Jones Jams His Way to Semifinals of Slam Dunk Contest

March 30, 2012

CORAL GABLES, Fla. –University of Miami forward DeQuan Jones opened the 2012 Denny’s Slam Dunk Contest with a perfect score of 40 from the on-site judges in the 24th Annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships tonight on ESPN.

“This slam dunk contest was one of the best competitions I’ve ever seen,” said Jones after the event held at Fogelman Arena on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans. “It was a great group of guys and it was one of the best experiences of my life.”

For his first dunk, Jones came toward the rim from along the baseline, threw the ball off of the back of the glass, then jammed it home for a crowd-pleasing 40 from the on-site judges, which included Jimmy Graham, a former Cane hooper and current New Orleans Saint. Adding the “Fifth Judge” of the fans’ Twitter vote, Jones recorded a 49.7 and was atop the leaderboard after Round One.

Dunk No. 2 was a right-handed 360 jam from the right side of the lane which moved him into second in the event, following a 42.2 total score.

Jones brought in a prop for his third and final dunk, jumping over a motorcycle on his way to a one-handed slam, garnering a 38.6 from the judges.

James Justice of Martin Methodist defeated Clemson’s Bryan Narcisse for the championship title. Others participating in the event were Miles Plumlee of Duke, Kenny Gabriel of Auburn, David Kyles of Wichita State, Olu Ashaolu of Oregon and William Mosley of Northwestern State