DeQuan Jones Selected for 2012 Slam Dunk Championship

March 21, 2012

CHICAGO –   – Miami senior forward DeQuan Jones will participate in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships on Thursday, March 29, in New Orleans, Intersport announced today. The 24th annual event will showcase the dunking and sharp-shooting talents of 24 of the nation’s top college basketball players. Individual events in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships include: State Farm Women’s 3-Point Contest, Hampton Hotels Men’s 3-Point Contest, Pure Protein Battle of the Champions and Denny’s Slam Dunk Contest.

Click here for a highlight video of DeQuan Jones’ dunks.

Jones will be competing in the Denny’s Slam Dunk Contest. Jones is an explosive athlete who has thrown down many highlight reel dunks in his time as a Hurricane. Jones helped lead Miami to a 20-13 record and its first ever win over ACC-rival Duke at Cameron Indoor.

The final roster for the 2012 State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships will be available soon. Some of the other participants include: Miles Plumlee (Duke), Marcus Denmon (Missouri), John Shurna (Northwestern) and Brittany Rayburn (Purdue).

For the first time in the event’s history, fans nominated a player to the “2012 Dark Horse Dunker” competition by submitting a YouTube video to the official Facebook page’s wall (facebook.com/collegeslam). These contestants ranged from high-risers at lesser-known schools to the last guy on the bench at Division I powerhouses. Each week for four weeks, the contestants competed in a bracket-style knockout competition. Half the field advanced to the next round after a week of voting until, ultimately, the dunker with the most votes remained. The winner was James Justice of Martin Methodist College who now will test his skills against some of the nation’s top college athletes. To find out more about the Facebook competition, visit: (facebook.com/collegeslam).

Alumni of the event include Gary Payton (Oregon State), Steve Nash (UC-Santa Clara), Allan Houston (Tennessee), Bobby Hurley (Duke), Michael Finley (Wisconsin), Wes Matthews (Marquette), and Aaron Brooks (Oregon). Other alumni include six current members of the 2012 Harlem Globetrotters, including last year’s Denny’s Dunk Contest winner, Jacob Tucker.

The State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships will take place at Tulane University’s Fogelman Arena in New Orleans on Thursday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ET. For fans who would like to attend the event, doors will open at 8 p.m. ET. General admission tickets are $15, a Family Four Pack is $40 and groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $8 per ticket. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit collegeslam.com.

The ESPN broadcast team includes Brad Nessler, Dan Dakich, Jimmy Dykes and Shannon Spake. The program will re-air numerous times on ESPN networks.

For media interested in attending the event or for more information, contact Nick Owen at nowen@intersportnet.com.

About State Farm®:
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.

About Intersport
Since 1985, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports and entertainment based marketing platforms. Intersport provides turnkey solutions for global brands by combining two award-winning divisions: Sponsorship & Event Marketing and Television & Digital Media. Intersport owns and operates seven annual live television events: All-Star Football Challenge, College Home Run Derby, College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, National High School Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic, Women’s Basketball Tip-Off Classic and the Under Armour All-America High School Football Game. To learn more about Intersport, log on to www.intersportnet.com, like us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/IntersportBuzz) or follow us on Twitter (@IntersportBuzz).