Baron Added To Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championship
MAAC Sports
Standout guard Billy Baron of Canisius College has been added to the field for the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championship, to be held April 3 at Southern Methodist University’s Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Intersport announced today. The 26th annual event, which will be broadcast live on ESPN at 9 p.m., features 24 of college basketball’s top dunkers and long-range shooters.
Baron, the 2014 Pepsi MAAC Player of the Year and a two-time All-MAAC First Team selection, replaces Virginia’s Joe Harris in the Quicken Loans Men’s 3-Point Championship. One of the top scorers in NCAA Division I this season, Baron ranked fourth with 24.1 points per game. Baron converted 107 three-point field goals to establish a Canisius single season record, and was tied for 12th among NCAA Division I players.
Baron is just the second player in Canisius basketball history to score more than 800 points in a season. He led the MAAC with 3.1 three-pointers made per game, and ranked fifth in the the conference in 2013-14 in three-point field goal percentage, converting 42.1 percent. In his two-year career at Canisius, Baron knocked down 173 shots from long-range, fourth in school history. Baron finished his career at Canisius shooting 40.5 percent from three-point range, ranking third in program history among players with 100 or more three-point field goals.
A 2014 Bob Cousy Award finalist, Baron also dished out a team-high 180 assists in 2013-14, making him just the third player in the program’s 110-year history to distribute 150 or more assists in consecutive seasons. Earlier this week, the East Greenwich, R.I. native became just the fourth player in school history to earn Associated Press All-America (honorable mention) honors.
Individual elements of the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships include: Quicken Loans Men’s 3-Point Championship, Buick Women’s 3-Point Championship, Echo Battle of the Champions and Denny’s Slam Dunk Championship. Outstanding State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships alumni include: Gary Payton (Oregon State), Steve Nash (Santa Clara), Bobby Hurley (Duke), Allan Houston (Tennessee), Michael Finley (Wisconsin), Wesley Matthews (Marquette), Kyle Korver (Creighton), Damon Stoudamire (Arizona) and Jason Terry (Arizona). Baron’s older brother, Jimmy Baron, also participated in the 3-Point Championship after his senior season at Rhode Island in 2009.
For more information, visit www.collegeslam.com, like the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/collegeslam and follow the championships on Twitter (@CollegeSlam).