It’s amazing how a dunk can change a game.
After all, it’s just two points. Dunks usually aren’t game-winning shots and sometimes require only minimum effort to perform.
If pretty much every player in college basketball can throw down a dunk, how special can they be, anyway?
Well, sometimes dunks do this.
Remember, not all dunks are created equal. Dunks can swing a game’s momentum with one thunderous jam by instantly deflate a defender. Some dunks humiliate, some dunks inspire and the best ones affect the outcomes of game.
That dunk above (what, you didn’t click on the link?) by Michigan State’s Durrell Summers over Connecticut’s Stanley Robinson came with just under 6 minutes remaining in their Final Four game last spring. It was the cap to a 13-5 run that caused Ford Field – with all its Spartan supporters – to erupt. MSU needed to hold off one more charge by UConn, but the dunk did the trick. The Huskies didn’t have enough fight left.
Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images |
Chris Wright dunks against West Virginia during the 2009 NCAA tournament.
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Summers is just one of college hoops’ high fliers, those guys who change a game with a big dunk that energizes his team and the fans. Here are five more.
Chris Wright, Dayton
YouTube is littered with Wright’s dunk highlights. Whether it’s the 6-8 junior jamming over Marquette’s Maurice Acker, a follow-up stuff against UMass, or any one of the dunk mixes, Wright’s the kind of guy you expect on highlight shows every night. He’s still refining his skills (read: his jumper, handle), but figures to be a key player on the hoops landscaper this season as the Flyers work their way up the Top 25.
Paul George, Fresno State
He’s dunktacular. A vicious slam over two St. Mary’s defenders last season made the 6-8 George one of those guys defenders sidestep when they drive to the hoops. Otherwise this happens. And this. And this. But hey, when you can jump like George, this is to be expected. We all expect even more this season.
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Booker isn’t a high-riser in the same vein as Wright and George. He’s just … forceful. It’s not to say Booker is earthbound like some big guys, ‘cause he’s not. It’s just that, he doesn’t need lots of air to make his point. At 6-7 and 240 pounds, the senior forward is a force on the boards and down low. And when he wants to dunk, he dunks. It doesn’t matter if you’re a 7-footer standing the in the way or a couple of big men from Duke, Booker’s gonna dunk on you.
Will Coleman, Memphis
The Tigers are trying to re-load this season. Coleman’s a good place to start. He’s already a fan favorite after winning the dunk contest at their Midnight Madness (he kisses the rim, for Pete’s sake), and should be a highlights mainstay.
Keion Bell, Pepperdine
Bell’s solid freshman season – the WCC All-Freshman team honoree averaged 12.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg 2.2 apg – didn’t have any plays that caused the same sensation one dunk did a few weeks ago. Makes sense. Bell did jump over five guys for that dunk. See for yourself.
