Jack Benter and Aaron Fine start Purdue connection with Indiana All-Stars

INDIANAPOLIS – Aaron Fine knew Jack Benter was special nearly a decade ago. The two met in third grade during an AAU basketball tournament over the weekend, and Fine said his first impression was that Benter had the potential to be the “missing piece” any team needs.

Annex A?

“We played a team that used to kick us, but I remember beating them in the championship game,” Fine said. “It just started something between us.”

Exhibit B?

There were 90 seconds left in the first half of the Indiana All-Stars-Kentucky game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, and Indiana was ahead 40-31. Benter won the starting spot, but has only scored five points so far.

“We take it personally.” No technical difficulties this time as All-Stars beat Kentucky

At halftime, Indiana led Kentucky 50-31 thanks to eight quick points from Benter and a dunk from 2024 IndyStar Mr. Basketball Flory Bidunga of Kokomo. Benter capped off his scoring streak by ending the first half with a 3-pointer from midcourt.

The Brownstown Central star and Purdue recruit smiled after the game as he recalled the celebration with his teammates that ensued at midcourt after he hit the 3.

“I got my first bucket and kept trying,” Benter said. “They kept giving me clues… After I got one or two right, the goal got bigger and bigger.”

Benter finished with 16 points, helping lead Indiana to a 92-89 victory over their neighboring opponents.

Indiana All-Stars coach John Peckinpaugh had already watched some of Benter’s tape, but said he gained a new level of appreciation for Benter’s talent when he met the Brownstown Central standout. Peckinpaugh described Benter as someone who is smart, can make all the plays and someone who brings a calming presence.

Standing in a locker next to Indiana’s locker room at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Benter also recalled playing alongside Fine in an AAU tournament when he was a third-grader. In fact, he said that weekend’s games were the first he had played at the AAU level.

Now that their high school careers are officially over, he and Fine are ready to begin the next chapter of their shared journey.

“He meets with me a lot, so I hope to see that at Purdue,” Benter said. “Indiana basketball is just different. I feel like (Purdue) is the best culture there is in college basketball. They say they’re not promising anything, so you have to come in every day fighting for a spot.”

Although Benter and Fine have already moved to the Purdue campus, the two roommates officially begin working with the Boilermakers on Sunday. Just as Benter said, Fine knows there is perhaps no state that embodies the spirit of basketball more than Indiana, and perhaps no program in the state lives that truth more than Purdue.

“Indiana is the best basketball state in the country,” said Fine, the Noblesville guard who will be Purdue’s preferred walk-on. “Nobody can argue with me, they can try, but there’s no way Indiana isn’t the best… Indiana players have a special talent to them. They’re tough, and Purdue is a tough team.

“We’re coming to the championship. We’re going to try to get back to where we were last year. Me, Jack and all the other freshmen are going to work as hard as we can to help build this culture that’s already so good.”

Ben Davis guard KJ Windham hasn’t known Benter as long as Fine, but he and Benter have managed to form a friendship over the past two years as Indiana All-Stars teammates.

“We all saw Jack,” added Ben Davis guard KJ Windham. “… We expect that from him… He’s one of those players that has the ability to go out and get 25, 30, get 40 in some games if he wants… He’s a complete package.”

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at KSmedley@Gannett.com or via @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Jack Benter and Aaron Fine start Purdue connection with Indiana All-Stars