Ranking the 10 best dunks of this year’s college basketball season
The Dagger begins its season-in-review series this week with a look back at the best dunks of the 2012-13 college basketball season. Let us know which ones we missed via Twitter or in the comments below.
1. Jamaal Franklin's alley-oop to himself at Fresno State
Comment: A very small percentage of college basketball players could pull off the dunk San Diego State's Jamaal Franklin unleashed in January against Fresno State. An even smaller percentage would dare to attempt it — in the second half of a close game, no less.
2. Eastern Kentucky's Marcus Lewis skies for inbound alley-oop
Comment: Hard to believe that Lewis is only 6-foot-4 considering how high he gets to throw down this one-handed alley-oop. And in case you thought Lewis was a one-hit wonder, he had also had this nice windmill off a blocked shot later in February.
3. Louisville forward Chane Behanan's poster dunk
Comment: This may be the best poster dunk of the season and it definitely serves as an appropriate metaphor for DePaul's tenure in the old Big East. Better luck in the new Big East, Blue Demons.
4. Winston-Salem State's Justin Glover goes between the legs
Comment: Not long after his first attempt at a between the legs dunk went awry in a January game against Elizabeth City State, Glover went for it again on a breakaway with his team up 12 in the closing seconds. This time he made it, avoiding the wrath of coach Bobby Collins and earning a spot on every dunk of the year list.
5. Eric McKnight's wind-up alley-oop slam
Comment: You knew Dunk City had to make an appearance on this list, right? The Brett-Comer-to-Chase-Fieler alley-oop from the Georgetown game got more publicity because of the onions it took to attempt that given the time and score, but this dunk from the first half of the San Diego State game was Florida Gulf Coast's best.
6. Daniel Skinner channels Michael Jordan's free throw line dunk
Comment: Digging deep into the lower levels of college hoops sometimes unearths a gem or two, and this dunk from Jacksonville Community College standout Daniel Skinner certainly qualifies. Yes, he takes off a step inside the foul line, but this is still not a dunk many could pull off.
7. Doug Anderson's alley-oop at Temple
Comment: Choosing which of reigning slam dunk champion Doug Anderson's jams to put on this list was not an easy task. You could easily argue for this follow dunk from back in November or the dunk that almost tore the rim right off the glass in a victory over Cleveland State in February.
8. Rodney Williams' one-handed alley-oop against Penn State
Comment: Viewers who suffered through a Penn State basketball game were at least rewarded with one of the better alley-oops of the year. Williams showed off his elite athleticism with how he adjusted to the bad pass in mid-air.
9. Montrezl Harrell's alley-oop in the national title game
Comment: One of the NCAA tournament's best dunks came during the scintillating title game. Louisville freshman forward Montrezl Harrell provided it when he smashed a beautiful ally-oop pass from Peyton Siva through the rim in the final seconds of the first half.
10. Maryland's Dez Wells goes coast-to-coast
Comment: Everything about this was nice. Wells weaved through Virginia defenders, attacked the rim and threw down a huge one-handed jam during a March 10 game between the Terps and Cavaliers.
Honorable mention: Colorado School of Mines forward Trevor Wages shatters backboard; Ohio State forward Sam Thompson's alley-oop at Michigan State; Florida State big man Okaro White's inbound alley-oop; Illinois guard Brandon Paul puts Trevor Mbakwe in a poster; Victor Oladipo's one-handed slam against Central Connecticut State; East Carolina wing Maurice Kemp's one-handed slam
More NCAA tournament content from Yahoo! Sports:
• 2013 NCAA tournament most-watched in over a decade
• Why is the NCAA basketball court elevated?
• Watch: The man behind NCAA tournament's 'One Shining Moment'
