Not many fans outside of Toronto have been giving rookie Demar DeRozan much love or much of a chance in this season’s Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. That would be a mistake!
The Toronto Raptors high flying, young star has the perfect combination of hops, athletic ability, and swagger to not only out-duel the Clippers’ Eric Gordon on Friday evening’s dunk off, but to make a legitimate push towards winning the main event on Saturday night.
Although the 6’7, 200 lb NBA newcomer is only averaging 8.2 ppg in 21 minutes for the Raptors this season, he has given us glimpses of just how bright his future could be while throwing down a few monsterous dunks along the way, like this one against the Bulls, and this alley-oop vs the Kings.
DeRozan, who reportedly was able to dunk a basketball in as early as 6th grade, excelled at Compton HS in Los Angeles, becoming one of the Top 5 recruits in the nation his senior year by dropping nearly 30 ppg and earning a spot in the ’08 McDonalds All American Game.
Before participating in the actual McDonalds Game, Demar also took part in the event’s annual Dunk Contest where he blew a way the competition with a dazzling array of windmills and off-the-glass dunks to win the event.
Demar then took his skills to USC where he averaged 14 ppg and surprisingly led his Trojan squad along with current Bull, Taj Gibson, to a deep NCAA Tournament run. His outstanding production in his lone season at USC ranks him among the best all-time among freshmen in points and rebounds at the legendary university.
Here is a video of some of Demar DeRozan’s best dunks in high school:
Take a look at some footage of Demar winning the ’08 McDonalds Dunk Contest:
Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
