A cool aspect about American players overseas is hearing about who they battled in the NCAA when they were still grinding to get better and get prepared for the next step overseas. Obviously the higher a player competes in a conference, the better competition a player will get and have those special nightly battles against future NBA players. It wasn’t any different for American Benjamin Burnham (202-F-2002, college: Virginia Tech) who recently completed his rookie season overseas in Germany where he took the second division Pro A by storm. The American already played against good schools and players in the CAA, but it grew a notch more in his senior year where he suited up for the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He played against competitive schools like Michigan, Stanford, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest just to name a few. Especially in the state of North Carolina, he played against the top with North Carolina, North Carolina State and Duke. He held his own against all schools, but unfortunately lost against all those schools. He will definitely never forget battling against Duke where he played against 2 of the top NBA rookies from the 2025-2026 season with Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel. Flagg is a generational player and Knueppel possibly the next best three point shooter. Flagg had a solid 24/3/6/4 game while Knueppel added 13 points on 2/7 shooting form the parking lot. Burnham had no difficulty holding his own as he added 9 points in 17 minutes coming off the bench. Burnham and Virginia Tech didn’t escape with the win, but he has a story for a lifetime. ‘I was matched up against Cooper Flagg, all I remember was him hitting a mid range in my face, and I remember hitting a step 3 on Kon Knueppel at the end of shot clock. But yes, we lost by 23’, said Benjamin Burnham.

The American who lists Cooper Flagg and Aaron Estrada as his toughest covers so far in his career was born on April 3, 2002 in Nashville, Tennessee and grew up in South Carolina. He comes from a family that was closely affiliated to sports as his grand father and uncle both played at South Carolina and his dad played at Virginia Wesleyen and became the school’s all-time points leader there. He played high school ball with Carmel Christian Academy and led his team to a second place finish at the state championship and was a two time all state selection. After high school, he attended the College of Charleston (NCAA) where he played 3 seasons and played a total of 102 games. He improved his scoring title each season averaging 7.7ppg, 4.3rpg, FGP: 55.6%, 3PT: 32.4%, FT: 65.1%, 8.8ppg, 3.7rpg, FGP: 59.1%, 3PT: 44.6%, FT: 72.0%, and 11.9ppg, 4.5rpg, FGP: 52.1%, 3PT: 36.8%, FT: 69.5%. He reached the NCAA tournament twice and helped win the CAA title in 2023 and 2024. ‘The second title was so memorable because I was more of a leader on that team and I wanted to prove that I could help lead a team to a championship. But the difference in the game was Reyne Smith hitting some crazy 3s in overtime’, stated Benjamin Burnham. As a freshman he played against North Carolina (NCAA) losing 94-83, but held his own with 17 points against future NBA guys. ‘That game was very memorable because it was one of my first college games and I scored the ball well against those guys and I realized I belonged’, remembered Benjamin Burnham. In his last season there he scored in double figures in 22 of 35 games including netting 19 points against Alabama in a March Madness loss as well as 23 points in a win over URI and 20 points in a victory over William. He was really fortunate to have had a special coach in Pat Kelsey that helped him get his foot in the door in the NCAA. ‘Coach was very valuable, because he taught me so much about the game and how to go about your business’, stated Benjamin Burnham. He finished his NCAA career at Virginia Tech University (NCAA) where he averaged 7.5ppg, 3.9rpg, FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 42.7%, FT: 70.4%. He had some solid games that season against Stanford scoring 18 points and scoring 17 points against Navy. However his most spectacular moment at Virginia Tech and possibly the NCAA was his steal and dunk in the last seconds securing the win over North Carolina State 79-76. ‘I watched it a couple times on Instagram. I just remember reading the inbounder’s eyes on the steal then just dunking it home for the exclamation mark’, smiled Benjamin Burnham. All in all this season was instrumental for his skills development, but also for his mentality ‘ Head coach Mike Young helped me because he gave me motivation to prove that I’m better at basketball than what he thought. So the push he gave me was a chip on my shoulder and a little more fuel’, stressed Benjamin Burnham who remembers dunking on teammate Toibu Lawal once and him pushing him to be better.

The South Carolina native who lists Buzz Anthony, Bryce Butler, Dylan Ritter, Connor Serven, and John Meeks as his best 5 teammates of all-time made the trek overseas in late summer 2025 to play for Pro A team Artland Dragons. He had an incredible personal stat season and helped the team make the playoffs. ‘I had a good season statistically and we had good team success as well, we didn’t finish the season how we wanted but I learned a lot and we set our goal to make the playoffs before the season and we accomplished it. It was a blessing playing for a club with that much history and culture’, said Benjamin Burnham. For Americans it isn’t always easy making the adjustment overseas and he also had a wake up call where he knew that he was far away from home. ‘The first time I went to the grocery store and I had no clue what was going on in there and couldn’t ask for help. That is when I realized I was far from home and would have to learn a few things’, added Benjamin Burnham. The Artland Dragons had a good start winning 3 of 4 games, but always suffered lapses where they couldn’t establish more consistency. In the winter they had a 4 game losing streak, but cleaned that up with a 7 game winning streak in March. Did they peak then? ‘We were up and down all year, but we were really rolling during that 7 game win streak. I don’t want to say we peaked there because we really played 3 great games in the playoffs but couldn’t find a way to win. So from a win streak perspective we were really hot in March’, commented Benjamin Burnham. The team then lost two nail bitters to Wolmirstedt and Leverkusen and got swept in the playoffs in 3 close games to Bremerhaven. Ending the season like that must of left a bitter taste in his mouth and have what if questions swirling in his mind? ‘I definitely had a bitter taste ending the year like that, but like I said our goal was to make the playoffs and the club wasn’t ready to move up yet, so all that considered we had a successful season with many personal and team lessons learned’, commented Benjamin Burnham. The Bremerhaven series was so close as Bremerhaven only scored 11 more points in the whole 3 game series. ‘The difference in a close series like that is the discipline with the little things, a missed box out here and a 50/50 ball there. The little things add up and when it’s a one possession game the team that was better at those things usually wins it, and that wasn’t us that series’, remembered Benjamin Burnham. He saved his best for last netting 46 points as he ranks that as his best personal game so far in his career.

