The America East has made a tremendous step forward from top to bottom as far as talent, competition, and athleticism, and this has not only been evident in its standing as a league. The America East’s RPI is up to 17th in the country from 27th last year, but this might also be seen in the kind of in-your-face, jaw-dropping dunks that America East fans have been treated to nightly.
Sure, they only count as two points, no different than a lay-up, hook, or jumper, but there’s no denying that the dunk is a crowd-pleaser, and the most demoralizing play in basketball.
So without further ado, here are the five (ok, I stretched it to six, and added a few “honorable mentions”) best in-game dunkers in the conference.
Marqus Blakely, 6’5″ Forward, Vermont: Whether it’s leaping off of one foot on a fast break, or taking off from two feet in traffic around the rim, there isn’t much that Blakely can’t do aerially. At a very long 6’5″ with close to a 40-inch vertical leap, Blakely can be found most nights hovering with his head around the rim. Blakely became a Youtube sensation as a freshman two years ago and hasn’t stopped since. When he gets out in transition he’s usually going to posterize someone, but he is also just as capable of throwing down two-handed power dunks in traffic. Blakely already has a bevy of different alley-oop, tomahawk, and windmill dunks that he has displayed on the season. Blakely has the best mix of leaping ability, athleticism, and length out of any dunker in the conference.
D.J. Rivera, 6’4″ Guard/Forward, Binghamton: Rivera doesn’t come anywhere close to his listed 6’4″, but he makes up for it as probably the best leaper in the conference. Rivera is an absolutely unreal dunker for a player his size, and no one is better going up and getting it on an alley-oop, as Rivera is absolutely fearless “going up and getting it”: Watching a player as small as Rivera go elbows above the rim in traffic is a jaw-dropping sight. Rivera might be the most creative dunker the conference has seen since Matt Turner, and his two-handed reverse slam on an alley-oop against Rutgers was beyond “filthy.”
John Holland, 6’5″ Forward, Boston University: As Vermont’s Even Fjeld learned, when John Holland gets a head of steam behind him and gets out and running, just get the heck out of his way if you don’t want to wind up on SportsCenter. Holland is a classic one-foot leaper, and his forte is when he is on the break. A terrific leaper, Holland is an absolutely vicious dunker in transition, and his tomahawk jam against Vermont earned the #1 play on SportsCenter’s top ten plays on the night, and #6 on their plays of the week.
Chauncey Gilliam, 6’4″ Forward, UMBC: At 240 pounds and built like a tank, Gilliam’s leaping ability is scary. He might be a freshman, but no one in the America East has Gilliam’s combination of strength and athleticism. Gilliam is a high-flyer and backboard shaker, and his five-dunk barrage on the road against Nebraska may be the best single game “dunkathon” for the America East this season. Gilliam is an explosive leaper off of two feet, who throws down power dunks in traffic with ease, and can finish off an alley with authority.
Tommy Brenton, 6’5″ Forward, Stony Brook: Brenton’s athleticism simply does not get the proper respect amongst fans, and even players, in the America East. Maybe it’s because of his race, maybe it’s his at times mop-ish hair, or maybe it’s just because he’s such a relentless worker, but the kid can jump out of the gym. Perhaps even more importantly, Brenton is the “ballsiest” dunker in the conference, as he tries to dunk everything around the hoop no matter who is in his way, and is as good a dunker in traffic as there is in the conference. Brenton’s strength and athleticism are up there with Gilliam’s, and he’s made a knack out of throwing down backbreaking dunks at crucial junctures (against Albany to close out the game, an alley-oop against UMBC, a ridiculous reverse against St. Peter’s).
Dane DiLiegro, 6’8″ Center, New Hampshire: DiLiegro isn’t in the same category as a leaper as the other’s on this list, but at close to 6’9″ and 260 pounds, he doesn’t have to be. DiLiegro is a good athlete for his size, and a solid leaper in his own right. More importantly, he just tries to rip the rim off every single time. There are no finesse dunks in DiLiegro’s repertoire, as to quote Biggie Smalls, he’s all about “raw power moves,” and no one in the conference shakes the backboard with as much authority as DiLiegro.
Honorable Mention:
Demetrius Young, 6’5″ Forward, Stony Brook: Young is long and bouncy, a real “glider” around the hoop, and can finish off alleys with a blend of creativity and authority.
Reggie Fuller, 6’6″ Forward, Binghamton: Fuller is long and a big-time leaper, and finishes with authority around the hoop.
Will Harris, 6’6″ Forward, Albany: Harris is a terrific athlete and built like a linebacker, and would very well have cracked the top 6 if he had been healthy and in-shape all year. He can really put a hurting on a backboard when he gets air-born.
Best Dunks of the year
D.J. Rivera tells Rutgers “you don’t gotta’ go home, but you can’t stay here”: Rivera added the ultimate exclamation mark on Binghamton’s road win against Big East’s Rutgers, as he elevated above the rim to catch an alley-oop feed, turned in mid-air, and threw it in behind his head with two hands just before the final buzzer sounded.
John Holland introduces himself to Evan Fjeld and SportsCenter: John Holland got on the break like a runaway freight train and absolutely posterized 6’8″ Evan Fjeld with a monster tomahawk. Holland’s waistline was at Fjeld’s eye level in a true “N.I.Y.F” dunk (you can fill in the words).
