- Slug: Sports-Final Four Slam Dunk Update, 830 words.
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By Noah Maltzman
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Nicknamed “Young Skywalker,” Grand Canyon star Gabe McGlothan played a significant role in his team’s 30-win season and stuffed the stat sheet in the 12th-seeded Lopes’ first-round NCAA Tournament upset over the fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels.
He posted a double-double in that game, Grand Canyon’s first NCAA Tournament victory ever, finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
And McGlothan put on another March Madness show to remember in front of his home crowd during last Thursday’s 35th annual State Farm College Dunk & 3-Point Championships at Global Credit Union Arena.
GCU Arena is no stranger to packed crowds, and there was a standing-room-only crowd – including the renowned GCU Havocs fan sanction – on hand to watch McGlothan and other college stars in action.
McGlothan didn’t disappoint.
He registered two dunks that received perfect scores from the panel of judges and ultimately won the championship belt. One of the dunks, inspired by Aaron Gordon’s 2016 NBA Dunk Contest dunk, in which Gordon plucked the ball off the head of Orlando Magic mascot “Stuff the Magic Dragon,” brought it between his legs and dunked, McGlothan’s dunk also involved leaping over a person and dunking the ball from under his legs.
Gordon’s spectacular finish was ultimately snubbed by the NBA contest judges, but McGlotha’s dunk brought the loudest ovation of the night and delivered the championship.
“I’m not going to lie, I was stressing,” McGlothan said. “We just got out of March Madness, so I mean, there wasn’t much time to rest. I practiced that last dunk an hour before this event, and I never made it.”
The other fan favorite was Keshad Johnson of the University of Arizona. Johnson set career highs in almost every offensive category in his single season in Tucson, averaging 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and shooting 53% from the floor. He was also tied for 33rd for the most dunks in the country with 49 dunks in just 38 games.
Johnson, who loves to play above the rim, suggested he was the victim of judgment bias as a result of being the first contestant to attempt a dunk.
“I went first and when you go first you got to set the tone, but the judges also got to leave some room for the people next,” Johnson said, “So I think they just judged me a little too hard for the first dunk.”
Among those in attendance was now-former Kentucky coach John Calipari, who just signed a five-year deal to coach the Arkansas Razorbacks. Calipari was on hand to cheer for Kentucky fifth-year senior Antonio Reeves as he competed in the 3-point shootout.
However, the 3-point competition was dominated by an athlete who never fails to put on a show: Keisei Tominaga. Well known for his emphatic celebrations, Tominaga lived up to his reputation by taking and making a turn-around, no-look three-point shot, in honor of his role model Stephen Curry.
After taking down everyone in the men’s bracket, Tominaga faced off with women’s bracket winner Sara Scalia of the Indiana Hoosiers. While the matchup was a nail-biter, Tominaga edged his opponent to claim the championship chain for best shooter.
Jermaine Hall Jr. also served as a highlight, taking the stage in the slam dunk contest. Hall was announced on Friday, Mar. 29 as the winner of the State Farm Dark Horse Dunker competition, a digital media fan-voting contest conducted each year.
The Dark Horse winner earns a place in the big show. Hall, a member of the California University of Pennsylvania Vulcans and an All-PSAC West selection in each of the last two seasons, made the most of his time in the limelight by showcasing his elite athleticism.
Jack Gohlke, who earned overnight celebrity after draining 10 three-pointers to help the Oakland Grizzlies pull off a major upset against the blue-blood Kentucky Wildcats, relished in the lively environment of the event at Global Credit Union Arena.
“I can only imagine what it’s like in here for a home game, especially against rivals,” Gohlke said. “This place is amazing. I think it would be a tremendous place to play. For Gabe to live out his whole career here, that’s got to be awesome.”
Gohlke was a part of one of the coolest sequences of the night, which occurred during the Hot Shot Challenge skills competition. While teaming up with Marlow Gilmore of Francis Marion and Unique Drake of St. John’s, Gohlke and company managed to hit seven consecutive shots, capped off by a half-court heave, to obliterate the previous record.
So what’s next for the national phenomenon?
“I’m going to try to play professionally,” Gohlke said. “I signed an agent, so I’m going to move on with that process and just see where it takes me and work hard this summer. Whether I go to the league or go overseas, I’m not too worried about that. I just want to work as hard as I can and get to the peak.”
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