Unique McLean. Photo by: Stacy Podelski

St. Francis College Brooklyn graduate guard Unique McLean has been selected to the Great Clips Slam Dunk Championship roster for the 32nd annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler University Campus in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 1. McLean is one of eight players selected for the event that will air live on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET.

“It’s an honor to be included in something that only a selected few are asked to be a part of. For them to see me as one of the top dunkers in the country/college basketball, I can mark this event down as an accomplishment. Not many players are granted this opportunity, and for that, I am truly grateful. I am looking forward to competing against some of the best college basketball has to offer and displaying my talents on a national platform,” said McLean.

McLean is the first Terrier in program history to be selected to participate in the State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship, and is the first Northeast Conference (NEC) student-athlete to be selected for the event since Mount St. Mary’s Junior Robinson in 2018. The Brooklyn, NY native averaged 12.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in 2020-21. He shot 45.4 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three, and 77.2 percent from the free-throw line. The 6-foot-2, guard led the team in rebounding and ranked ninth in the NEC in rebounds per game. McLean was 19th in the conference in scoring, 13th in free-throw percentage, ninth in offensive rebounds per game (2.3), tied for sixth in defensive rebounds per game (5.1), and 19th in minutes played per game (31.8) this past season.

Over his two-year career at St. Francis he played in 50 games (all starts), and tallied 12.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He shot 45.0 percent from the field and 71.8 percent from the free-throw line. He totaled 598 points and 387 rebounds over the course of his two years on Remsen Street. He scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field as he led the Terriers to an 83-75 road win over Fairleigh Dickinson on February 16, 2021. He grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds in a win against Mount St. Mary’s on January 8, 2021. McLean registered seven double-doubles as a Terrier, six of which came during the 2019-20 campaign.

“We are extremely proud of Unique for being invited to participate in the State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship. Being selected as one of eight participants is a great reward for him having an outstanding season. It will be a tremendous experience for him as he transitions to life after college, which we hope includes playing professionally. We know that he will do an outstanding job representing St. Francis College on the national stage and we wish him the best of luck,” said Terriers’ Head Coach Glenn Braica.

McLean, returned to his hometown of Brooklyn after spending his undergraduate career at the University of Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10. He played in 56 games and made 28 starts over two seasons at UMass. McLean tallied 4.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 22.5 minutes per game as a member of the Minutemen. McLean attended The MacDuffie School in Massachusetts and earned a 3-star rating from ESPN, 247Sports, and Rivals coming out of high school. He was No. 5 in Massachusetts, No. 53 at shooting guard, and No. 56 in the Northeast Region (ESPN). McLean is no stranger to dunk contests as he won the Mary Kline Classic twice, and the Hardwood Classic several times while he was in high school.

Intersport, producers of the event, invites 24 of the nation’s elite men’s and women’s college basketball players to compete in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships (eight dunkers, along with eight men’s and eight women’s shooters). The program showcases the dunking and sharp-shooting talents of the nation’s top college basketball players during the Men’s 3-point Championship, the Rocket Mortgage Women’s 3-Point Championship, the Battle of the Champions, the Great Clips Slam Dunk Championship and the IHOP Team Shootout.

A complete roster of participants will be released at a later date.

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.

This year’s event will be closed to the public. Fans can watch the event live on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET on April 1 and can visit CollegeSlam.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

About Intersport

Since 1985, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports, lifestyle and entertainment-based marketing platforms. With expertise in Sponsorship Consulting, Experiential Marketing, Hospitality, Customer Engagement, Content Marketing, Productions and Sports Properties, this Chicago-based Marketing & Media Solutions Company helps their clients to create ideas, content and experiences that attract and engage passionate audiences. To learn more about Intersport, visit www.intersportnet.com

For more information on the St. Francis College Men’s Basketball team fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:

St. Francis Brooklyn Athletics – Official Athletics Website (sfcathletics.com)