Three Players Commit to Men’s Basketball Roster for 2024-25 Season

Canisius head men's basketball coach Jim Christian announced today (May 14) that three players with previous NCAA Division I experience have committed to join the Golden Griffin men's basketball program for the 2024-25 season.

Anthony Benard, who spent the 2023-24 campaign at Mercer, will join the Griffs next season with three years of eligibility remaining. Tana Kopa, a native of Perth, Western Australia, played at LIU last season and has one year of eligibility remaining, Paul McMillan IV comes to Canisius after spending the 2023-24 campaign at Central Michigan with two years of eligibility remaining.

Benard, a 6-foot, 170-pound guard, played 27 games and made 20 starts at Mercer last season. A native of Detroit, Mich, Benard 2.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.2 rebounds per game while averaging 16.8 minutes per contest. He scored a season-high 11 points against Chattanooga on Jan. 17 and he closed out the season with multiple assists in 13 games, highlighted by his season-best six assists in the team's win over Florida Gulf Coast.

In high school, Benard was a four-year starter and a three-time team captain at Grosse Pointe South where he earned all-league honors four times and was named the conference's MVP following his senior season in 2022-23. Ann all-state selection by the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, the Associated Press and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, Benard graduated from Grosse Point South as the school's all-time leader in career points (1,464), 3-point field goals made (189), assists (296), steals (229) and games started (83).

"Anthony comes from a basketball family, and as the son of a coach, he possesses a tremendous understanding of the point guard position," Christian said. "He joins our program with a great level of Division I experience, having played in 27 games last season at Mercer. We are excited to have him as a member of our Canisius basketball family."

Kopa played in 29 games last season at LIU, where he ranked third on the Sharks' roster and 15th in the Northeast Conference (NEC) with his 12.0 points per game scoring average. The 6-foot-6, 178-pound swingman scored in double-figures 19 times, which included a stretch in league play in January where he was good for 20-or more points in three-straight contests. A threat from behind the 3-point arc, Kopa made 61 treys last season, and his 2.1 3-pointers per game ranked fourth-best in the NEC. He was also good for 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game for LIU, where he averaged 32.3 minutes per game.

Prior to joining the LIU program, Kopa played 52 career games during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. There, he was good for 13.9 point and 3.5 rebounds per game, highlighted by his 18.5 points per game scoring average during the 2022-23 campaign.

"Tana is a mature player that understands the game," Christian said. "He is both a proven shooter and proven scorer at the Division I level. He possesses great length and his desire to improve on his game will make us successful at Canisius."

McMillan IV played in 31 games last season at Central Michigan, where he averaged 8.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 36.9 percent from the field and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line. He posted 10-or more points in 10 games, and in three contests, he scored 20-plus points, highlighted by his career-high 25-point effort in an overtime win over Eastern Michigan on the final day of the regular season. In that game, he also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and dished out six assists, as he scored 13 of the Chippewas' final 15 points in the victory.

Prior to joining the Central Michigan program, McMillan spent the 2022-23 campaign on the roster at NJIT, where he appeared in 25 contests. There, he averaged 5.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while averaging 17.0 minutes per outing. A 2022 graduate of Wooward Technical High School in Cincinnati, he was named Ohio's Gatorade State Player of the Year and Ohio's Division II Co-Player of the Year following the 2021-22 season. He scored 2,658 career points in high school, the sixth-most in Ohio High school basketball history, highlighted by his 31.3 points per game scoring average during his senior season. Rated the No. 126 best recruit in the nation in 2022 by Rivals.com, he was also Woodward's Valedictorian.

"Paul comes from a great basketball family, and is a proven lead guard who has had success everywhere he has been," Christian said. "He is the type of player who can score and also make his teammates around him better. He will provide much-needed leadership and he will add veteran presence to our backcourt. We are excited to add a player of his caliber to our program."

With the addition of these three Division I transfers, Christian has signed seven new players to the Canisius roster for the 2024-25 campaign.

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