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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"That was one of the greatest dunking performances I've ever seen. All four of them were above and beyond."
Mason Plumlee
SBNATION
FACT OF THE DAY
LaVine's Twitter followers jumped 47 percent from 49,000 to around 72,000 only 12 hours after the dunk contest.
ESPN.COM
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Who was the last player from the Timberwolves to win the dunk contest?
A. Isaiah Rider in 1994
THE MORNING BREW
ESPN.COM
Zach LaVine rises above competition in one of the best dunk contest performances
In Saturday's NBA All-Star Dunk Contest, Minnesota Timberwolves rookie guard Zach
wolves rookie guard Zach LaVine showed the judges that the dunk contest is serious business for him. In the opening round, LaVine put up two perfect scores for a total of 100 points to move on to the second round.
LaVine's first dunk set the tone as he tossed the ball up in the air and put in a between-the-legs reverse dunk. Both LaVine and Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo received 50 points for their first dunks, but LaVine's second behind-the-back dunk is what demoralized Oladipo.
Oladipo had a hard time finishing his dunks in the second round — he couldn't finish after three tries on one of them. LaVine may have gotten into Oladipo's head after the first round
and his frustration prevented him from completing his dunks.
What made LaVine's performance one of the best in NBA dunk contest history was his creativity as well as consistency. His dunks were clean and he put both of his first-round dunks in on the first try. In the final round, LaVine only needed 27 points
from the judges to beat Oladipo, but outscored him by 22 to win the final round.
LaVine has been known for his athleticism since he joined the league, and after his first dunk contest victory, there may be more to come in the future, especially with his confidence. ESPN asked LaVine if he could defeat LeBron James in a dunk contest. His reply: "I never go against my own talent, so I've got to say me."
Other great dunk contest performances include Vince Carter in 2000, Jason Richardson in 2003 and '04, and Michael Jordan in 1988 and '89. Putting LaVine up in that category is acceptable as there was no doubt that LaVine had won the contest after the first round.
Vince Carter's win in 2000. Carter's execution of the between-the-legs and 360-windmill dunks were unlike anything the dunk contest had seen before. Both Carter and LaVine had difficult dunks that were pretty to look at. If you have Andrew Wiggins going insane on the sideline after a dunk, you're doing something right.
1 Put LaVine's performance in the top two of all time along with
In the past few years the dunks have included props and shows during the dunk, such as Gerald Green blowing out the candle of the cupcake and Blake Griffin jumping over a car, but there were no props from LaVine, and he gave the crowd a memorable show, which is what makes him stand out. Expect LaVine to hold up a few more dunk contest trophies in the future.
Ellis named co-Big 12 Player of the Week after Baylor win
Edited by Emma LeGault
DAN HARMSEN
@UDK Dan
It's been an exciting, accolade-filled couple of days for one 6-foot-8 junior from Wichita.
After eclipsing the 1,000-point mark on Saturday in his team's 74-64 win over No.21 Baylor — only the 56th player in school history to do so — Kansas forward Perry Ellis was named the co-Big 12 player of the week Monday.
Saturday, Ellis would finish his impressive afternoon with 18 points as the Jayhawks continued their quest toward an 11th-straight conference title.
An undefeated week of Feb. 8 got coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks closer to their annual goal: a Big 12 Championship. During that week of play, Ellis led the charge, averaging 16 points and 7.5 rebounds in Kansas' victories against Texas Tech on the road and Baylor at home. In those two wins, Ellis shot 52.2 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.
"I've had high expectations for him from day one," Self said of Ellis after the win Saturday. "I'll say he's gotten close to where we thought he could be"
As for the point total, Self says that if Ellis stays the full four years, he could see his forward finishing his career
as one of the top-15 scorers in the school's history.
"It was a great accomplishment." Ellis said Saturday. "I'm just blessed to be in this position. It's really an honor and feels great."
As for the other accomplishment — the conference's best player — it's the second time this season Perry Ellis has won the weekly award. The last time he won it was on Dec. 1, following wins against Rider, Rhode Island, and Michigan State. Ellis is the only Jayhawk to win the award this season, but both Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre (twice) have won the conference's Newcomer of the Week award.
"It was a great
accomplishment. I'm just blessed to be in this position. It's really an honor and feels great."
PERRY ELLIS Junior guard
Ellis shares this week's award with Oklahoma State's Le'Bryan Nash, who finished the week averaging 20.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Edited by Miranda Davis
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Kansas junior guard Perry Ellis attacks the basket in the win against Baylor on Saturday afternoon. Ellis was named co-Big 12 Player on the Week on Monday.
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