John Wooden, if you're reading this from your plush recliner in Hoops Heaven, stop now. You won't like it.
For everyone else -- the grounded folk who appreciate the alley-oop lobs, the fast-break flights and the open-lane opuses -- stick around to admire and analyze the complex relationship that basketball players have with that innocent orange rim resting 10 feet in the air.
See, there comes a time in a dunker's life when he must defy not only gravity but the basic bounds of morality, when he must fuse elevation and embarrassment, when he must posterize the defender in front of him.
Fans of the flush should be forever grateful for the invention of video, which allows us to keep and collect the great moments of the game's craftiest poster children. Over the last two years, a YouTube user to whom we are all indebted corralled footage of the 50 best dunks in Division I college basketball history.
Without further ado, enjoy 14 miraculous minutes of dunk-drenched art (and the literary accompaniment that follows) after the jump.
No. 50: A reminder that NBA veteran Jerry Stackhouse used to have some serious lift in his days at North Carolina. Also, gotta love the announcer's prolonged "Whoa!" immediately after the play.
No. 49: The best part about this one is that Troy Rolle could have easily passed the ball to one of two streaking Utah State teammates. Obviously, he had other ideas.
No. 48: Sean Williams probably didn't think Charlie Villanueva would pull off this facial dunk after watching the UConn forward's (lack of) dribbling ability. This clip comes with a not-so-chivalrous stare as well.
No. 47: Here, the defender is called for a blocking foul after Derek Anderson knocks him over on a mighty one-hander. Poor guy.
No. 46: A nice putback (especially because it comes against Duke). Small detail: Sam Perry practically crushes his teammate on the way down.
No. 45: Evidence that there's a trampoline under the hardwood at Georgia Tech.
No. 44: After completing this nasty posterization, which lands him on his rear, South Carolina forward Renaldo Balkman offers an empty gaze of bewilderment. Did I just do that?
No. 43: Darelle Porter gives hope to short people everywhere.
No. 42: Who knew Grant Hill had a mean bone in his body?
No. 41: Who cares that LaQuentin Miles had just two made field goals or that Southeast Missouri State lost by 19 points when you can watch demolitions like this?
No. 40: Jeff Teague, pick on a school your own size. Not Cal State Fullerton.
No. 39: The reward for DeMarcus Cousins for being defamed on his team's home floor? A flurry of reports calling the Kentucky forward immature and uncoachable.
No. 38: Villanova's Gary Massey sails through the air for a tomahawk jam with the fluidity of Julius Erving.
No. 37: Just as wild as this dunk by London Warren is this satirical interview of the "Jacksonville Jet."
No. 36: Daviin Davis endures not only a ferocious slam but a heaping helping of smack-talk from Montana State guard Will Bynum after the fact. Not to be confused with the NBA player of the same name.
No. 35: Jonny Flynn can jump. He also has the endurance of a superhero, scoring 34 points in 67 minutes during a marathon game against UConn in the Big East conference tournament.
No. 34: This unfortunate Kansas State defender falls like a domino. Hilarious.
No. 33: Miami guard DeQuan Jones doesn't just impersonate Jerry Stackhouse; he does it on the home court of Stackhouse's alma mater.
No. 32: Carlon Brown, whose father is an LAPD sergeant, lays down the law.
No. 31: "He climbed Mount Everest!" Enough said.
No. 30: This exclamation point by Hakim Warrick should be higher on the list. No running start!? He gets an interrobang for that one.
No. 29: Senario Hillman uses Auburn center Lucas Hargrove like a puppet. Maybe this is why Hargrove was doing community service.
No. 28: After watching D'Andre Bell play in high school, I couldn't help but cringe when I saw this one. He gets stomped all over by an enthusiastic Alexander Johnson.
No. 27: If DeAngelo Newsom had attended college somewhere other than Southern Utah, maybe we'd have a closer look at this one. It's really unfortunate that we don't.
No. 26: I was at Haas Pavilion when Russell Westbrook flew down the lane for this dunk over Cal forward Jamal Boykin, and I will say that it looked much more demeaning in person. Thankfully for Boykin, Westbrook has terrorized many other defenders with his athletic ability since making the leap to the NBA.
No. 25: Shawn Harris gets the Dick Vitale treatment after hanging over a Utah defender on this wicked putback. It's awesome, baby!
No. 24: Here's what Carlon Brown can do for you in his second appearance on this highlight reel.
No. 23: Jason Maxiell turns a broken play into a broken player. Yikes.
No. 22: Before the "Big Aristotle," the "Big Shaqtus" and the "Big Shamrock," there was the "Big McNeese State Monster."
No. 21: James Posey gives us the basketball version -- two birds with one orange leather stone.
No. 20: Chris Porter electrified Auburn with this gem before losing his eligibility. Oops.
No. 19: Better than this hard-to-see dunk by Louisiana State center Jabari Smith is the harder-to-see reaction by teammate Stromile Swift.
No. 18: The higher Dwayne McClain climbs, the harder his opponent falls.
No. 17: The distance, the dunk, the demonstrative pause -- this one has it all (and we're only at No. 17).
No. 16: For his second act, Hakim Warrick will snatch a loose ball, disregard the presence of Royal Ivey and complete a backwards somersault to escape an awkward landing position.
No. 15: After getting completely annihilated, Eddie Griffin gets ready to in-bound the ball as if nothing ever happened.
No. 14: The compilation only includes dunks at the collegiate level, which is why Vince Carter fans won't find this other moment in the video.
No. 13: There's no divine Providence for the Friars in this one!
No. 12: It doesn't matter which Cal State school won the battle -- Gerard Anderson won the war.
No. 11: Clyde "The Glide" Drexler didn't just join a fraternity in college at the University of Houston. He created one -- Phi Slama Jama.
No. 10: Can you imagine this guy on your team, Los Angeles Clippers fans?
No. 9: Call him Isma'il. Watch him soar.
No. 8: "That's one way to bring the house down -- bring the rim down!"
No. 7: This one wouldn't be in the top 10 if Dahntay Jones didn't do a short set of push-ups afterward. (Actually, upon further review, maybe it would.)
No. 6: No mathematics degree required for Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje to know that Julius Page had his number on this one.
No. 5: Jarvis Basnight probably had a nice view on this dunk. The Pacific defender probably did not.
No. 4: It seems fitting that Damon Thornton played for the Hunstville Flight after college.
No. 3: Cincinnati guard Melvin Levett's nickname is "The Helicopter." Wonder why.
No. 2: Apparently, Dirk Minniefield was good at getting high off the court as well.
No. 1: Bill Raftery immortalized this 1988 dunk with his call of "Send it in, Jerome!" after Pitt forward Jerome Lane broke the backboard on this powerful one-handed jam. Lane attended St. Vincent - St. Mary High School, where LeBron James played many years later. Of course, James didn't make this highlight reel because, well, he didn't go to college.
Oh, and if you've made it this far, you deserve to be dunked on.
No comments:
Post a Comment