One of the players who ushered in a new era of dominance for NM State men's basketball in the late 1980s and early 1990s, William Benjamin helped the Aggies regain a reputation as one of the most fearsome squads in the nation. Through his tenure in the Crimson and White, Benjamin led NM State to a 95-30 overall mark which included a 55-17 mark in Big West action.
Each and every year Benjamin was associated with NM State, the Aggies made a trip to the postseason. NM State went to one NIT (1989) and a trio of NCAA Tournaments (1990, 1991 and 1992) with Benjamin on their side. A defensive menace and a long-range threat in the early days of college basketball's three-point line, Benjamin concluded his career with an accuracy rate of 40.9-percent (108-for-264) from long range - a career mark which is still the sixth-best among all Aggies.
At the time his career came to a close, his 209 steals were the most by any Aggie in the history of the program. That record stood for two decades and to this day he's one of only three NM State players with 200 or more steals to their credit.
In February of 2007, Benjamin was one of 21 individuals associated with NM State men's basketball who were named to the All-Century Team. Through he never received All-Big West accolades of any kind through his career, Benjamin's winning contributions did not go unnoticed by his teammates or the late head coach Neil McCarthy.
Today, basketball remains one of the focal points of Benjamin's life. He has constructed one of the finest boy's basketball powerhouses in the state of New Mexico through his tenure as the head coach at Las Cruces High School.
In 2013 and 2019 Benjamin was voted NMpreps Coach of the Year and in 2020 he was the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year. In a 13-year period under the direction of Benjamin, the Bulldawgs have won eight district championships and a pair of state championships. He has constructed one of the finest boy's basketball powerhouses in the state of New Mexico and in 2022 Las Cruces High School was recognized by MaxPreps as the number-one basketball program in the state.
