NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State rising sophomore Elijah Clarance has earned a place on the Swedish Basketball Federation U20 National Team, and will compete at the U20 European Championships starting on July 14.
Clarance competed for Sweden in a pair of friendly games against Finland on June 19 and 20, and through those two games, he lead the squad with 27.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. The Swedish team fell in the first of the two games 90-75, before winning the second game 91-75. He was the only player to score in double figures for each of the two games, which were played in Finland.
In the opening friendly, Clarance made 10-of-22 shots from the field and 4-of-9 from long range for 27 points. He added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the loss.
In Sweden's win a day later, he went 11-of-19 from the field and 2-of-7 from distance, while making half of his eight free throw tries for 28 points. He pulled down two rebounds, gave out four assists, and picked up a team-high four steals.
Sweden has six other friendly games scheduled, including three in Anadia, Portugal, against Portugal (June 29), the Netherlands (June 30), and Israel (July 1). A week later the Swedes have two games in Talinn, Estonia, each against the home country on July 9 and 10. The final pre-European Championship Friendly is against tournament host Germany on July 12.
The U20 European Championships open on July 14 with Sweden facing Italy at 6:30 a.m. CT, before taking on Iceland on July 15 (6:30 a.m. CT) and Serbia on July 16 (8:45 a.m. CT). All games from the tournament will be broadcasted on YouTube.com/FIBA.
Last season for the Redbirds, Clarance missed nine of the first ten games because of injury. He played in 21 games during the year, averaging 11.1 minutes per game. He averaged 2.7 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 rebounds per game, while picking up 10 steals.
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