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I watched the Class A preliminary competition in the 3-point shooting and dunk contest.
The 3-point shooting winners were several little known players from places like Fithian and Pope County.
But the dunk contest was definitely worth watching.
There's a little write up about it in the Journal Star, but I'll give my take...
First of all, three of the kids I really came to see were no-shows.
Anthony Ahlers, 6-6 soph teammate of Carlton Fay at Putnam Co. was absent, but that's understandable since he's a starter on the Putnam Co. team that's playing for a state title tonight.
And same for Josh Watznauer, 6-7 senior from Farmington.
But, Brandon Dunson from Bloomington Central Catholic is a reknowned dunker extraordinaire, and lots of people were there just to see him, and he was absent. The reason he missed the dunk contest was never made known.
There was really only one kid from right in Proeia, John Ohman, from Peoria Christian, but like a good 30% of the participants, he didn't successfully even complete two dunks to qualify and scored zero.
Even the kids who did complete two dunks, even if they were incredibly plain, ordinary, or bad, they still scored 20-25.
Some of the nicer dunks and ones that got people standing and ooohing and aaahiing still scored only 26-28 out of 40.
But the best dunkers, the ones who clearly had some kind of chance to actually win something barely cracked 30, showing the judges were tough.
The top dunkers in my opinion were...
#1- without doubt and without any questions was Eric Hobbie from Vandalia. (getting interest from EIU and Butler)
The kid is physically developed like a college kid and can sky.
He scored 38 showing that he fully impressed at least 2 judges and got a 9 from the other two.
The PJ Star article describes his fine dunks.
(judges gave him 38 )
#2 - I liked Chris Williams from Lebanon...he had a nice set of athletic slam dunks. He wasn't scored that high by the judges, and the only reason I can think of as to why was that Eric Hobbie was right in the same group as Williams was, and by comparison, Hobbie was so much better, that maybe the judges just weren't as impressed by Chris.
(judges gave him 30)
#3 - Jereme Richmond (pronounced like "Jeremy") this freshman is fun to watch. He is the kid Bruce Weber has already given a scholarship to and the kid has accepted.
But he is far from the finished product. It is so obvious he is a freshman, and I think his name alone got him these points.
His dunks weren't spectacular, and the fact that he dribbles so poorly and needs to watch the ball while dribbling took away from the dunks. Only because he did a between the legs one right before the timer horn did he get the good score.
(judges gave him 31)
#4 - Marland Johnson, Mounds (Meridian) - 6-5, senior.
Nice array of athletic dunks, but this guy didn't shank any or miss any and obviously that's the key to impressing the judges....just make your dunks!
(judges gave him 33)
#5 - Isiah Evans, Chicago (North Lawndale) - 6-5, Sr. went in the first group and was pretty spectacular, but it seemed the judges wanted to be cautious and not score him too high, since they hadn't seen anyone else yet.
I think he would have gotten one of the 4 best scores had he gone later. He is listed as 6-5 but was very bulky and strong like Nate Minnoy.
(judges gave him 30)
#6 - Mike Tisdale from Riverton...somehow it just doesn't impress as much when a 7-footer dunks. It looks so easy and the guy hardly had to jump. I simply wasn't fooled by the extra little foot wiggles while he was hanging on the rim but the judges were so they scored him well. Tisdale, by the way, is no longer a skinny guy, he really has bulked a little bit...maybe not yet enough for Big Ten play.
(judges gave him 31)
The four that advance are Hobbie, Johnson, Richmond, and Tisdale. There's no doubt whatsoever that Dunson would have advanced if he'd have shown up. The competition was not that strong.
The 3-point shooting winners were several little known players from places like Fithian and Pope County.
But the dunk contest was definitely worth watching.
There's a little write up about it in the Journal Star, but I'll give my take...
First of all, three of the kids I really came to see were no-shows.
Anthony Ahlers, 6-6 soph teammate of Carlton Fay at Putnam Co. was absent, but that's understandable since he's a starter on the Putnam Co. team that's playing for a state title tonight.
And same for Josh Watznauer, 6-7 senior from Farmington.
But, Brandon Dunson from Bloomington Central Catholic is a reknowned dunker extraordinaire, and lots of people were there just to see him, and he was absent. The reason he missed the dunk contest was never made known.
There was really only one kid from right in Proeia, John Ohman, from Peoria Christian, but like a good 30% of the participants, he didn't successfully even complete two dunks to qualify and scored zero.
Even the kids who did complete two dunks, even if they were incredibly plain, ordinary, or bad, they still scored 20-25.
Some of the nicer dunks and ones that got people standing and ooohing and aaahiing still scored only 26-28 out of 40.
But the best dunkers, the ones who clearly had some kind of chance to actually win something barely cracked 30, showing the judges were tough.
The top dunkers in my opinion were...
#1- without doubt and without any questions was Eric Hobbie from Vandalia. (getting interest from EIU and Butler)
The kid is physically developed like a college kid and can sky.
He scored 38 showing that he fully impressed at least 2 judges and got a 9 from the other two.
The PJ Star article describes his fine dunks.
(judges gave him 38 )
#2 - I liked Chris Williams from Lebanon...he had a nice set of athletic slam dunks. He wasn't scored that high by the judges, and the only reason I can think of as to why was that Eric Hobbie was right in the same group as Williams was, and by comparison, Hobbie was so much better, that maybe the judges just weren't as impressed by Chris.
(judges gave him 30)
#3 - Jereme Richmond (pronounced like "Jeremy") this freshman is fun to watch. He is the kid Bruce Weber has already given a scholarship to and the kid has accepted.
But he is far from the finished product. It is so obvious he is a freshman, and I think his name alone got him these points.
His dunks weren't spectacular, and the fact that he dribbles so poorly and needs to watch the ball while dribbling took away from the dunks. Only because he did a between the legs one right before the timer horn did he get the good score.
(judges gave him 31)
#4 - Marland Johnson, Mounds (Meridian) - 6-5, senior.
Nice array of athletic dunks, but this guy didn't shank any or miss any and obviously that's the key to impressing the judges....just make your dunks!
(judges gave him 33)
#5 - Isiah Evans, Chicago (North Lawndale) - 6-5, Sr. went in the first group and was pretty spectacular, but it seemed the judges wanted to be cautious and not score him too high, since they hadn't seen anyone else yet.
I think he would have gotten one of the 4 best scores had he gone later. He is listed as 6-5 but was very bulky and strong like Nate Minnoy.
(judges gave him 30)
#6 - Mike Tisdale from Riverton...somehow it just doesn't impress as much when a 7-footer dunks. It looks so easy and the guy hardly had to jump. I simply wasn't fooled by the extra little foot wiggles while he was hanging on the rim but the judges were so they scored him well. Tisdale, by the way, is no longer a skinny guy, he really has bulked a little bit...maybe not yet enough for Big Ten play.
(judges gave him 31)
The four that advance are Hobbie, Johnson, Richmond, and Tisdale. There's no doubt whatsoever that Dunson would have advanced if he'd have shown up. The competition was not that strong.
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