February 13, 2010

Remember Spud Webb Winning the Slam-Dunk Contest?: The return of the NBA All-Star Game to Dallas after 24 years has revived memories of the legendary slam-dunk contest victor back then: 5-foot-7 rookie and Dallas native Spud Webb. "When they asked me to participate in the contest, I thought they were joking," said Webb, who's a judge this year. "What they didn't know was that when I said I would do it, I was in it to win it." See video of his win.

posted by rcade to basketball at 09:18 PM - 3 comments

I remember Spud well, as I was fortunate enough to attend Midland College the exact same years he did, and seldom missed a game as he led the Chaparrals to the 1982 NJCAA National Championship. His abilities, at times, were shocking, not to just those of us in the stands, but to his fellow competitors as well. When Spud attracted the attention of Jimmy V at NCSU, (where he was stellar, too) I think all of his fans were very happy for him, as Jimmy epitomized the same type of can-do spirit that Spud exuded during his time in Midland whole career. What a lot of people don't remember is that although he could dunk, he was just very exciting to watch, he was like a mosquito buzzing around the court, constantly harrassing the othe other team as they came down the court, or weaving in between the defense before dishing it off. The topper is, he was one hell of a nice guy, and always was quick with a smile or hello around campus. I think a lot of today's NBA stars could learn a lesson or two from Spud.

posted by mjkredliner at 09:44 AM on February 14, 2010

Great addition, mjk!

I was almost obsessed with dunking before that night; his performance pushed me over the edge. I did thousands of jumping exercises in the months that followed, and (forgive the boast) eventually I was able to dunk a real basketball on a real 10' hoop. Given that I'm 5'9.5", I think I did okay. A couple of decades and 25 pounds later, it's weird to see pictures of myself doing something I can't possibly do now. Sigh.

Anyway, yeah, Spud was fantastic. But my own mental picture of "slam dunk" starts with Julius Erving at the free throw line, morphs into 'Nique winding up for a windmill, and throws it down as Jordan rocking the cradle. Stansbury's "Statue of Liberty" 360 is sort of iconic, but points off for his obscurity as a player. So yeah, I feel old now.

posted by Uncle Toby at 12:11 PM on February 15, 2010

I just loved watching Spud Webb play and was in awe of his slam dunk that year.

posted by yzelda4045 at 12:22 PM on February 15, 2010

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