Chauncey Gilliam to Nebraska, Dunk you very much: Gilliam’s game itself deserves special mention, as throwing down almost a half-dozen dunks against a big school from a power conference doesn’t exactly happen every day. But none was better than his insane two-handed alley-oop slam in traffic in which he posterized half of the Cornhuskers’ roster (I think he even jumped over the water cooler).
Tommy Brenton is “the balls”: The “Ballsiest” dunk of the season happened when Stony Brook went on the road to face St. Peter’s, as Brenton drove baseline and took off, gliding underneath the hoop, before throwing in a two-handed slam behind his head while hanging in between two defenders. If there had been a single camera or visual recording device on campus, it would have been a shoo-in for SportsCenter’s “top plays.”
The Dunk that wasn’t: It was a miss, but what a miss it was. For two years now America East players have been trying to dunk on Blakely, and not one has been successful. But Dane DiLiegro came as close as anyone in New Hampshire’s home loss to Vermont earlier this year. DiLiegro caught the ball on the left baseline outside of the key and drove to the hoop. As DiLiegro elevated for the dunk, Blakely went up for the block. DiLiegro was able to elevate over Blakely, and came “this close” to throwing down a one-handed slam not only on Blakely, but also on 6’8″ Colin McIntosh. Unfortunately, DiLiegro went for a little extra “umph” at the last second and back rimmed it, which resulted in the ball coming down near half court.
Ah what could have been…
And now, to quote Monty Python, “And now for something completely different”: Here’s a look at the comedic side of America East Hoops.
- Harvard University has the second-largest endowment in the world (it trails only the Catholic Church), but little of that money has gone towards the men’s basketball facilities. No where is this more evident than the “Media Room” at Lavietes Pavilion. I use quotes because it is a media room in name only, as it is a glorified janitor’s closet that is filled with media guides, game notes, and some pizzas for the media.
A rather comedic situation developed in said closet, err media room, prior to the Crimson’s non-conference showdown with Boston University: It began with myself, BU SID Scott Ellis, and Harvard SID Kurt Svoboda discussing previous battles (or beat-downs) between the Terriers and Crimson, over some slices and soda in a closet (sorry Media room) barely big enough to fit the three full grown adults (and I’m not the slimmest of men). America East representatives Matt Bourque and Sean Tainish then joined us. Tainish and Bourque were then followed in by The Daily Free Press writer Nick Cammarota. The room was filled to the brim to say the least, but we were just getting warmed up, as an array of media personnel, a referee, a policeman, and some students working the game as part of their work study all trickled in one by one. It was a scene eerily similar of the famous “stateroom scene” from the Marx Brothers A Night at the Opera, and I couldn’t help but quote Groucho Marx, to no one in particular, as I exclaimed “Is it my imagination, or is it getting crowded in here?” just as none other than Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe squeezed his way in.
- After the Terriers’ 75-59 drubbing of Harvard, head coach Dennis Wolff attempted to give a press conference behind Harvard’s bleachers (there is no media room open to visiting coaches). That’s when Harvard’s pep band got its revenge. Every time Wolff tried to answer a question, Harvard’s band began playing. Four times Wolff waited until the band finished their song before trying to begin the press conference, and all four times the band started back up downing out Wolff. After the forth time, Wolff turned to a young beat writer for the Harvard Crimson, and in his most intimidating voice asked, “Do you go to Harvard? Can you get the band to stop playing?”
- Following Wolff’s press conference, he crossed paths with forward John Holland. He grabbed Holland by the arm and said, “John, do me a favor – please don’t call me ‘Dennis’ during your interview.”
No more than a minute later, Holland said, “Well, you know, Dennis has been stressing defense to us.” (He then looked around squeamishly with an “Oh man, I can’t believe I just did that” look on his face). - Following Hartford’s 97-82 victory over Lafayette, Michael Turner was discussing his game, in which his 20 first half points (he scored 26 on the night) surpassed his previous career high.
Turner: “I was just getting some good looks…”
Head Coach Dan Leibovitz: “I just have to interrupt here, did you know how many points you had in the first half during the game?”
Turner: “Honestly?”
Leibovitz: “Yeah, honestly.”
Turner: “Yeah, I knew exactly how many points I had.”
Leibovitz: “You’re supposed to say ‘no coach, I wasn’t paying attention to the score board, I was just trying to help us win,’ or something like that.”
Turner: “You told me to be honest, come on coach.”
Leibovitz: “Lie to me or something Mike.” - After New Hampshire’s 55-47 win over Hartford, Dane DiLiegro was asked about the prospects of getting a big dunk to cap off the game.
DiLiegro: “Well, with the pace of the game, there wasn’t much opportunity until the end. I was dying for a dunk when I was all bare-(expletive) there in the final minutes.”
(Teammates Alvin Abreu and Tyrece Gibbs erupt into laughter)
DiLiegro: “Did I just say ‘Bare-(expletive)’? I did just say ‘Bare-(expletive)’ didn’t I? I said ‘Bare-(expletive)’ right in the middle of a press conference. Are you guys going to write in ‘expletive’ instead of what I said? Can you do that? I always wanted to get a quote bleeped out.”
