The 2011-2012 season was great in terms of above-the-rim action. From November til April, SportsCenter ‘s Top Plays were riddled with alley-oops, tomahawks, and posterizations. On Monday we provided you with our “Dunk of the Year” awards for the 2011-2012 season. But there were ten dunks that stood out amongst all the others. The dunks came from all corners of the college basketball world. Potential lottery picks, National Champions, mid-majors, low-majors and even Divison-II.
What follows is the Top-10 dunks of the 2011-2012 college basketball season, including the 2011-2012 “Dunk of the Year”.
10. Quincy Acy - Baylor vs. Xavier
The NCAA tournament was not as exciting as we expected it to be. 67 games were played, and only one of them went into overtime. There were no buzzer-beaters and only a small handful of “One Shining Moments”. But Quincy Acy’s monster-slam against Xavier was one of those moments. No player in the country dunked more frequently than Acy. He had the highest percentage of dunks to total field goals than any player in the country. He was also arguably the most poweful, forceful dunker in the county. Luckily for Xavier, they forgot where he was on the play, because if Kenny Frease had tried to get in his way, we might have witnessed the first ever dunk-related casualty.
9. Michael Kidd-Glichrist - Kentucky vs. Portland
It would be a shame for any “end-of-season” list to not include the National Champions. But don’t think this is a pity vote. MKG earned this all himself. It was powerful, destructive, and explosive. Just a mean and nasty dunk. He took off from surprisingly far away and finished with two hands, which is not something we see in a lot of highlight reel dunks. Portland had cut the lead to with-in six, but what made Kentucky so special was their ability to make back-breaking runs. The dunk by MKG capped off a 18-3 run that put the game out of reach for the Pilots.
8. Mike James - Lamar vs. Ohio
Does anybody remember this dunk? Probably not. You know why? Because Lamar’s 2011-2012 season will only be remembered for Pat Knight’s post-game tirade and the Cardinals subsequent winning streak that led them to the NCAA tournament. But man, this was a great dunk. Mike James is only 6-1, yet has the vertical of somebody 6-7. This dunk is a great example for young basketball players. If you distribute the ball and can run the floor well, you will get rewarded.
7. Victor Rudd Jr. - South Florida vs. St. John’s
God’s Gift Achiuwa is a physical specimen. But all the muscle mass int he world wasn’t going to stop Victor Rudd from throwing down a nasty one-hander. This was one of the more vicious poster-jams of the season, despite God’s Gift not actually making a play on the ball. But that was probably a good thing, because well, taking a knee to the face isn’t nearly as bad as getting blown up on FatHeads across southern Florida. Rudd is coming back to school, despite making initially opting to “test the waters”. This is a good thing for South Florida fans and a bad thing for ambitious Big East defenders.
6. Markel Brown - Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
If you didn’t read our “Dunk of the Year” awards, then you missed our coronation of Brown as “Dunker of the Year”. His took home the award due in large part to his performance against Missouri. His one-hander on Kim English was the first basket of the game, and his alley-oop poster-dunk on Matt Pressey got him ejected from the game. If a player throws down two “Dunk of the Year” candidates in one game, he should get ejected, only in order to protect the other team. Who knows what Brown would have been capable of in the game’s final six minutes?
5. Jeremy Lamb - UConn vs. Columbia
While it might only bet No.5 on our list, this dunk was by far the “Non-Conference Dunk of the Year” and was the clubhouse leader for “Dunk of the Year” heading into 2012. Lamb got time and room on the baseline, which is never a good thing for a defender. Lamb is one of the smoothest players in the game, but there was nothing smooth about this dunk. it was just plain nasty. Look at how far he cocked the ball back. Poor Columbia. Sure those guys are getting a great education, but they don’t get scholarships. So the poor bloke on the receiving end essentially paid to get dunked on. That’s rough.
4. Darrion Pellom - Hampton vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore
This off-the-glass alley-oop was unquestionably the most creative dunk of the season. Pulling off a dunk like this takes some serious “stones”. You miss a dunk like this and you can almost guarantee yourself a seat on the bench for a good chunk of time. But Pellom connected, and in impressive fashion. The best part is that he completely juked the defender. He threw it off the glass, went behind the defender, and slammed it home. You know it was a great year for dunks when something like this is only No.4 on the list.
3. Kwame Alexander - Cal State- San Bernadino vs. Cal State-Stanislaus
This right here kiddos, is why you always run the floor in transition. Kwame Alexander was a week removed from tearing down a backboard, and earned himself even more airtime on SportsCenter thanks to this brutal one-handed poster-slam. Alexander, a 6-7 physical freak from Divison-II Cal State San Bernadino got damn-near horizontal when he flew over some poor defender for Cal State Stanislaus. Seriously, Alexander needs to be on a Division-I program. Or the Harlem Globetrotters.
2. Eric Griffin - Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T
As Marv Albert would say “For the love of elevation!”. That’s about all you can say about this dunk. Watching it will render you speechless. He got elevation and extension, which is a deadly combination on a fast-break. There’s really not much else you can say about this dunk. It was four seconds of sheer awesomeness.
1. Savalace Townsend - Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State
Are there any doubts that this was dunk of the year? Didn’t think so. This dunk took place just hours before Blake Griffin posterized Kendrick Perkins into a state of unconsciousness, and there still wasn’t much doubt that Townsend’s dunk was the better of the two. People just aren’t suppose to be able to extend their arms like that. The coup de grace was the stiff-arm he gave the defender as he was slamming it home. In a season full of amazing dunks, phenomenal slams, and jaw-dropping poster-dunks, Savalace Townsend’s dunk reigns supreme. Just shut it down. Game over. You can all go home now.
Troy Machir is the managing editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @TroyMachir.
