Central Districts Lion Chris Clausen has signed to play with the University of North Dakota.

This is a great opportunity for Chris as the North Dakota Fighting Sioux compete in the Div 1 NCAA competition.  Div 1 NCAA is where most of the future NBA draftees compete and Chris will well and truly be competing against some of the best young athletes in the world, in front of crowds of 10s of 1000s of spectators.

In commenting on the signing, Chris couldn't hide his excitement.

“I am pretty pumped to go there. It is where dad went to college - I think that is pretty awesome.”  Dan Clausen, the assistant coach of Centrals' Central ABL men's team, attended the same school between 1980-82 before coming to Australia to dominate our NBL.

Chris has been involved in Centrals' junior and senior programs for a number of years. He was part of a Trinity College team that won the finals of the State School Knockout Championships, however his name came to promenence when, through an unfortunate injury to current NBL star Joe Ingles, he was thrust into a starring role with the SA Under 20 Men's state team in 2005.  During the national championships he was rated in top 10 in many statistical categories including top 5 in scoring. 

“Chris was a big reason we won a silver medal in Perth that year. Some of his shooting efforts were exceptional that week”, states the team's Assistant Coach Justin Schueller. During this tournament, Clausen came under the eyes of a number of college scouts, though his journey to Div 1 NCAA has not been an easy one, having competed at junior colleges in the US for the past 2 yrs.

Brian Jones, the North Dakota head coach also talks highly of Clausen.

“Chris is another young man who is a tireless worker and just finds ways to get things done by his effort,” said Jones. “He can really make shots but by the same token he is going to do whatever you need him to do to win a ballgame. With Chris and Brandon following in their fathers’ footsteps, they both have a vested interest in the future of Fighting Sioux basketball and now they get the opportunity to write their own chapter.”