Senior Wichita State forward Cleanthony Early has made a name for himself in helping lead the Shockers on deep NCAA Tournament runs the past two seasons.
He went from being a little known athletic swing-man to being an NCAA Player of the Year candidate and potential 1st Round NBA Draft pick seemingly overnight, continually making Sportcenter’s Top 10 moments and leading Wichita State to an unblemished 34-0 regular season record this season.
Despite the Shockers losing to the upstart Kentucky Wildcats in a marvelous early round match-up in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Early’s stock is still high as one of the most athletic and talented 6’8 forwards in the college ranks, and would be an excellent addition late in round one of the upcoming 2014 NBA Draft.
After an earlier than expected exit from March Madness, Early decided to participate in the 2014 NCAA Dunk Contest that also featured Michigan State forward Adrien Payne, Baylor’s Corey Jefferson, and EKU’s Marcus Lewis.
Early thought he was going to earn a big score from the judges by taking off from the free throw line and dunking over 4 fellow participants.
But his performance became a shocker for all of the wrong reasons…
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
