CLARION – Everyone knows that former Clarion University men's basketball point guard John Calipari led the Kentucky Wildcats to the NCAA Division I national title this year.
 
But how many people realize that another former Golden Eagle star point guard, Lloyd Harrison, was leading his team, Skallagrimer, to Iceland's Division 1 League title at the same time?
 
Harrison, who played for Clarion in 2010 and 2011 scoring 887 career points to go with 255 assists and 239 rebounds, was the star player for Skallagrimer, which beat IA two games to one in the Division 1 League championship game earning Skallagrimer a spot in Iceland's premier league, the Express League.
 
The 6-foot-1 point guard from Detroit, Mich., who helped Clarion to the PSAC semifinals in 2010, averaged 24.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in five playoff games and ended the season averaging 21.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
 
“The entire experience was great,” Harrison, who was named the league's Guard of the Year as well as a first-team All-League selection, said. “From the beautiful country, to the people and playing ball was fun. I loved it. The fans are wild and always support you and always show you love when they see you around town.”
 
Harrison, who was a two-time All-PSAC West performer including a first-team selection as a senior when he averaged 18.2 points and 4.8 assists per game, ranked second in the Division 1 League in assists, fifth in points and 16^th in rebound while recording 11 20-point games – four in the postseason – with a high of 40. He also had 16 games of five or more assists and five games of 10 or more rebounds while recording six double-doubles and helping Skallagrimer to a 17-6 record.  

“He took advantage of the opportunity better than anyone we've had,” Clarion's 24^th- year head coach Ron Righter said. “He ran and met the opportunity and put himself in a great position. He did what it took to win. He's always been the type of player who will do whatever it takes to win. You saw that this year in Iceland, and you saw that when he was here at Clarion.”
 
Harrison is one in a long line of players who have played for the Golden Eagles under Righter to play basketball at the professional level – many overseas.
 
“The team in Iceland e-mailed Coach Righter looking for a point guard,” Harrison said. “A couple of other coaches from the PSAC had told them about me. They then contacted me though e-mail, we started talking around early April 2011 and talked the whole summer. I signed around late June.”
 
According to Righter, when a player like Harrison goes overseas and has success it benefits not only that player but also the basketball program including current and future Golden Eagles.
 
“We've had over 20 kids have the opportunity to go and play professionally,” Righter said. “We can sell that. It resonates well with the kids we are looking at. If you go to Clarion, you have a shot at playing past college. And a lot of the guys we've had go on and play are guards, shooters and scorers, which is something different. A lot of the time, the teams overseas are looking for the 6-foot-8 big man. But our guards have had a lot of success, and teams know that.”  
 
According to Harrison, his two seasons at Clarion prepared him for the success he had in Iceland.
 
“The structure and how organized it was at Clarion helped me a lot,” Harrison said. “It helped me understand the game and know situations and who to pass the ball to. It was things like that that helped carry me over here and helped me make big plays during the year over here.”
 
Harrison said anyone thinking of going to Clarion with hopes of going on to play at the next level would be well advised to do so.
 
“I would tell someone interested in playing at Clarion that it's a good school to go to,” Harrison said. “It's a great conference to play in, and Clarion usually has a chance to win. It gives you a great chance to be successful.”
 
Skallagrimer was so pleased with Harrison's play and the success it had with him that the team has already resigned him for next season to run the point in the Express League.  
 
 “They basically doubled everything, and I didn't want to rush anything or pass up this deal,” Harrison said. “I'm looking forward to playing back there next season. It will be a good chance to prove myself again in the top league.”