficult times and our thoughts and prayers would be with them just as they are for the Benson family.
 
The love of Kent Benson's life, Ann, is in a hospital bed at St. Vincent, Stage 4 cancer invading her blood cells. 
His brother, Kim, died unexpectedly Sunday night after a blood clot in his lung traveled to his heart. The day after Thanksgiving, Benson will bury his baby brother.
Benson lives in New Castle with one of his four daughters, who has a chronic illness. He cares for her and helps tend to his parents, both in their 80s in nursing care.
It's a different time, a much sadder time than those days in New Castle 40-some years ago when Benson was the 1973 IndyStar Mr. Basketball. When he was the hometown hero who went on to play for Indiana University and the 1976 Bob Knight-led undefeated Hoosiers. When he was the 6-10, 250-pound center who was the No. 1 pick in the 1977 NBA draft.
On the court, Benson was the monstrous redhead who brought fiery intensity to the game. Off of it, he has always been known as a gentle giant.
As his childhood friend Scott Clampitt talked of Benson on Tuesday, there was sorrow in his story. Benson, who will turn 65 next month, has fallen on hard times. Botched business deals and bankruptcy of the past. And now family health struggles.
"He has so many of his family members that are just going through incredible trials right now," said Clampitt, who grew up in the same neighborhood as the Benson family. 
The emotional burden is overwhelming — as is the financial one. Benson doesn't want to ask for help, so his friends are doing it for him.
"I don’t know a harder working man than Kent Benson," Clampitt said. "In the face of all his trials, he is constantly giving praise to Jesus Christ. He is always positive."
Inside 1000 Degree Wood Fired Pizza in Mt. Summit last week, people came together for Ann and for Benson. This health journey, after all, has been both of theirs.
It was 2010 when Ann, who is Benson's longtime girlfriend and whom he refers to as his wife, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that accumulates in the bone marrow, crowding out healthy blood cells. It is the second most commonly diagnosed blood cancer, after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and it is deadly.
In the United States, nearly 74,000 people have multiple myeloma and an estimated 10,700 die from the disease each year, according to the Mayo Clinic.
"Since being diagnosed... Ann Benson has kept her head held high and her spirits even higher during this exhausting and very challenging battle," the pizza restaurant's fundraiser post read. "Kent has fought this battle with Ann, never leaving her side, whether traveling for miles or caring for her at home. It has been a fight that is both costly and exhausting."
Last week, as supporters were there for Benson, the outlook was dire for Ann. Over the weekend, "she did recover a little bit and they were able to take her off of the respirator," Clampitt said. But time isn't on her side, doctors say.
As Benson tried to come to terms with the reality of Ann's prognosis, he learned of his brother's death. Kim Benson, 62, died at his Greens Fork home Sunday. The note Clampitt received from Kim Benson's wife, Natalie, read: "He died peacefully."  
"But totally unexpectedly," said Clampitt. "His brother was extremely physically fit and a physically active person. It's just another terrible blow for Kent."
Remembering basketball
Kent Benson 1973 Indiana Mr. Basketball. He averaged 27.6 points and nearly 30 rebounds per game on a team that finished 20-5 and reached the regional final. (Photo: File photo)
Clampitt was 12 and Benson was 10 when Clampitt moved into the neighborhood. He still remembers that huge, 5-9 fifth grader who was the same height as him, a seventh grader. By the time Benson hit seventh grade, he was 6-2. In high school, he was 6-10.
"I tried to sneak over to his house and drink the water," Clampitt joked.
All the families in the neighborhood were big families and the kids were always playing something, basketball in the driveway, football in the streets.
But Benson made it clear early on what his dream was.
"Kent was talking about playing in the NBA when he was in junior high," Clampitt said. In eighth grade, a coach encouraged Benson to not give up on his dream. 
“The coach saw a doodle I had made of a basketball player with a No.1 on the uniform,” Benson said during a speaking engagement in August at Indiana Grand. “I explained to him I was working on my future and wanted to be Mr. Basketball my senior year. He told me to achieve that, I would have to implement four things to get there: desire, determination, dedication and discipline.”
While at New Castle, Benson scored 1,496 points and had 1,585 rebounds in three varsity seasons and, just as he had dreamed of, he was named Mr. Basketball.
Clampitt said he'd never seen a work ethic quite like Benson's. 
"That's the reason why he was a such a stellar athlete," he said. "His training was over the top."
After his freshman year at IU, Benson decided he wanted to be stronger. He spent the summer in the weight room and put on 30 or 40 pounds. Benson told Clampitt that Knight didn't like that.
"He made him run and get the weight off," Clampitt said. "Knight wanted him to be faster, not stronger."
That sophomore season turned out to be magical. Benson helped lead the Hoosiers to an undefeated conference record and on to an Elite Eight appearance. IU lost its only game of the season to Kentucky 92-90; Benson recorded 33 points and 23 rebounds.
Little did Benson know then, the next year, his junior season, would be even more magical.
Along with seniors Quinn Buckner and Scott May, Benson led the team to the national title and the last undefeated season in college basketball, finishing 32-0. Benson was voted the 1976 NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player. 
"Yeah, we played against opponents but it was playing against ourselves, playing to our potential," Benson said of that 1976 season in a 2014 IndyStar story. "We strived for perfection and we reached excellence."
'He's suffered'
Benson was the No. 1 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1977 NBA draft. During his 11 years in the league, he also played for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 9.1 points and 5.7 rebounds for his career.
Shortly after he retired from the NBA, Benson got into the auto business, a dealership called Benson Egan Chevrolet Cadillac. The business hit tough times; GMAC closed the doors.
"Kent has struggled with a lot of things," Clampitt said. "He's suffered. He has."
Benson declared personal bankruptcy in 1999 and was a shareholder of Benson Egan Chevrolet Cadillac, Inc. when the corporation declared bankruptcy. 
Since then, Benson has had his hand in a variety of ventures, including two business with Clampitt and a quest for the office of Indiana's Secretary of State. Benson ended that pursuit in 2002, leaving four candidates for the Republican nomination.
He also worked for Kruse International, doing car auction commentary and The College Network. He worked in life insurance and estate planning for 14 years.
Despite what some might say hasn't been an easy life after basketball, Clampitt said Benson has never changed or complained.
He's kind and always tries his best to have a smile on his face.
"And he's loyal," Clampitt said. "You'll never have a more loyal or sympathetic friend than Kent."

