Duke Most Iconic Dunkers

[ChicagoCrazy84]

ESPN ran a fun poll for each NBA teams most iconic dunkers and it got me thinking who are some of Duke's most iconic dunkers. Could be a fun thing to talk about to lighten the mood of the last few games around here.

Obviously Grant Hill will likely come to mind first for most. He could very well be the best, but I don't think the list stops there if we're looking at dunking ability alone. We've had some solid dunkers come through here over the years and I'd be remiss to not at least give mention to them.

Gene Banks
Antonio Lang
Corey Maggette
Dahntay Jones
DeMarcus Nelson
Gerald Henderson
Mason Plumlee??
Zion Williamson

Thoughts?

[Edouble]

Cassius Stanley set Duke's vertical leap record and will be in the dunk contest this weekend.

[robed deity]

Phil Henderson. And for just one dunk alone.

[sagegrouse]

ESPN ran a fun poll for each NBA teams most iconic dunkers and it got me thinking who are some of Duke's most iconic dunkers. Could be a fun thing to talk about to lighten the mood of the last few games around here.

Obviously Grant Hill will likely come to mind first for most. He could very well be the best, but I don't think the list stops there if we're looking at dunking ability alone. We've had some solid dunkers come through here over the years and I'd be remiss to not at least give mention to them.

Gene Banks
Antonio Lang
Corey Maggette
Dahntay Jones
DeMarcus Nelson
Gerald Henderson
Mason Plumlee??
Zion Williamson

Thoughts?

We can tell we're having a bad season when we start a "May topic" in early March.

Well, two of the most iconic Duke dunks were by Grant Hill against Kansas in the NCAA finals in 1991 and by the late Phil Henderson over Alonzo Mourning in the 1989 NCAA regional finals against Georgetown.

[throatybeard]

We can tell we're having a bad season when we start a "May topic" in early March.

Haha, it's 8A in the "repetitive reminiscing" section of the handy pocket reference.

[tommy]

I would put Robert Brickey and Johnny Dawkins on that list as well.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Marvin Bagley was decent at dunking.

[wsb3]

Phil Henderson. And for just one dunk alone.

I think Coach K's post-game comment was something like. I knew he could get up that high but I didn't know he could take off from that far out & dunk.

[wsb3]

I would put Robert Brickey and Johnny Dawkins on that list as well.

Lot of us older posters recall Verga being sick and possibly keeping us from our first NC. But if Brickey does not blow out his hamstring- I believe that well might have been our first NC.

[throatybeard]

I would put Robert Brickey and Johnny Dawkins on that list as well.

Yeah, I feel like Johnny's reverse in the 1986 NCAAT sort of gets overshadowed in these discussions by Henderson 89 and Grant 91.

The one I can't shut up about, I'm sure some of you will have noted, is Grant at Georgia Tech in 1992. It was the same as the Kansas oop, except, if standard def and the patchwork of human memory can be trusted, the pass was even higher, and farther behind his head.

[Alan_Wilson]

ESPN ran a fun poll for each NBA teams most iconic dunkers and it got me thinking who are some of Duke's most iconic dunkers. Could be a fun thing to talk about to lighten the mood of the last few games around here.

Obviously Grant Hill will likely come to mind first for most. He could very well be the best, but I don't think the list stops there if we're looking at dunking ability alone. We've had some solid dunkers come through here over the years and I'd be remiss to not at least give mention to them.

Gene Banks
Antonio Lang
Corey Maggette
Dahntay Jones
DeMarcus Nelson
Gerald Henderson
Mason Plumlee??
Zion Williamson

Thoughts?

Plumlee's patented reverse slam was pretty iconic. He also had one of the most obscenely great dunks I've ever seen against Maryland, which IIRC, was a flying variation of his reverse. I enjoyed watching McRoberts dunk too. And while he unfortunately didn't get many chances to demonstrate it, Marty Pocius was a filthy dunker.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I think Coach K's post-game comment was something like. I knew he could get up that high but I didn't know he could take off from that far out & dunk.

Correct. And as I've posted here periodically, there is this quote from the SI article about the game:

"You might check the court," said Duke point guard Quin Snyder in awe. "The saliva from my drooling might still be there."

I am probably in the top 1% of the Antonio Lang fan club but I don't think he should be on the list. He had many talents, but dunking was not where he stood out.

[throatybeard]

Oh, and Trajan Langdon 2/10/1998. Never forget.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Wow. No one echoing Zion's amazing dunks? I rail against recency bias, but dude...

[throatybeard]

Wow. No one echoing Zion's amazing dunks? I rail against recency bias, but dude...

I couldn't get the gif of that helicopter against Clemson to load right.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I couldn't get the gif of that helicopter against Clemson to load right.

Anyone pretending Zion wasn't top three in Duke history is batpoop insane. Hard to argue against him as easy number one. He was/is other-worldly.

[tommy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKcHmXQUnrk

[CDu]

Yeah, Zion an easy number one for me.

Bagley gets some love for the sheer volume of dunks, including some ridiculous in-traffic dunks earning points for degree of difficulty, but his dunks weren’t iconic.

As far as individual dunks, Hill’s alley oop, Henderson on Mourning, Dahntay with the push-ups, JJ’s senior year sneak-it-in-over-the-rim all make the list.

[throatybeard]

Anyone pretending Zion wasn't top three in Duke history is batpoop insane. Hard to argue against him as easy number one. He was/is other-worldly.

I sort of consider Zion to have achieved some sort of exit velocity from the mundane battlefield of comparison.

He reminds me of Geraldine Farrar's quotation about other opera singers. "When discussing singers, there are two you must first set aside: Rosa Ponselle and Enrico Caruso. Then you may begin." Maria Callas also considered Ponselle singular in the art form [up to the mid 20C].

When discussing basketballers, there is one you must first set aside. Then you may begin. Zion is zui generis. (If you will). People will mention Magic or young LeBron, but something entirely else is going on here and we don't yet know what it is. God has made exactly one of this man and I do not expect to live to see another.

[jv001]

Yeah, Zion an easy number one for me.

Bagley gets some love for the sheer volume of dunks, including some ridiculous in-traffic dunks earning points for degree of difficulty, but his dunks weren’t iconic.

As far as individual dunks, Hill’s alley oop, Henderson on Mourning, Dahntay with the push-ups, JJ’s senior year sneak-it-in-over-the-rim all make the list.

Zion and Bagley were great on their 2nd jump that usually ended up being a dunk. Zion is #1 though. Your comment on JJ's senior year sneak it over the rim reminded me of the Bobby Hurley dunk. If I remember correctly his team mates had been trying to get him to dunk in a game. After his dunk, he said he'd never do that again.

GoDuke!