21   Benson Callier
	Class: Sophomore Hometown: St. Petersburg, Fla. High School: George Junior (Pa.) Republic Height / Weight: 6-6 / 204 Position: Guard Birthdate: 01/26/1983 Experience: 2 VL

ON CALLIER: Has improved his game tremendously during his two-year tenure under Leonard Hamilton at Florida State...has played in 30 games during his Seminole career including 15 Atlantic Coast Conference games...his abilities allow Florida State to pick up its level on the defensive end of the court and help the team sustain its effort on defense...played just one full season of varsity basketball in high school...played the best game of his two-year career as a freshman at North Carolina as he scored a career-high 13 points, on a career-high five field goals made, a career-high three 3-point field goals made and pulled down a career-high six rebounds as Florida State nearly won in Chapel Hill for the third time since the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1991-92...scored his points in bunches...six points against Georgia Tech in Atlanta came on two 3-point shots within 15 seconds of each other in the second half...three points in four minutes played against Savannah State...five points in five minutes against Stetson and three points in five minutes against Wagner as a sophomore...

AS A SOPHOMORE (2004): Averaged 1.4 points (12th on the team) and 1.1 rebounds (12th) as he averaged 4.8 minutes while playing in 11 games...played in eight of Florida State's first nine games and in two ACC contests as a sophomore...established single-season career-highs for field goal shooting percentage (.385) and free throw shooting percentage (.667) while tying his single-game career-highs for 3-point field goal percentage (1.000 vs. Wagner), offensive rebounds (one at Stetson and at NC State), assists (one against Georgetown College) and steals (two against Nicholls State)...best game of the season came at Stetson (Dec. 30) when he scored five points on a career-high tying three free throws made in the Seminoles victory over the Hatters...earned a season-high 11 minutes of playing time in Florida State's victory over Nicholls State (Nov. 26)...scored four points as he made a season-high of two field goals against the Colonels...pulled down his season-high of three rebounds and earned a career-high tying two steals against Nicholls as the Seminoles improved to 3-0 on the season...played 31 minutes and scored six points in Florida State's first four games of the season...one important first half minute against Miami helped the Seminoles recover from as much as a six point deficit to pull within four at halftime...The Seminoles won the game, 67-58, on the road against the future ACC member...totaled three points and two rebounds in five minutes of play against Wagner during the second round of the University of Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic...hit his only 3-point shot of the season against the Seahawks...was four-of-six from the line for a career-high .667 shooting percentage...(vs. Maryland) averaged 0.0 points and 0.0 rebounds in one game played against NCAA Tournament participant Maryland...earned one minute of playing time in the first half as the Seminoles defeated the No. 24 ranked Terps in Tallahassee (Dec. 28)...(vs. NC State) averaged 0.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in one game played against NCAA Tournament participant NC State...scored one point and pulled down three rebounds against the Wolfpack in Raleigh (Feb. 10)...

