Best dunker

[Boilermb]

Little known story: playing at the CoRec while at Purdue, I was known as a pretty good player. Used to frequently play with the football players and basketball players but early on in the fall semester, I ended up stumbling in against Willie and a few of his buddies playing. A teammate ended up throwing an awful pass for a TO that Willie caught at about the halfcourt line. I sprinted to just try to contest a layup with ghost pressure...Willie ended up somehow jumping OVER ME And dunking it. Luckily it was done when cell phone videos weren’t a thing yet or I’d still be a YouTube star.

A friend of mine once attempted to contest a Herm Gilliam dunk at the Co Rec and got totally embarassed. Carl was about 6’1” and a good jumper (he later played USVBA volleyball as a middle blocker), but he said Gilliam got up so high he thought his hand was going to get dunked along with the ball. And this from a guy who never liked to admit anyone had gotten the best of him.

 

[TopSecretBoiler]

Little known story: playing at the CoRec while at Purdue, I was known as a pretty good player. Used to frequently play with the football players and basketball players but early on in the fall semester, I ended up stumbling in against Willie and a few of his buddies playing. A teammate ended up throwing an awful pass for a TO that Willie caught at about the halfcourt line. I sprinted to just try to contest a layup with ghost pressure...Willie ended up somehow jumping OVER ME And dunking it. Luckily it was done when cell phone videos weren’t a thing yet or I’d still be a YouTube star.

i bet we played against each other. I was a bball court rat. I also played against willy. We were almost identical sizes. I was maybe a little taller. I was pretty athletic so my team made me guard him. The lateral movement of that guy defied physics. I was trying to foul him and could barely lay a hand on him. haha!

 

[JohnHoosierr]

Travis carroll and patrick bade.

 

[IUbaseball10]

Victor Oladipo.... oh sorry wrong board... haha

 

[nagemj02]

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And I agree with the poster above who said Kramer should be in this list:

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A classic:

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But I like this one better:

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And Eastern may be in the list by the time he's done also:

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One of Moore's that I had forgotten:

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good vids!

If you find any others, feel free to post them here. It's too bad that there are not more clips from the '60's through the '90's and even the early to mid '00's.

 

[PU pit bull]

I always liked Willie, some didn't. Regardless, the man could get up. Not sure if he is still playing pro ball over seas. Watch some of these dunks by Mr. Fearless himself in 2009. Keep in mind he is only 6'1" and around 29 years old. Dude was/is an athlete. 2008 Bulgarian POY. Well done Willie!

 

[ghost_of_d.]

Justin Jennings could get up with the best of them, and I believe he was the only Boiler to be in the college dunk contest til Octeus made it in 2015.




Dove of course had some great hops, as well (several nice dunks in the 2nd video linked).

Another underrated 90's dunker was Alan Eldridge. 6' tall and I only recall him dunking maybe 3 times his whole career, but 1 in particular was a nasty baseline tomahawk over somebody. Want to say it was the 1997-98 season.

And somebody just had to bring up Darmetreis Kilgore...lol. The only guy in history with a (supposed) 40+ inch vertical who couldn't dunk.

 

[LLaswell]

Definitely James Bullock. He finished off a good number of great, high-flying alley oops. And I remember Scooby Scearce having a great, rumbling-down-the-lane-get-the-hell-out-of-my-way dunk (and great game) against IU his senior season.

 

[Roeder]

I always liked Willie, some didn't. Regardless, the man could get up. Not sure if he is still playing pro ball over seas. Watch some of these dunks by Mr. Fearless himself in 2009. Keep in mind he is only 6'1" and around 29 years old. Dude was/is an athlete. 2008 Bulgarian POY. Well done Willie!

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That dunk at 1:45 was nasty, nice find. I remember Deane having hops, but not many of his dunks at Purdue stand out for some reason for me. I remember his teammate Joe Marshall having a big baseline dunk in upset win Vs Arizona though.

 

[PU pit bull]

That dunk at 1:45 was nasty, nice find. I remember Deane having hops, but I not many of his dunks at Purdue stand out for some reason for me. I remember his teammate Joe Marshall having a big baseline dunk in upset win Vs Arizona though.

For sure the most impressive dunk. Just fearless...…….dunking on 6'9"+ dudes like it was nothing. Like I said some didn't like him, but he could ball with anyone.

 

[nagemj02]

Travis carroll and patrick bade.

