The East and West Coast appear to have the market cornered when it comes to high-flying dunks. But don't worry, the Midwest has a couple of guys that put the left and right side of the country to shame.
Sergio Kerusch
The Hilltoppers' Sergio Kerusch is what we like to call an equal opportunity posterizer (still not sure if this is a real word). It doesn't matter if you're big, small, fat, or thin -- Kerusch has no problem dunking on you. He's best known for the dunk he threw down on Illinois' Jeremy Evans last season during the NCAA tournament. Evans found himself on a poster for all the wrong reasons.
Plus, any player who can pull this dunk off deserves to be on the list. That kind of vertical leap has to be illegal in the United States.
P'Allen Stinnett
Ok, I've heard P'Allen is a bit of a ball hog when he's on the floor (at least that's what I hear from a couple friends who attended Creighton). Regardless, with dunks like this, it really doesn't matter how many time Stinnett touches the ball.
Here's footage of Stinnett owning Nebraska's 6'10" center Shang Ping. Seriously, I could watch this dunk over and over again and never tire of it. Is it silly that I feel bad for the Chinese guy?
Wally Judge
I told myself I wouldn't put a freshman on the list, but I decided to go against my better judgment after watching these highlights of Kansas State's Wally Judge. It appears he has some sort of spring-like device in his shoes. How else would you explain that ridiculous vertical?
Jordan Crawford
They always say you should save the best for last, so I decided to oblige. That would be Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunking on none other than the King, LeBron James. Crawford has been known to get off the floor and elevate on occasion. I guess this just happened to be one of those times. I mean, doesn't everyone get the chance to dunk on the best player on the planet?
And here I thought Bron Bron was immune to being on the opposite end of a monster dunk.
Bonus Dunk
I guess white men can jump. That's Michigan guard Zack Novak going between his legs for the winning dunk at this year's Michigan Madness slam dunk event. Of course, the white guy ends up winning the contest and everyone thinks it's a huge upset.
Listen, I've seen plenty of white guys in my lifetime win dunk contests. There's.... and then there's.... Ok, so this may be a first for me (and possibly you). I'm expecting more of the same from Novak this season -- especially after he missed a dunk to win a game last year. Looks like he worked on his finishing in the offseason.
So there you have it, the best dunkers in the Midwest. Did I leave anyone out? Leave me a comment if I missed someone.
Hello there, thank you for a fantastic blog, a really great opening to the new year, keep up the great work, Brenda.
I'm going to have a really hard time referring to anything Big 10 as East Coast. Besides, Jacob's plate is full with the Big East and ACC alone, so I'm sure he'll be glad to have Chris working the SEC angles.
Mainly, I am just conditioned to despise staff meetings (unless they involve beer) so I'm going to let you all fight it out in the Thunderdome.
Durrell Summers resides 50 miles West of Zack Novak, the great white hope! And if you are talking home town, Detroit is as Midwest as it comes, son!!
Your racial stereotyping about white dunkers shows either you're brainwashed into this kind of thinking, or just don't follow the game. You've never seen a white guy win a dunk contest? At the McDonald's All-American Game there was David Lee and Matt Steigenga. Or how about Brent "Bones" Barry in the NBA? Or Jumping Jack Kelly, who made a living winning Gus Macker dunk contests, and was even in a commerical for one of the sneaker companies.
@Beast1530: Couldn't agree more. Chris already put Wall and Durrell Summers in the East Coast group, so I figured I'd find some others. I think the staff needs to have a chat at the next editorial meeting regarding the regional boundaries. I'm still not sure if I'm creeping on anyone's territory...
If you're including Kentucky as part of the midwest(I don't consider it as part of it but you did), you have to put in John Wall. He's better than all of them and looks effortless too.
You could probably use Durrell Summers in the Midwest category. All apologies.
Rodney Williams. Get on on your google. You are missing out.