During the 2006-07 NCAA basketball season, I occasionally posted Dunks From the Day, which as you might expect, were ... well, dunks from the day.
With UNC's season just over three weeks away, this seems like as good a time as any to kick off the 2007-08 Dunks from the Day. First up, the amphibiousJulius Peppers. Who, along with current Raiders wide receiver Ronald Curry, played a big part in getting the 2000 Tar Heels to the Final Four.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
This brings back some memories ... I had totally forgotten about Matt Waddell, the Purdue point guard in the mid-90s. He's the guy who feeds Glenn Robinson for the dunk over Greg Ostertag, something Ostertag got pretty good at while at Kansas.
The Boilermakers earned the third spot in the AP Poll and a No. 1 seed in the 1994 NCAA Tournament. Robinson led the Boilermakers to the Sweet 16 ... and a matchup with Kansas in Knoxville, Tenn. Robinson scored 44 points and collected seven rebounds against the Jayhawks, leading Purdue to an 83-78 win...
It's also worth noting that Robinson had 30 points in the first half. Purdue would lose to Duke in the next round, the Milwaukee Bucks would take Robinson with the first-overall pick that June, and Boilermakers basketball hasn't been the same since.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
Yesterday I pointed you to this nasty Baron Davis dunk. Compared to the video below, it's about as tame as a pre-game layup:
This was one of my signature moves back in the day -- the fake behind-the-back-pass to myself followed by dunking in some guy's grill. The only difference is that I could never dunk, and every time I tried the behind-the-back-to-myself thing, I'd either A) nail an unsuspecting player in the face, or B) wing the ball out of bounds. There is a reason I never got off the bench in seventh grade.
It's also worth noting that both Davis dunk videos are after he had knee surgery. You know, just in case you wanted to feel even less athletic than you already did.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
Baron Davis is listed at 6'3" but he's so explosive you sometimes forget he's often one of the smallest guys on the floor. Well, just in case you needed some reminding, here's Davis going bonkers on the University of Washington back during his UCLA days:
If there's one thing I've learned in scouring the Internets for Dunks from the Day, it's that taking a charge anywhere near the rim is an awful idea. It usually ends badly for the defender and only reinforces the notion that charging is a dumb rule created to stifle creativity. Baron Davis leaps your dumb rule in a single bound. And then he jams it in your face.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
Remember Stevie Franchise, before he became a crabby malcontent in the NBA?
Good times. He was one of college basketball's most exciting players and basically carried Maryland on his back for the one season he was in College Park. Francis finished the 1998-1999 season averaging 17 points per game, 4.5 assists and 2.8 steals. He also earned second-team All-American honors and was a finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards.
Now the former second-overall pick plays for the Knicks, and despite pretty good career numbers (18.5 ppg, 6.2 apg, 1.5 spg), Francis is considered a bit of a diva. I guess playing with Stephon Starbury and for Isiah Thomas will do that.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
There are no hard and fast rules on Dunks from the Day, but stuff that happened 18 hours ago generally doesn't qualify as "from the day." Well, I'm making an exception because Deron Washington played a big role in Virginia Tech's beatdown of Boston College last night:
If there is a bright spot for the Eagles -- and I really had to dig for this -- at least Tyrelle Blair had the common sense to get out of the way. No need in getting posterized without a legit reason. I mean, it wasn't a close game, and nothing good would come of contesting the shot. Or even trying to take a charge. So props to Blair on that. Now, somebody remind BC that these games count in the standings.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
Wow. Just ... wow. I saw this for the first time earlier today and it's easily in my top-3 all-time college dunks. Just ... unbelievable:
Of course, I had no idea who this was -- I could make out it was Kentucky ... and they were playing at home -- but other than that, it was all a blur. One of the YouTubes commenters says it's Dirk Minniefield, a 6'3" UK guard, and it took place in 1983 against Mississippi State.
Thanks to the Google, I found out Minniefield was Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky in 1979, as well as a Parade and McDonalds All-American. At Kentucky, he averaged 8.7 points a game for his career, though I think team officials should add at least two more full points to his average because of the above facial.
I couldn't ID the victim, which is probably for the best. The guy is probably just now getting over the trauma.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
Marcus Camby has had a decent NBA career -- he's averaging 9.2 rebounds and 11.0 points per game through 11 seasons -- but the Raptors were probably hoping for a little more from the second overall pick in the 1996 draft.
Whatever, Camby's NBA stats don't take away from his amazing collegiate career.
As far as nasty dunks go, this is pretty tame. (The mid-90s college basketball YouTube clips are surprisingly sparse.) Still, Camby -- with head coach John Calipari -- led UMass to the No. 1 ranking and the Final Four in 1996, the same year he won Player of the Year. UMass last made the NCAA tournament in 1998 and have recently sported 11-, 10-, 16- and 13-win seasons. In 2006-2007, UMass is 19-7 and 9-3 in the A-10. Apparently, not enough players illegally accepting cash has really affected the program.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
Before Deron Washington introduced us to what it means to get Greg Paulus-ed, there was Georgia Tech's Isma'il Muhammad. And playing Paulus in this little role-playing exercise is N.C. State's Engin Atsur:
Yeah, that's embarrassing. But hey, at least the Wolfpack won the game. I'm sure that -- and a lot of therapy -- helped Atsur forget it ever happened.
Dunks from the Day, which, if you can't tell by the title, will highlight some amazing dunks from, um, back in the day. None of this new-fangled, fancy-pants stuff ... I'm talking about guys throwing it down while sporting side burns, nut-huggers and knee socks.
Jerome Lane didn't have much of an NBA career -- he played parts of five seasons, averaged 5.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game -- but nobody remembers him as the Nugget's 1988 first-round pick anyway. People remember him because of this:
Oh, good times. Lane was a 6'6" forward for Pittsburgh and that's some poor sap from Providence getting Greg Paulus-ed (oddly, before Paulus was even born) while trying to avoid getting grilled with the rim.
Rick Pitino coached the Friars. I'm not exactly sure what year this was -- if it's 1986-87, Florida coach Billy Donovan was a senior at Providence; if it's the following year, Sean Miller was a freshman at Pitt, and would go on to win Big East Freshman of the Year (from the video, it looks like that's Miller feeding Lane for the dunk). Whenever it was, Bill Raftery made his "Send it in Jerome!" call on this play.
