McClanahan is Big West Player of the Week, and on a memorable list of UH buzzer-beaters
JoVon McClanahan’s heroic performance in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic was rewarded with the Big West Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award on Monday.
McClanahan, a 5-foot-10 junior point guard, averaged 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the Rainbow Warriors’ three victories in the Diamond Head Classic. Most important, Hawai’i won the tournament championship for the first time in the 14-year history of the event.
McClanahan drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining to lead the Warriors past SMU, 58-57, in the dramatic championship game. Earlier in the tournament, he scored a career-high 17 points in a win over Pepperdine. He also became the first Hawai’i player to earn the Most Outstanding Player award for the Diamond Head Classic.
It is the first career BWC Player of the Week award for McClanahan, and the first this season for a Hawai’i players. Two Warriors received it last season – Junior Madut and Noel Coleman.
McClanahan’s buzzer-beater suddenly etched his name in UH basketball lore. His dramatic shot and the jubilant celebration that ensued recalled memories of past Hawai’i basketball heroics. McClanahan can now join this list:
• Tes Whitlock hit a desperation shot while retrieving a loose ball in the corner to give Hawai’i a 73-70 win over then-conference-rival Brigham Young on February 16, 1995.
• Trevor Ruffin banked in a running 3-pointer from the top of the key as the final horn sounded to give Hawai’i a 69-66 over Brigham Young on January 22, 1994 – the team’s final season using the Neal S. Blaisdell
• Bobby Nash drained a 25-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Hawai’i a 55-54 victory over Oral Roberts in the semifinals of the 2004 Rainbow Classic. The Warriors would go on to beat USC in the championship game the next night.
• Joston Thomas scored on a driving layup with 0.8 seconds remaining in overtime to lift Hawai’i to an 84-82 upset win over No. 14 Xavier in the consolation bracket of the 2011 Diamond Head Classic.
• Carl English made a running bank shot with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime at Tulsa in the championship game of the 2001 WAC Tournament. The Warriors would go on to win it in overtime, earning an improbable spot in the NCAA Tournament.
