Be cool, stay in school

May 8 is the NCAA deadline for underclassmen who have declared for the NBA draft (and haven’t yet hired an agent) to withdraw their names and return for another year of college ball.

Oakland University junior Keith Benson, a Farmington Hills native who prepped at Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day, doesn’t have to worry about making any last-minute decisions.

Benson, who declared (and wisely didn’t hire an agent) April 16, withdrew his name April 30 after a routine medical exam revealed that he needs surgery to strengthen a ligament in his thumb, according to a statement released by Oakland.

So rather than risk further injury to his thumb (and avoid scaring off teams potentially interested in drafting him), Benson is going to get fixed up and return to school.

That’s a smart decision.

Had he opted to get the surgery and remain in the draft, Benson would have missed crucial time to attend draft workouts and the lot.

That would have been a bad decision.

Benson definitely has a professional career ahead of him, but you only get one shot to be a first-round pick in the NBA (and sign a lucrative, long-term contract).

Remaining at Oakland and working on his game and his strength should only improve on his projected positioning from a borderline first-round/second-round pick.

The 6-foot-11 athletic center was named The Summit League Player of the Year and Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com this past junior season.

He was an absolute terror in the paint for opponents, leading the league in double-doubles (18) and setting single-season school records with 367 rebounds and 117 blocked shots - also league highs.

Benson helped lead the Grizzlies to the Summit League regular season and conference tournament titles and back into the NCAA Tournament.

He certainly made an impression on Oakland’s dance partner, the Pittsburgh Panthers, who game-planned around making Benson uncomfortable in the teams’ first-round pairing.

After the game, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon talked about how impressed he was by seeing Benson play in person, noting his rare combination of soft hands and athleticism.

Benson ended up leaving a significant imprint on the stat sheet as well, scoring a game-high 28 points while also recording nine rebounds.

But many of his points came from just outside the paint on jump shots and from the free-throw line. Proving that he can really assert himself in the post will help his draft stock. Benson needs to work on his strength, something he’s said he plans on doing. You’ve got to be durable to survive in the NBA.

As for the surgery, Benson should be in good hands (Ha — get it? Thumb joke!). According to Oakland, his plan was to travel to Baltimore for the procedure to be performed by the same hand surgeon who operated on Shaquille O’Neal and several other NBA players. He should be back working out in a month or two.

So — two thumbs up for Keith Benson (even if he can only use one), who by the way recently received his bachelor’s degree from OU in integrative studies and will further his education with grad courses in architectural studies in the coming academic year.

Maybe he should add a finance course or two into his schedule, because he certainly seems on track to a big payday next summer.