Play Makers
History-setting, team-leading, record-breaking collegiate players. Get the lowdown on 417-land’s top five college athletes.
By Tiesha Miller
(page 1 of 5)
You have to be a little more than a solid athlete in high school to earn a spot on a collegiate sports team, especially in 417-land where we have nationally ranked programs, Division I titles and a healthy amount of local talent. To whittle down the athletes to a top five, we were quick to consult those who have been in the area and involved in the sportive world for many years. Each of the athletes we settled on are all coincidently Missouri natives. Each, not so coincidentally, is known for awe-inspiring play. They set records, they lead their teams, and they’re known to turn it up in the clutch. And each has already made his or her mark in our little corner of Missouri. Blake Ahearn
COLLEGE: Missouri StateMAJOR: Business marketing
YEAR: Senior
Blake Ahearn doesn’t look like a powerhouse basketball player. He doesn’t have a dominating size, and he doesn’t look necessarily different than any other guy out on the Missouri State court. He’s just another 6-foot-2-inch guard. But you see, he has this shot. This lofted, floating, suddenly sinking, all-net free throw shot. And with that, he sits to become the best free throw shooter in the history of college basketball. Any level. Any team. The NCAA does not list all-time record categories that include active players. Ahearn will not be eligible for any NCAA all-time records until his career at MSU is completed. As he sits now, the record looks to belong to MSU’s No. 15. He ended the ’05–’06 season leading the NCAA Division I with .936 accuracy from the line. Ahearn, a senior, is still looking to seal up his spot as the first person in DI history to lead an individual statistical category four years in a row. “No coach anywhere has ever had a better free throw shooter,” says MSU head coach Barry Hinson. “No question, it’s extremely surreal. Nobody in their right mind could have ever predicted what he was going to do from the free throw line. He practiced. He still practices. He’s very obsessive compulsive, and I say that in a positive way.” Hinson has a policy never to talk to players about chances beyond college basketball until after graduation, but says Ahearn, who is a St. Louis native, definitely has the opportunity to play in European professional leagues.
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