Ryan Hawkins
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
O'Connell & Hawkins To Represent Men's Basketball in New Orleans
3/29/2022 12:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Alex O'Connell to be in 3-Point Shootout; Hawkins in 3v3U Competition
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- A pair of Creighton men's basketball seniors will put their talents on display this week in New Orleans, site of this weekend's Final Four. Alex O'Connell has been selected to the TaxAct Men's 3-Point Championship roster for the 33rd annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships on Thursday, while Ryan Hawkins will participate in the 2022 Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, scheduled for April 1-3.
The 3-Point Championship that includes O'Connell will be hosted at Xavier University of Louisiana's Convention Center on Thursday, March 31. He is one of eight men selected for the event, which airs live on ESPN at 8 p.m. CT.
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Intersport, producers of the event, invites 24 of the nation's elite men's and women's college basketball players to compete for slam dunk and 3-point shooting bragging rights. The night features the Great Clips Slam Dunk Championship, the TaxAct Men's 3-Point Championship, the Rocket Mortgage Women's 3-Point Shooting Championship and the Applebee's Team Shootout. The winners of the TaxAct Men's and Rocket Mortgage Women's 3-Point Championships will then compete in the State Farm Battle of the Champions.
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For more than 30 years, several of the top players in college basketball have competed in the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships including: Gary Payton, Steve Nash, Jason Terry, Kyle Korver, Bobby Hurley, Michael Finley, Allan Houston, Wesley Matthews, Yogi Ferrell, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Gearlds, Kristi Toliver, Tiffany Hayes and Ariel Atkins.
O'Connell will be the fifth Creighton player in the last 20 years to take part in the men's three-point contest. but first since 2018. Kyle Korver finished second in the 2003 competition to Butler guard Darnell Archey, while Booker Woodfox did not advance to the semifinals in the 2009 competition won by Miami's Jack McClinton. Ethan Wragge placed fifth in the 2014 competition won by Baylor's Brady Heslip. Most recently, Marcus Foster didn't advance out of the quarterfinal round in the 2018 shootout, won by Connor Burchfield from William and Mary. Notably, Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Kathy Halligan won the 1992 women's three-point contest.
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A complete roster of participants in the 2022 State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships will be released in the days leading up to the event.
O'Connell averaged 11.8 points per game as a senior in 2021-22 for a Creighton team that went 23-12 and reached the Second Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He made a career-high 66 three-pointers this past season and owns 152 career trifectas. O'Connell made a career-high six three-pointers on Jan. 19 in a win vs. St. John's, which also saw him accumulate a career-best 28 points.
From April 1-3, Hawkins takes the floor for the 2022 Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, scheduled for April 1-3 at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans.
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Sixty-four players, who have elected to begin their professional careers, will represent all 32 Division I conferences and compete for their share of $150,000 – one of the largest prize purses at any FIBA 3x3 sanctioned events – by teaming up with other aspiring pro prospects from around the country. Each conference will be paired with another, forming 16 four-man rosters that will be separated into four pools. Hawkins is one of four players that will be part of the Beast Coast Ballers, a team composed of players from the BIG EAST and the Atlantic-10 Conferences. A full list of participants has not yet been announced.
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Teams will play each squad in their respective pool on April 1 and 2 before all 16 will head to the knockout stage on April 3, with the top two teams from each pool receiving byes to the quarterfinals. The winning team from each pool play game will win $1,000, victories in the first two knockout rounds will net another $1,000, a quarterfinal win is worth $5,000, a semifinal triumph is another $10,000, while the team that takes home the Tournament title will add $50,000 to their winnings.Â
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The paired conferences, and their respective pools, can be found below:
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Hawkins led Creighton with 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in his lone season as a Bluejay, earning Second Team All-BIG EAST and USBWA All-District 6 accolades. He ranks first among active Division I players with 1,220 career rebounds and 927 field goals made, second with 2,580 points, fifth with 41 double-doubles, seventh with 363 three-point field goals and 11th with 257 steals.
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This year, the Tournament will once again receive non-stop coverage via Twitter and on ESPN networks. Every second of the 2022 Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship will be available to a national audience beginning with pool play games on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, and knockout rounds on Sunday, April 3.Â
Kyle Montgomery, the voice of FIBA 3x3, and Robbie Hummel, current ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst, will be behind the mic calling games all weekend long. Tate Frazier and Mark Titus of the Titus & Tate Podcast will also suit up as the hosts of the Dos Equis Lounge to provide commentary, postgame interviews and more over the three-day experience.
Â
Through the first three years of the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, at least 200 players that have participated in the event have signed professional contracts.
The 3-Point Championship that includes O'Connell will be hosted at Xavier University of Louisiana's Convention Center on Thursday, March 31. He is one of eight men selected for the event, which airs live on ESPN at 8 p.m. CT.
