Top 5 Dunks In Syracuse History

[BleedsOrange44]

http://www.nationoforange.com/content/five-best-dunks-syracuse-basketball-history-452/

Thoughts? Did I miss one? What are some of your favorites?

 

[stuckinbig11]

http://www.nationoforange.com/content/five-best-dunks-syracuse-basketball-history-452/

Thoughts? Did I miss one? What are some of your favorites?

Two years ago in an early season game at the Dome (perhaps against Colgate) at the hoop on the visitor end (so first half) :

Andy Rautins threw an alley oop that was very high and far to the left of the board. It looked like someone in the stands would catch it. Then Wesley Johnson came flying in, cupped his hand over the ball, swept it for perhaps six feet down and toward the hoop for a slam. It still seems impossible.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Dave Johnson's put back against Georgetown in 1989 has to be on the list.

 

[Ragman2000]

MCW's dunk doesn't belong imho. Half of Damone Brown's career subject were more impressive. Even KO's coast to coast dunk against Marquette in the dome his senior year was better.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[RhymesWithOrange]

Nice job, NoN. You definitely brought a smile to this fan's face.

I'm sure there were some vintage D.C. throw-downs that could make any list, but no complaints here.

 

[CuseTroop]

Ahh CJ's dunk vs Cornell. He threw that down right in front of where we were sitting (kind of, we were in that corner there) Dome went nuts.

 

[City of Cuse]

Louie's dunk when we were down a ton at the dome vs. UConn. Lots of emotion in that dunk.

 

[Jake]

Four of those five are excellent choices. MCW's dunk, as mentioned by Ragman, doesn't fit in. I agree with OrangeXtreme, that pub back by DJ could be on that list.

Some others of note -
Paul Harris @ Nova just before halftime (07?)
Melo @ Georgetown coast to coast. There are about 10 Hakim dunks that would have to be considered (IMHO the greatest dunker in SU history). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os-uIlayND8 Look at where he takes off on this one...just sick.
DC and Stevie have a few as well.

 

[RF2044]

Dave Johnson's put back against Georgetown in 1989 has to be on the list.

Absolutely--this is the one I was going to add to the list.

For those who might not remember the context--'Cuse was down by about 14 to arch-rival Georgetown in the Dome in 1989, midway through the second half. Both teams were top 5 / 1o ranked. It was the last game of the season, Sherman Douglas's final home game, and may have been a record crowd [at the time]. Georgetown was in control and milking the clock, and nothing SU tried offensively seemed to be working. SU was also mired in the midst of something like a 6 game losing streak to Georgetown--and it looked like that streak was going to continue given the lackluster performance from the good guys that day. 33,000 fans were sitting on their hands, collectively groaning as it appeared that we were just snakebitten when it came to the Hoyas.

To speed up the tempo, frosh Billy Owens started to try to drive more. He went to the hoop and missed a contested, double clutch bank shot and several Georgetown players boxed out and were in good position to rebound the miss...when Dave Johnson swooped in from the weak side and pounded the offensive rebound over Dikembe Mutombo. The dunk ignited the listless Carrier Dome crowd, and was the beginning of an epic comeback that saw SU defeat Georgetown in overtime. Best game I've ever seen live--and the catalyst for the comeback was that dunk.

 

[JrodCuse]

I think it was Josh Wright? Someone had a dunk where they totally posterized some kid.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

http://www.nationoforange.com/content/five-best-dunks-syracuse-basketball-history-452/

Thoughts? Did I miss one? What are some of your favorites?

Tony Bruin over Ewing in the Dome (if memory serves )

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[BleedsOrange44]

Dave Johnson's put back against Georgetown in 1989 has to be on the list.

Do you have video of that?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Do you have video of that?

Sorry. It was well before YouTube was invented.

 

[BleedsOrange44]

I still stand by the MCW dunk. In my opinion, it was right up there. I'm not sure I'd put any of the others in its place. More impressive in my opion.

I will admit, I haven't seen the Dave Johnson one. Melo's posted above was VERY nice. Just added it to my "honorable mention" in fact.

 

[BleedsOrange44]

Sorry. It was well before YouTube was invented.

There are lots of older vids on there from pre-YouTube days. Was hoping someone had uploaded it.

 

[BleedsOrange44]

MCW's dunk doesn't belong imho. Half of Damone Brown's career subject were more impressive. Even KO's coast to coast dunk against Marquette in the dome his senior year was better.

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I disagree but that's why this is fun. So many to choose from, hard to go wrong.

 

[sutomcat]

David J

http://www.nationoforange.com/content/five-best-dunks-syracuse-basketball-history-452/

Thoughts? Did I miss one? What are some of your favorites?

I don't think the Stevie dunk on the Sherman-between-the-legs pass was especially great. It was the pass that was special on that play. I would drop that one.

David Johnson had a remarkable putback dunk against Georgetown that should be in the group. He just exploded in a crowd, grabbed the ball and dunked it viciously. It was the best SU dunk ever.

Red Bruin had a dunk over someone on UNC in a game at the Dome in the early 1980s that I thought was awesome.

1989-1990 Era Dunk Tape

 

[BleedsOrange44]

Not when he was at Syracuse, but here's a cool one of DC in the pros:

 

[RF2044]

Do you have video of that?

It's in this video, at about the 3:24 mark--but it is a clip, so you don't get a sense for the shot that led to the putback dunk.