I think I remember Tacos having at least one dunk. It almost makes up for the missed wide-open layups he occasionally had.

 

[IndianapolisHoops]

Dustin Keller could dunk from the free throw line. No disrespect to Chuck Davis, but I played with them both, and Purdue would have rather had the other TE walk on to the basketball team that year.

 

[GS Thomas]

Who would get your vote as the best dunker in program history?

It was before my time but I've heard good things about Arnette Hallman.

It's Justin Jennings and there isn't even a close second.

Refer to the 1995 game in Bloomington for reference (8 dunks).

 

[yotheo]

Who would get your vote as the best dunker in program history?

It was before my time but I've heard good things about Arnette Hallman.

Justin Jennings

 

[samcboiler]

Who would get your vote as the best dunker in program history?

It was before my time but I've heard good things about Arnette Hallman.

Herb Robinson

 

[SKYDOG]

Hallman then Jennings and the rest are not on their level.

 

[Mandeville LA]

Herb Robinson

Need to find the tape of Herb pulling off a 360 degree dunk. PU was playing a team from Florida but I cannot remember much more.

 

[Mandeville LA]

Hallman then Jennings and the rest are not on their level.

The word on the street when I was a kid was that Hallman could place a quarter on the top of the backboard. Not sure if it was true or not but I do know that dude could get up. I do think Wheeler can get up higher than anyone PU has had in the last 30 or so years.

 

[bonefish1]

Herb Dove. He gave a guy a concussion dunking over him.

I think that was the round of 32 game against Alabama in '94. Late in the game, Dove got a great pass from Robinson and destroyed a guy who challenged him.

 

[bonefish1]

I think I remember Tacos having at least one dunk. It almost makes up for the missed wide-open layups he occasionally had.

I know for a fact that Bade couldn't dunk.

 

[bonefish1]

I (along with everyone else) used to get dunked on by Shawn Kemp in the late 80's at the Y in Elkhart.
Actually, you weren't really dunked on because no one contested him. If Kemp got the ball and felt like dunking, you basically got out of the way so you didn't get kicked in the face.

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

I think that was the round of 32 game against Alabama in '94. Late in the game, Dove got a great pass from Robinson and destroyed a guy who challenged him.

Go to approximately 1:24:30 of the video. Good call, Lenny.

 

[SKYDOG]

The word on the street when I was a kid was that Hallman could place a quarter on the top of the backboard. Not sure if it was true or not but I do know that dude could get up. I do think Wheeler can get up higher than anyone PU has had in the last 30 or so years.

I also heard that about Hallman. If Wheeler can get up higher than Hallman, he will be a boarder line hover craft.

 

[PU pit bull]

I know for a fact that Bade couldn't dunk.

http://www.usatodaysportsimages.com/setImages/94194

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

http://www.usatodaysportsimages.com/setImages/94194

Oops......

 

[BoilerAndy]

I know for a fact that Bade couldn't dunk.

Yeah. You seem to know for a fact many things that aren't true.

 

[GaffneyBoiler]

I'm sure he meant to say could instead of couldn't. It should have read "I know for a fact that Bade could dunk."

 

[mathboy]

December 13, 2010:
"Purdue's Patrick Bade got open and hammered down an emphatic two-handed jam, then hung on the rim and drew a technical foul. The student section didn't mind, though, and chanted Bade's name. His dunk gave Purdue a 37-12 lead."

 

[Bob Sienicki]

Hallman then Jennings and the rest are not on their level.

I agree that Hallman was a real leaper. But for some of the old timers around here, Arnette Hallman was often referred to as a "Jovon Price, but could shoot!" lol (Not that he was that much better!)

Honestly, I don't ever remember seeing anyone at Purdue get up as high as the late Jovon Price. But I cannot attest to how great of a dunker he was, because the ncaa did not allow dunks from 1967-1976, and Jovon played from 1970-1973. But I do remember him getting WAAAAYYYY up over the rim and simply dropping the ball into the hoop. Actually, it was kind of funny because I remember one of my friends who sat with me in Mackey commented about how embarrassing it would be if Jovon missed the layup because he was so far above the rim. Unfortunately for Jovon, he wasn't much of a shooter - at least from the free throw line. I think his FT% must have been below 30% most of his career. And except for his senior season, his FG% wasn't much better. I think the only shots he made were from 2 feet above the rim! lol

He was a great guy with seriously major hops, but bless his heart, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a beach ball from 5 feet!

