Chalk it down as a program first – and an impressive one, at that.
Simon Fraser University’s senior guard Kedar Salam became the first-ever member of the Clan’s men’s basketball team to be selected to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s first all-star team, as voted on by conference coaches.
It came in a season where Salam, a native of Toronto and transfer student from UBC, topped the GNAC with a 20.4 points per game average. Playing for 10-18 Clan, the six-foot-three guard finished ranked 20th in Div. 2 in field goals made (212) and 24th in field goals attempted (434).
In last week’s season-ending loss, 77-52 to Western Oregon, Salam counted 21 points and ended up scoring 20-plus points in 14 of the team’s 28 games. Two weeks ago in the Clan’s last win, he tallied 31 points as the program bested the Alaska Nanooks 83-51, the largest margin of victory during the program’s NCAA history.
In January, he was named the
USBWA Div. 2 National Player of the Week after averaging 33.5 points and six rebounds per game in back-to-back home court wins. He counted a season-high 40 points against Central Washington on Jan. 4.
All-in-all, Salam lead SFU’s shooters in 18 of the team’s games and established himself as conference star.
Salam became the first SFU player to lead the GNAC in scoring since Sango Niang, who in 2014/15 led the circuit, averaging 22.6 points per game, and drawing a second All-
Conference team honour.
He was also the only player in the GNAC to average more than 20 points per game, connecting for .488 from the field and .414 per cent from beyond the three-point line.
