Murray State University Athletics
Photo by: Tab Brockman
From His Knees! Canaan's Amazing Shot Stands The Test Of Time
3/30/2020 8:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Out of the many big wins and big shots the Murray State men's basketball has produced in its 95 seasons of collegiate basketball, one shot stands the test of time, if only from its oddity.
LISTEN: RUNNIN' WITH THE RACERS PODCAST WITH ISAIAH CANAAN
Isaiah Canaan's shot from his knees from near mid-court in 2010 was a feat featured on ESPN and SI.com as one of their shots of the day. It continues to be one of the most-viewed videos in MSU history, now seen more than 2.2 million times on youtube.com.
The game at the Regional Special Events Center (now the CFSB Center) was played on the night of Feb. 16, 2010 against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. With 4:41 remaining in the first half, Canaan was playing the point and had the ball knocked away with about seven seconds on the shot clock. He retreated to just inside the mid-court stripe, went to his knees, gathered the ball and let loose a two handed shot from his chest that went in. This surprising outcome wasn't what Canaan had in mind, but he was glad the way it worked out.
"The play broke down in some way and I had it at the end of the shot clock," Canaan explained from his home in Houston. "I was worried about making a play and probably frustrated about a few plays before that. My only thought was that I could not turn the ball over, or I am definitely about to come out of the game. My last resort was to shoot it at the rim and see what happened. I threw it at the rim, surprising I could even get it there."
Only a freshman at the time, Canaan's shot lives on in Racer lore and is almost certainly something we will never see again at Murray State. Â
The win for the Racers (80-68) and Coach Billy Kennedy, was their 16th straight in a time when they had the longest win streak in the nation. The Racers clinched the Ohio Valley Conference title that night and cut down the nets. MSU set a program record with 31 wins in the 2009-10 season and won their first NCAA Tournament game in 22 years when Danero Thomas hit a buzzer shot to beat Vanderbilt.
In 2018, Canaan was inducted into the Murray State Hall of Fame and had his No. 3 number retired. He is one of only six MSU players and one of only 17 in the OVC to reach 2,000 career points. He ranks fifth all-time at MSU with 2,050 points.
In the spring of 2020, Canaan is like every professional athlete in the world, he's sitting a home and waiting for the time when he can resume his career that was in its seventh season. He was having an outstanding season for the Sacramento Kings G-League team in Stockton, California. In 30 games, he was scoring 21.4 points per game and 6.1 assists. Since 2013, Canaan has 235 games in the NBA for the Rockets (who drafted him in 2013), Raptors, 76ers, Bulls, Suns, Timberwolves and Bucks. In 2018, he suffered what might've been a career-ending injury, but has successfully regained his form.
Canaan will turn 29 years old on May 21, a birthday he shares with Murray State great basketball and baseball hall of famer, Johnny Reagan.
LISTEN: RUNNIN' WITH THE RACERS PODCAST WITH ISAIAH CANAAN
Isaiah Canaan's shot from his knees from near mid-court in 2010 was a feat featured on ESPN and SI.com as one of their shots of the day. It continues to be one of the most-viewed videos in MSU history, now seen more than 2.2 million times on youtube.com.
The game at the Regional Special Events Center (now the CFSB Center) was played on the night of Feb. 16, 2010 against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. With 4:41 remaining in the first half, Canaan was playing the point and had the ball knocked away with about seven seconds on the shot clock. He retreated to just inside the mid-court stripe, went to his knees, gathered the ball and let loose a two handed shot from his chest that went in. This surprising outcome wasn't what Canaan had in mind, but he was glad the way it worked out.
"The play broke down in some way and I had it at the end of the shot clock," Canaan explained from his home in Houston. "I was worried about making a play and probably frustrated about a few plays before that. My only thought was that I could not turn the ball over, or I am definitely about to come out of the game. My last resort was to shoot it at the rim and see what happened. I threw it at the rim, surprising I could even get it there."
Only a freshman at the time, Canaan's shot lives on in Racer lore and is almost certainly something we will never see again at Murray State. Â
The win for the Racers (80-68) and Coach Billy Kennedy, was their 16th straight in a time when they had the longest win streak in the nation. The Racers clinched the Ohio Valley Conference title that night and cut down the nets. MSU set a program record with 31 wins in the 2009-10 season and won their first NCAA Tournament game in 22 years when Danero Thomas hit a buzzer shot to beat Vanderbilt.
In 2018, Canaan was inducted into the Murray State Hall of Fame and had his No. 3 number retired. He is one of only six MSU players and one of only 17 in the OVC to reach 2,000 career points. He ranks fifth all-time at MSU with 2,050 points.
In the spring of 2020, Canaan is like every professional athlete in the world, he's sitting a home and waiting for the time when he can resume his career that was in its seventh season. He was having an outstanding season for the Sacramento Kings G-League team in Stockton, California. In 30 games, he was scoring 21.4 points per game and 6.1 assists. Since 2013, Canaan has 235 games in the NBA for the Rockets (who drafted him in 2013), Raptors, 76ers, Bulls, Suns, Timberwolves and Bucks. In 2018, he suffered what might've been a career-ending injury, but has successfully regained his form.
Canaan will turn 29 years old on May 21, a birthday he shares with Murray State great basketball and baseball hall of famer, Johnny Reagan.
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