The forward that names Lebron James, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, and Kevin Durant on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore had very special teammates as a rookie. One was so special with Buzz Anthony that he already has him as one of his 5 best teammates ever. Anthony is like a mini John Stockton who always seeks his teammates for buckets. The special hook ups between Burnham and Anthony were long and successful all season long. ‘The first thing that comes to mind is the first game of the season where he had a wide open fast break layup, but he saw me trailing and threw it off the backboard and I dunked it. That was when I realized we would have a fun year. My favorite thing he did on the court though was when I haven’t had a touch in a while and he would ask me what play I want to run to get me a touch, and when I would score it I just have to shoutout out my point guard Buzz’, said Benjamin Burnham. He and walking bucket Amir Hinton carried the team the whole season. How did they compliment each other best? ‘I think we complimented each other by not complimenting each other. We played so differently that teams couldn’t figure out how to guard us because of that. We weren’t just always in the pick and roll together where teams could figure out a coverage that could stop us’, expressed Benjamin Burnham. He was also able to observe many young German players make the next step and one of those was Fynn Lastring who took a NIL deal for next season. ‘Fynn is a good kid and a good basketball player. We had a solid relationship and he is a great get for New Mexico’, stated Benjamin Burnham. On the court he had an incredible season averaging 20/9/2 stats. He picked up Eurobasket player of the year, forward of the year, first team and imports team. What did this season mean to him? ‘This season meant a lot to me because I knew what I was capable of as an individual and I got to prove it this year and it was also important because of what I learned on and off the court’, stressed Benjamin Burnham. He had a solid NCAA career, but never averaged more than 11/4 in the NCAA. It isn’t typical for a player to explode like that and heighten his game to new levels like that, but it can be done. In college I always had a role in doing what the team needed and affecting the game in different ways, but I’ve always been an efficient scorer so when Coach Hendrik Gruehn trusted me to be one of the main offensive options I was ready’, said Benjamin Burnham. He scored in double figures in 34 of 36 games and scored 20 points or more 19 times. Besides his 46 point explosion he also had 32 points against Bremerhaven and 31 points a piece against Giessen and Bayreuth. He continues to improve step by step wince his first season in Charleston. ‘The steps were taken ever since I got to my first college, just learning what it takes to be a pro and always putting the work in so when it was my time, I was ready’, warned Benjamin Burnham.

The explosive scorer who rates his Mom as his GOAT and feels that they should of left the classic Coming To America movie alone with Eddie Murphy is a player that compares his game to Pascal Siakam mixed in with Kyle Korver. He can really do it all on the court, but is versatility really his biggest asset? ‘I think my biggest strength is my shooting, athleticism and playing hard. So if that is what you mean by versatility, then yes’, stressed Benjamin Burnham. He eclipsed 40% twice in the NCAA and shot 44% from outside in the German Pro A. He continued to work hard as a rookie working on a quicker release on catch and shoot and also working on shooting 3s off the dribble. He also stepped up his defensive game as a rookie adding 2 things that helped him be successful. ‘I just always gave effort and knew the tendencies of certain players so they were easier to guard’, remembered Benjamin Burnham. He also knows n what areas of his game he will be working on most so he will be even better prepared for season 2? ‘My on ball defense so I can be better when I switch onto shiftier guards and always working on my shooting and ballhandling’, added Benjamin Burnham. His stellar play in the Pro A was observed by many easyCredit BBL teams and according to online sources will get a new challenge in 2026-2027 and ball for Fiba Europe Cup winner Niners Chemnitz. It will be interesting to see if he can make the next step in the BBL. One guy who totally believes in his game is Joe Asberry who worked in the Artland Dragons organization last season and saw his ability flourish daily. He sees his talent as getting to the absolute top level. ‘Burnham’s game is NBA ready. His motor is second to none. He is fearless. Every time I saw him after my workout, I said, ‘please dunk on someone for me. I love dunks and I love your dunks’. He replied saying ‘I love dunks too. I got you’. I have a quick story. We went to a school in Vechta. We had a shoot out vs the kids. It was an event for my drug prevention program. I hit a few NBA range three’s from the Logo and of course I’m barking after every make. Great young talents Dominik Dolic and Ivan Volf also shot very well. Burnham was on fire. The kids loved them and I appreciate them so much. Burnham is humble and a good dude. His future in Europe is very bright’; warned NIL agent Joe Asberry