Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) senior Grayson Allen holds up the hardware for winning the prestigious slam dunk contest in the Powerade Jam Fest Monday in conjunction with the McDonald's All-American game. The skills and dunk contest took place at the University of Chicago. The games will be played Wednesday at the United Center.
Photo by John Rowland
Grayson Allen, the 6-foot-4 guard from
Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.), was sort of an afterthought in the McDonald's All-American slam dunk contest, which was the premier portion of the Powerade Jam Fest at the University of Chicago on Monday.
Grayson Allen goes over teammates before his
grand finale.
Photo by John Rowland
Allen is going to Duke. He's a shooter. He looked fantastic in the 3-point contest, where he took second to Indiana-bound
James Blackmon of
Marion (Ind.)But to the surprise of some, he began jumping over people. Teammates, rap stars and finally over future Duke teammate and Chicago native
Jahlil Okafor, a 6-10 post from nearby
Whitney Young (Chicago). To commemorate the dunk, Allen even put on a Duke jersey.
See video of dunk contest and rest of the skills contestThat brought the house down and brought Allen the title before a national television audience.
He beat out
Theo Pinson, a 6-6 guard from
Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) headed to North Carolina and
Kelly Oubre, a 6-6 guard from
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) headed to Kansas, in the finals.
The four teams — West and East for boys and girls — will practice Tuesday before facing off in the games Wednesday at the United Center. Allen and Okafor play for the West squad.
Tyus Jones, a 6-1 guard from
Apple Valley (Minn.) and another Duke signee, won the skills competition. Among the girls,
Alexa Middleton, a 5-8 guard from
Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), won both the skills and 3-point contests. Middletown, who is headed for Tennessee, lost to Blackmon in a head-to-head 3-point contest 21-20. Middleton just had to make one shot on the final rack, but missed four straight.
Here are some photos of the dunk contest taken by MaxPreps photographer John Rowland.
Kentucky-bound Karl Towns Jr. wears a blindfold and puts down an impressive dunk in the first round.
Photo by John Rowland