Finally, lest we forget, before Jimmy Rowinski became Mr. Beach and won B10 PoY, he was just another rail-thin 6'8" kid with the unusual ability to sky with the best of them. Of course, before putting on all that beef in the summer before his senior year, he was too skinny to have any business being near the low block. But once he put on that weight and shocked everyone in those first few games of his senior year, he not only had the weight and muscle to pound in the low block, but he could still get up. In fact, I seem to recall him putting down an IYF slam over 7'1" Uwe Blab of IU. Too funny!

Ah, those were the days! And good God, I miss 'em!!!

 

[Schnelk]

Great post Bob. I remember him now. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[Wheels Of Steel]

I began at Purdue as a freshman in 1972 so I saw Jovon Price, Arnette Hallman, et al. during their times here, but the most incredible display of leaping ability I ever witnessed in person in Mackey Arena did not involve a dunk, nor was it a Purdue player. In January 1974 Purdue hosted North Carolina State, and at one point in the game, a missed shot bounced high off the rim, directly toward a perfectly positioned Frank Kendrick, who had David Thompson completely sealed off behind him. Frank went up with both hands, and at the top of his leap, Thompson, without touching Kendrick, went up, extended his arm sideways, and grabbed the ball. That's right, Thompson out-rebounded Kendrick by reaching higher with his arm virtually parallel to the floor than Frank could reach with his arms perpendicular to the floor! Had I not been sitting in the lower arena at that end of the court I would not have believed what I just saw. NC State eventually won the game 86 - 81, and went on to win the National Championship. Purdue, of course, would become the first Big 10 team ever to win the NIT that year.

 

[Bob Sienicki]

In January 1974 Purdue hosted North Carolina State, and at one point in the game, a missed shot bounced high off the rim, directly toward a perfectly positioned Frank Kendrick, who had David Thompson completely sealed off behind him. Frank went up with both hands, and at the top of his leap, Thompson, without touching Kendrick, went up, extended his arm sideways, and grabbed the ball. That's right, Thompson out-rebounded Kendrick by reaching higher with his arm virtually parallel to the floor than Frank could reach with his arms perpendicular to the floor! Had I not been sitting in the lower arena at that end of the court I would not have believed what I just saw. NC State eventually won the game 86 - 81, and went on to win the National Championship. Purdue, of course, would become the first Big 10 team ever to win the NIT that year.

Ah yes, the NC State game. I was there, too. DT was one of the greatest human pogo sticks of all time, no doubt, while "only" 6'4". And to think we had the eventual ncaa champs on the ropes until about 5 minutes left in the game! Ouch! What a heartbreaker!!!

Oh well. While NC State went on to finish 30-1 and win the ncaa tourney, which included only 25 teams - only conference champs and independents at that time, we went on to beat North Carolina on our way to winning the NIT and finishing #11 in the final AP poll.

Oh, to have those last 5 minutes back! lol

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

I began at Purdue as a freshman in 1972 so I saw Jovon Price, Arnette Hallman, et al. during their times here, but the most incredible display of leaping ability I ever witnessed in person in Mackey Arena did not involve a dunk, nor was it a Purdue player. In January 1974 Purdue hosted North Carolina State, and at one point in the game, a missed shot bounced high off the rim, directly toward a perfectly positioned Frank Kendrick, who had David Thompson completely sealed off behind him. Frank went up with both hands, and at the top of his leap, Thompson, without touching Kendrick, went up, extended his arm sideways, and grabbed the ball. That's right, Thompson out-rebounded Kendrick by reaching higher with his arm virtually parallel to the floor than Frank could reach with his arms perpendicular to the floor! Had I not been sitting in the lower arena at that end of the court I would not have believed what I just saw. NC State eventually won the game 86 - 81, and went on to win the National Championship. Purdue, of course, would become the first Big 10 team ever to win the NIT that year.

David Thompson was unbelievable and is somewhat forgotten at times as time marches on. That '74 National Semi-Final game with UCLA is still to this day one of the best games I've seen. North Carolina State and Norm Sloan avenged their only loss of the year and ended UCLA's 7-year stranglehold on the NCAA tournament in a double overtime classic. John Wooden's last loss in the NCAA tournament as he retired the following year after UCLA won it again.

Also overlooked sometimes is that NC State had to survive another overtime classic against an excellent Maryland team in the ACC Championship just to get into the field in 1974.