Benoit Benjamin Weighs In at 272 : Clipper Center Has Put On 26 Pounds During Off-Season

Benoit Benjamin, the Clippers’ 7-foot center, thinks he bulked up in the off-season. Coach Don Chaney thinks differently. He thinks Benjamin got fat.

Benjamin weighed in at 272 pounds Friday when he reported to training camp at Cal Poly Pomona. The Clippers want Big Ben to carry a larger load this season, but this isn’t exactly what they had in mind. They prefer that Refrigerators play other sports.

“Put another piece of cake in him and watch him explode,” teammate Cedric Maxwell said after one look at Benjamin. Not a bad line from a guy nicknamed Cornbread.

Last year, Benjamin weighed 255 pounds when he joined the Clippers after a contract dispute. He got down to 246 pounds at the end of the 1985-86 season, his first in the National Basketball Assn.

Ah, but what a difference a summer makes--in this case, exactly 26 pounds.

“Evidently, he spent a great deal of his time this summer at the dinner table, rather than on the basketball court,” Chaney said.

“Benoit at 245 pounds is a very strong player. Benoit at 272 pounds is a fat player. Do you see any (muscle) definition on him? No, it’s just fat.

“You’d think that if he were thinking about having a great year, he would have worked hard to get his weight down. Right now, he’s going to struggle in camp.

“I have super-high expectations for him. That’s why I’m disappointed. This team revolves around Benoit.”

Chaney’s comments didn’t appear to weigh heavily on Benjamin.

“Most of my weight is liquid,” Benjamin said. “I’ll say that I’ll be about 250 pounds by the time the season starts.”

He didn’t say which season.

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Clipper Notes

Michael Brooks, a 6-7, 210-pound forward who was the Clippers’ first-round draft pick in 1980 out of LaSalle and who has been sidelined since he injured his right knee Feb. 4, 1984, has been given a tryout. Brooks, 28, is a free agent, but the Clippers are considering signing him if he’s fully recovered. He had played in 293 consecutive games before the injury. . . . Free-agent guard Darnell Valentine, who is involved in a contract dispute, was a no-show. The Herald Examiner reported Friday that the Clippers were trying to trade Valentine to the Washington Bullets for point guard Leon Wood, the former Cal State Fullerton star. However, the deal has apparently fallen through. “I’m not very confident of anything happening,” said Alan Rothenberg, Clipper president. “We don’t have enough room under the salary cap for Wood’s contract.” . . . Guard Lancaster Gordon injured his left hamstring in drills and sat out the second half of the morning practice. . . . Tim Kempton, 6-10 rookie forward from Notre Dame, missed practice because of an irregular heartbeat and will be examined by a doctor.