AS A FRESHMAN (2003): Averaged 1.7 points (ninth on the team) and 1.4 rebounds (eighth) as he averaged 5.8 minutes played per game in 19 games...grew to be a much better player as the season progressed and he became more comfortable with head coach Leonard Hamilton's system...established career highs in points (13), field goals made (5), field goals attempted (11), 3-point field goals made (3), 3-point field goals attempted (4), defensive rebounds (5), rebounds (6) and minutes played (20) against North Carolina (Feb. 8)...earned four minutes of playing time in his first career game and scored three points against Savannah State (Nov. 24)...was three of four from the free throw line against the Tigers...after missing his first attempt from the line, he made three consecutive with one second remaining in the game...made his first career field goal in his second career game against Mercer (Nov. 27) as he scored two points in six minutes played during the Florida State victory...first career made shot came on a dunk to give the Seminoles a 77-40 lead late in the second half against the Bears...scored six points on a career-high two 3-point field goals made and added his first career assist in only two minutes played against Georgia Tech Jan. 14...(vs. Clemson) averaged 1.0 point and 0.5 rebounds in two games against Clemson...two minutes of playing time as Florida State defeated Clemson, 60-59, in Tallahassee (Jan. 21)...two minutes of playing time came in the first half...two points and one rebound in nine minutes of playing time as the Seminoles played at Clemson (Feb. 22)...(vs. Duke) Averaged 0.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in one game against ACC champion and NCAA tournament participant Duke...two rebounds in 11 minutes played in his first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium as a member of the Seminoles (March 6)...his 11 minutes played in the final regular season game were tied for his second highest minute total during his freshman season...(vs. Georgia Tech) averaged 6.0 points and 0.0 rebounds in one game against NIT participant Georgia Tech...six points on a perfect two-of-two from the 3-point line during the second half...his two 3-point shots came within 15 seconds of each other at the end of the game...his first with 30 seconds remaining drew the Seminoles to within eight at 76-68...his second with 15 seconds remaining brought the Seminoles within seven at 78-71...his six points and two 3-point field goals he the second most in both categories for his first season...also credited with his first career assist against the Yellow Jackets...(vs. Maryland) averaged 1.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in three games against NCAA Tournament participant Maryland...pulled down four rebounds (tied for the second highest of his freshman season) in eight minutes of play as the Seminoles traveled to College Park in his first career ACC road game (Jan. 11)...scored two points and pulled down two rebounds in 11 minutes as Florida State nearly upset the 12th-ranked Terps in Tallahassee (Feb. 12)...his two points came on a layup with 12:39 remaining to tie the game at 48-48...basket came during a four minute span as the Seminoles were either tied or within one of the highly ranked Terps...(vs. North Carolina) averaged 6.5 points and 0.5 rebounds in two games against NIT participant North Carolina...scored his career-high of 13 points and pulled down his career-high of six rebounds as the Seminoles nearly defeated the Tar Heels (Feb. 8)...scored four points in eight minutes during the first half and nine points in 12 minutes during the second half...made a career-high three 3-pointers in the final 13 minutes of the game as the Seminoles fought back from as much as an eight-point deficit in the second half...first 3-pointer with 13:01 remaining tied the game at 44...second 3-pointer put Florida State up by two at 52-50 with 7:41 remaining...third trey put the Seminoles up by one at 60-59 with 0:49 seconds remaining...pulled down one rebound in one minute of play against North Carolina in Tallahassee in his first career ACC game (Dec. 22)...(vs. NC State) averaged 0.5 points and 0.0 rebounds in two games against NCAA Tournament participant NC State...one point on one-of-two free throws against NC State in Tallahassee (Jan. 18)...0 points and 0 rebounds as the Seminoles traveled to play in Raleigh (Feb. 18)...(vs. Virginia) averaged 0.5 points and 1.0 rebounds in two games against NIT participant Virginia...scoreless in two minutes against Virginia in Charlottesville (Jan. 29)...one point on one-of-two free throws and two rebounds as the Seminoles defeated the Cavaliers in Tallahassee, 73-59...free throw shot gave Florida State a 52-41 lead with 10:02 remaining in the victory...(vs. Wake Forest) averaged 0.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in one game against ACC regular season champion and NCAA Tournament participant Wake Forest...one rebound in four minutes played as the Seminoles played in Winston-Salem (Jan. 26)...

HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from George Junior Republic High School in Grove City, Pa., in 2002...GJR is a boarding school with about 500 male students located 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh...averaged a double-double of 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots in leading GJR to a 22-3 record and into the state playoffs...earned first team big-school all-state honors (Class 3A and 4A)...named Most Valuable Player of the Mercer County Conference...also named MVP of the Pennsylvania-Ohio All-Star game during which he scored a game record 31 points...the head coach of the Pennsylvania All-Star team was Bob McConnell - his high school coach...his dunk arsenal is said to be Jordan-esque...a tremendous athlete, who makes shots, grabs rebounds and gets up and down the floor in transition well...considered to be the best player in the Western half of the state of Pennsylvania...has the athletic and basketball ability to play all five positions and play them well...Callier is the only player who participated in the All-Star game to sign with an Atlantic Coast Conference school...helped lead GJR to the semifinals of the state District 10 Class 4A tournament...played the best game of his senior season as he scored 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots against Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary and its standout player, LeBaron James...James had appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated just weeks before the game in February 2002...two of Callier's blocks came against James in a game attended by more than 7,000 fans...St. Vincent-St. Mary was the No. 6 ranked prep team in the nation at the time of the game...GJR won the game, 58-57, in overtime at Youngstown State University...scored 14 points as GJR defeated Central Erie and added 24 points as the Tigers defeated Sharon High School...his career-high of 42 came against Warren G. Harding High School in a 98-73 GJR victory on Jan. 26, 2002...scored 30 or more points four times and recorded 14 double-doubles during his senior season...scored in double figures in all but two games during his senior season...attended Lakewood High School during the 1997-98 season and was a member of the junior varsity team as a freshman...attended Bradenton Southeast and Gibbs high schools in St. Petersburg in 1998-99...scored 21 points and grabbed his career-high of 18 rebounds against Williamsport...tied his career of 18 rebounds to go along with 14 points against Erie Prep in the state playoffs...

PERSONAL: Born Jan. 26, 1983...Benson is the son of Patsy and Thomas Powell...also credits a grandmother, Kate Callier, with helping him succeed...among his mentors are Pat and Anthony Lawrence who help him move him toward success...selected Florida State over Cincinnati, Auburn and Xavier...

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