That was cool but mainly because I became friends with Bensons friend, Scott Clampitt for several years. We both moved our families from Bloomington to the same town in Northern IN and our families got very close. This was about 20 years ago and I eventually lost track of Scott after he and his wife separated. Good to see his name - need to track him down.


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[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,225]

Asking for prayers. I am having a fourth surgery in 5 yrs on my ankle I broke twice in the service.

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[HoosierAloha 30,068]

Asking for prayers. I am having a fourth surgery in 5 yrs on my ankle I broke twice in the service.

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Prayers going up brother. Hope this one finally does it. Are you going through the VA?

On that note, my echo showed I could have have passed a clot through my heart. The event monitor was normal. **** blood clots.


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[jk34 1,105]

1 hour ago, woodenshoemanHoosierfan said:

Asking for prayers. I am having a fourth surgery in 5 yrs on my ankle I broke twice in the service.

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Prayers Brother!

[jk34 1,105]

2 hours ago, HoosierAloha said:

Prayers going up brother. Hope this one finally does it. Are you going through the VA?

On that note, my echo showed I could have have passed a clot through my heart. The event monitor was normal. **** blood clots.


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Prayers your way!

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,744]

10 hours ago, woodenshoemanHoosierfan said:

Asking for prayers. I am having a fourth surgery in 5 yrs on my ankle I broke twice in the service.

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Prayers, good thoughts and a wish for a speedy recovery.