Clemons Time: Camels' Big Scorer Didn't Quite Get Over Dominant Hump
Campbell's Chris Clemons (30 ppg) cruised to national scoring title this past campaign by three points. But the Camels' gifted guard isn't among the most dominant point producers in NCAA history. Two years ago, he finished runner-up to Central Michigan guard Marcus Keene (30 ppg) when he became the first Mid-American Conference player since Bowling Green guard Howard Komives (36.7 in 1963-64) to lead the nation in scoring.
Keene, the most dominant scorer in single season thus far in 21st Century, is only the eighth different individual to pace the country by more than 4.8 ppg in scoring average in the first 72 campaigns since the NCAA began tracking this category in the late 1940s. His entry into the NBA draft as an undergraduate squandered an opportunity to emerge as the only dominating point producer in this select company other than all-time leading scorer Pete Maravich (three of six widest margins with LSU from 1967-68 through 1969-70) to make the following list more than once:
NCAA DI Leading Scorer | Season | National Scoring Runner-Up | Scoring Margin |
---|---|---|---|
Pete Maravich, Louisiana State (44.2) | 1968-69 | Rick Mount, Purdue (33.3) | 10.87 ppg |
Frank Selvy, Furman (41.7) | 1953-54 | Bob Pettit, Louisiana State (31.4) | 10.29 ppg |
Hersey Hawkins, Bradley (36.3) | 1987-88 | Daren Queenan, Lehigh (28.5) | 7.84 ppg |
Pete Maravich, Louisiana State (44.5) | 1969-70 | Austin Carr, Notre Dame (38.1) | 6.41 ppg |
Marshall Rogers, Pan American (36.8) | 1975-76 | Freeman Williams, Portland State (30.9) | 5.87 ppg |
Pete Maravich, Louisiana State (43.8) | 1967-68 | Calvin Murphy, Niagara (38.2) | 5.6 ppg |
Billy McGill, Utah (38.8) | 1961-62 | Jack Foley, Holy Cross (33.3) | 5.5 ppg |
Charles Jones, Long Island (30.1) | 1996-97 | Ed Gray, California (24.8) | 5.33 ppg |
Kevin Bradshaw, U.S. International (37.6) | 1990-91 | Alphonso Ford, Mississippi Valley State (32.7) | 4.96 ppg |
Marcus Keene, Central Michigan (30) | 2016-17 | Chris Clemons, Campbell (25.1) | 4.86 ppg |