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A Dunk For The Ages
10/21/2007 1:20:32 PM | Basketball
"It was a give-and-go to Paul (Harris). I just wanted to dunk it hard like a regular dunk. As I was swinging on the rim I realized I was coming down at the same time. Then I heard the crack of the glass so I just tried to get out of the way as soon as I could."
So recalled junior Arinze Onuaku, just two days after his thunderous, backboard crashing dunk brought down the house at Syracuse's "Early Midnight" Madness on October 19 in Manley Field House. The play began at the other end of the court with freshman Jonny Flynn.
"I was in the back of the court because I had just missed a shot so I was getting back on defense," said Flynn, reflecting on his role in the play. "I'd Never seen that in person. That’s the first time I’ve ever been stunned on the court. Did he really just break this rim?"
Another freshman, Donte' Greene, was equally stunned by Onuaku's rim wreck.
"We just passed the backboard inside and I still can’t believe it," Greene said on Sunday, prior to participating in an open scrimmage. "It’s going to take awhile to set in. I was shocked. There’s a picture of me with my mouth open. I was in disbelief."
The play occurred over an hour into the proceedings, an event that attracted more than 4,800 spectators to Manley Field House. According to freshman Scoop Jardine, there may have been a few cynics in the crowd after the dunk.
"Someone came up to me at a bowling alley yesterday (Saturday) and told me it was fixed (that the play was scripted)," noted Jardine. "You can’t fix something like that."
Video of the destructive dunke went national that night, first courtesy of ESPN Sportscenter, which ranked it the second-best play of the night. It wasn't long before clips of Onuaku's two-hander was on the internet.
"I don’t remember ever seeing that, period," said Onuaku. "I’ve heard about Shak (Shaquille O'Neal) or Tractor Trailer doing it but I’ve never even seen a clip of it."
