• College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships Website
Murray State senior guard Isaiah Canaan and Belmont senior guard Ian Clark, the 2012-13 OVC Co-Players of the Year, will be two of the eight participants in the 3-point competition at the State Farm® College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships held in Atlanta at this year's NCAA Men's Final Four.
The Hampton Hotels Men's 3-Point Championship will take place Thursday, Apr. 4 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga. – one of many festivities surrounding the 2013 Final Four.
The competition will be carried live on ESPN, featuring the respected broadcast team of Brad Nessler, Dan Dakich, Jimmy Dykes and Samantha Ponder.
Canaan, a 6-foot senior guard from Biloxi, was named the 2012 and 2013 Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Year and earned All-OVC honors all four seasons as a Racer. This season, Canaan averaged 21.8 points per game, which currently ranks No. 6 among NCAA scoring leaders. He sank an average of 3.03 treys per outing, which ranks 15th in the country. He is also the all-time leader in made 3-point baskets at Murray State and third all-time in the OVC with 304. Canaan also had a streak of 39 straight games (MSU record) to end his career with at least one made 3-point basket. He also made news in 2012 when he hit his first seven threes in a game at Austin Peay.
This week Canaan was named to the Lou Henson All-America team and more post-season awards are sure to come his way this spring after a stellar career at MSU. Canaan is one of only six players to get to 2,000 career points at Murray State and one of only 17 to do it in the OVC.
One of the all-time greats in Belmont history, Clark finished off his Bruin career in style by leading Belmont to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. All told, Clark was part of 102 victories, seven conference championships (four regular season, three tournament), a 57-5 conference record over his final three seasons, and a 20-game home court winning streak to close his career.
Individually, Clark broke numerous records, including becoming Belmont’s NCAA era career leader in points (1,920) and three-point field goals made (340). Clark also tallied a remarkable 102 double figure scoring games in 133 career starts. Had the 6-3 guard played his entire career in one conference (2010-12 Atlantic Sun, 2013 Ohio Valley), Clark would be the most-prolific three-point shooter in either the Atlantic Sun Conference or the Ohio Valley Conference.
As a senior, Clark took his game to new heights, ranking among the national leaders in three-point field goal percentage (.459), three-point field goals per game (3.09), field goal percentage among guards (.543), effective field goal percentage (.670) and true shooting percentage (.688). Among Clark’s eye-popping performances in 2012-13: a Great Alaska Shootout single-game record nine three-point field goals against Northeastern, a 10-for-10 shooting effort at Virginia Commonwealth, and - in consecutive OVC home victories over Southeast Missouri and UT Martin - 62 points on staggering 24-for-29 shooting. This latest honor adds to Clark’s impressive list of season accolades, including Naismith and Lou Henson National Player of the Year candidate, Lute Olson All-America, NABC All-District, Mid-Major All-America, OVC co-Player of the Year, OVC Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-OVC and OVC All-Tournament Team.