 

[jekelish]

Four of those five are excellent choices. MCW's dunk, as mentioned by Ragman, doesn't fit in. I agree with OrangeXtreme, that pub back by DJ could be on that list.

Some others of note -
Paul Harris @ Nova just before halftime (07?)
Melo @ Georgetown coast to coast.
Look at where he takes off on this one...just sick.
DC and Stevie have a few as well.

The Paul Harris dunk against Nova was amazing. I was at that game, and that was the weekend my now wife and I decided to move in together.

One ALMOST dunk that, had it been completed, would have been one of my favorites came from DeShaun Williams. I don't remember the specific game (I want to say it was against UConn), but he came flying in from the left wing and almost threw down a spectacular one handed tomahawk putback off of a miss. I think it was more spectacular because no one expected that from him, and he never came close to anything that athletic again.

 

[Jake]

I still stand by the MCW dunk. In my opinion, it was right up there. I'm not sure I'd put any of the others in its place. More impressive in my opion.

I will admit, I haven't seen the Dave Johnson one. Melo's posted above was VERY nice. Just added it to my "honorable mention" in fact.

It's a generational thing. Those of us who saw the 80s- 90s games in person, and can give perpective and meaning to these dunks, have a different opinion. IMHO, a facial in a 25 point blowout is meaningless.

 

[BleedsOrange44]

It's a generational thing. Those of us who saw the 80s- 90s games in person, and can give perpective and meaning to these dunks, have a different opinion. IMHO, a facial in a 25 point blowout is meaningless.

I completely get that. And I'm not saying mine is 100% correct and there's no debate. That's my opinion, and subject to debate. But I love having the conversation because there are dunks I forgot about, dunks others forgot about, and I love talking about some great moments. I love perspective of those that witnessed some of which I did not. So thank you for your input and suggestions.

Brent Axe said Sherman's reverse dunk against Georgetown on senior night was his favorite.

 

[RF2044]

I completely get that. And I'm not saying mine is 100% correct and there's no debate. That's my opinion, and subject to debate. But I love having the conversation because there are dunks I forgot about, dunks others forgot about, and I love talking about some great moments. I love perspective of those that witnessed some of which I did not. So thank you for your input and suggestions.

Brent Axe said Sherman's reverse dunk against Georgetown on senior night was his favorite.

That two-handed reverse dunk came in the waning seconds of overtime, as SU closed out the hated Hoyas. It was a bit surprising--Sherman could and did dunk quite often on fast breaks, but they were always of the one-handed variety. Seeing him elevate and throw it down two handed was a surprise.

But it wasn't a "meaningful" dunk.

 

[LennX6]

Absolutely--this is the one I was going to add to the list.

For those who might not remember the context--'Cuse was down by about 14 to arch-rival Georgetown in the Dome in 1989, midway through the second half. Both teams were top 5 / 1o ranked. It was the last game of the season, Sherman Douglas's final home game, and may have been a record crowd [at the time]. Georgetown was in control and milking the clock, and nothing SU tried offensively seemed to be working. SU was also mired in the midst of something like a 6 game losing streak to Georgetown--and it looked like that streak was going to continue given the lackluster performance from the good guys that day. 33,000 fans were sitting on their hands, collectively groaning as it appeared that we were just snakebitten when it came to the Hoyas.

To speed up the tempo, frosh Billy Owens started to try to drive more. He went to the hoop and missed a contested, double clutch bank shot and several Georgetown players boxed out and were in good position to rebound the miss...when Dave Johnson swooped in from the weak side and pounded the offensive rebound over Dikembe Mutombo. The dunk ignited the listless Carrier Dome crowd, and was the beginning of an epic comeback that saw SU defeat Georgetown in overtime. Best game I've ever seen live--and the catalyst for the comeback was that dunk.

Context enhances the dunk. Warrick's is because of being in the FF. One I remember from the early days was the first alley-oop I saw Red Bruin slam in vs. the Russian team in 1979.
Though we had a handful "athletic" players to that point like Dale Shackleford, Louie Orr (though more on the gangly side) and Chris Sease, I remember when I saw that I thought, that, Wow we now have a guy like all the North Carolina's, Marquette's, UCLA's and Louisville's had. The scary thing is, fast forward to today, pretty much all top-50 teams have 3 to 5 Red Bruin's on their roster. Pardon, the diversion but I have always found the evolution of sports intriguing as a subplot to the games themselves.

 

[LennX6]

http://www.nationoforange.com/content/five-best-dunks-syracuse-basketball-history-452/

Thoughts? Did I miss one? What are some of your favorites?

Here is a good question to you and the thread...How many hellacious dunks do you remember from other teams or the NBA?? 3 come to mind for me:
1. Julius Erving in the ABA vs NBA all-Star exhibition in the early 70's. It was the first time a lot of the country had seen Dr. J and his perfomance was jaw-dropping, did-you-just-see-that??? theatre.
2. Clyde Drexler in 1982 at the Dome. From the vantage point of looking at the curtain, he came swooping down the right sideline and looked like he took off from half-court and jack-hammered it in.
3. Len Bias , Maryland vs UNC 1985. He came down with a rebound and gathered himself as 3 NC players engulfed him. Bias exploded to the rim and he looked like the Incredible Hulk going towards the rim as the defenders went flying. That reminds me, after I post this I have to look to see if this is on you tube.