Â
Intersport, producers of the event, invites 24 of the nation's elite men's and women's college basketball players to compete for slam dunk and 3-point shooting bragging rights. The night features the Great Clips Slam Dunk Championship, the TaxAct Men's 3-Point Championship, the Rocket Mortgage Women's 3-Point Shooting Championship and the Applebee's Team Shootout. The winners of the TaxAct Men's and Rocket Mortgage Women's 3-Point Championships will then compete in the State Farm Battle of the Champions.
Â
For more than 30 years, several of the top players in college basketball have competed in the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships including: Gary Payton, Steve Nash, Jason Terry, Kyle Korver, Bobby Hurley, Michael Finley, Allan Houston, Wesley Matthews, Yogi Ferrell, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Gearlds, Kristi Toliver, Tiffany Hayes and Ariel Atkins.
O'Connell will be the fifth Creighton player in the last 20 years to take part in the men's three-point contest. but first since 2018. Kyle Korver finished second in the 2003 competition to Butler guard Darnell Archey, while Booker Woodfox did not advance to the semifinals in the 2009 competition won by Miami's Jack McClinton. Ethan Wragge placed fifth in the 2014 competition won by Baylor's Brady Heslip. Most recently, Marcus Foster didn't advance out of the quarterfinal round in the 2018 shootout, won by Connor Burchfield from William and Mary. Notably, Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Kathy Halligan won the 1992 women's three-point contest.
Â
A complete roster of participants in the 2022 State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships will be released in the days leading up to the event.
O'Connell averaged 11.8 points per game as a senior in 2021-22 for a Creighton team that went 23-12 and reached the Second Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He made a career-high 66 three-pointers this past season and owns 152 career trifectas. O'Connell made a career-high six three-pointers on Jan. 19 in a win vs. St. John's, which also saw him accumulate a career-best 28 points.
From April 1-3, Hawkins takes the floor for the 2022 Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, scheduled for April 1-3 at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans.
Â
Sixty-four players, who have elected to begin their professional careers, will represent all 32 Division I conferences and compete for their share of $150,000 – one of the largest prize purses at any FIBA 3x3 sanctioned events – by teaming up with other aspiring pro prospects from around the country. Each conference will be paired with another, forming 16 four-man rosters that will be separated into four pools. Hawkins is one of four players that will be part of the Beast Coast Ballers, a team composed of players from the BIG EAST and the Atlantic-10 Conferences. A full list of participants has not yet been announced.
Â
Teams will play each squad in their respective pool on April 1 and 2 before all 16 will head to the knockout stage on April 3, with the top two teams from each pool receiving byes to the quarterfinals. The winning team from each pool play game will win $1,000, victories in the first two knockout rounds will net another $1,000, a quarterfinal win is worth $5,000, a semifinal triumph is another $10,000, while the team that takes home the Tournament title will add $50,000 to their winnings.Â
Â
The paired conferences, and their respective pools, can be found below:
Â
| Pool A Big East/A-10 (Beast Coast Ballers) American/C-USA (American Made) Ivy/Patriot (Wicked Smahts) America East/MAAC (Metro East Mayhem) |
Pool B Big Ten/MAC (#B1GMACtion) SEC/SoCon (Dirty South) ASUN/Sun Belt (SUNs of Anarchy) Summit/OVC (Summit Valley Oop'n) |
| Pool C Big 12/Southland (Southwest Souljas) Horizon/MVC (Horizon Valley Hoopers) Big Sky/Big West (Western Sky-Walkers) MEAC/SWAC (HBC-U Don't Want None) |
Pool D Pac-12/WCC (B-Ball After Dark (B.A.D.) Boys) ACC/Big South (Tobacco Road Ryders) MWC/WAC (Rocky Mountain Range) CAA/NEC (Colonial Con-NEC-tion) |
Hawkins led Creighton with 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in his lone season as a Bluejay, earning Second Team All-BIG EAST and USBWA All-District 6 accolades. He ranks first among active Division I players with 1,220 career rebounds and 927 field goals made, second with 2,580 points, fifth with 41 double-doubles, seventh with 363 three-point field goals and 11th with 257 steals.
Â
This year, the Tournament will once again receive non-stop coverage via Twitter and on ESPN networks. Every second of the 2022 Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship will be available to a national audience beginning with pool play games on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, and knockout rounds on Sunday, April 3.Â
Kyle Montgomery, the voice of FIBA 3x3, and Robbie Hummel, current ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst, will be behind the mic calling games all weekend long. Tate Frazier and Mark Titus of the Titus & Tate Podcast will also suit up as the hosts of the Dos Equis Lounge to provide commentary, postgame interviews and more over the three-day experience.
Â
Through the first three years of the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, at least 200 players that have participated in the event have signed professional contracts.
Players Mentioned
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