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The top 10 dunks of the college basketball season

Oladipo dunk

A hearty welcome to those of you just now joining the rest of us in following college basketball now that football season has ended. We’ll be running a series of posts to get all you football fans caught up on the season at-large. To read through them all, click here.

In case you’ve missed it, major media believes this is a down year in college hoops. There is no 2012 Kentucky Wildcats or 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. The NBA one-and-done rule is draining college hoops of all the major superstars.

Well guess what?

You don’t have to be Kevin Durant or LeBron James to throw down a highlight reel dunk.

The 2012-2013 college basketball season has been an exciting one, with comebacks, buzzer-beaters, and of course, huge dunks. The sport doesn’t need Carmelo Anthony or Anthony Davis in order to provide excitement, and the following videos are proof as to why.

Honorable Mention:
DJ Stephens - Memphis vs. VCU, 11/22/12
Archie Goodwin - Kentucky vs. Portland, 12/8/12
Elijah Pittman - Marshall vs. Cincinnati, 12/15/12
Victor Rudd Jr. - South Florida vs. Syracuse, 1/6/13 (Go to 1:17 mark)
Sam Thompson - Ohio State vs. Michigan, 1/13/13
Jared Berggren - Wisconsin vs. Indiana, 1/15/13
Nerlens Noel - Kentucky vs. Auburn, 1/19/13
John Daniels - Columbia vs. Cornell, 1/26/13
Alex Len - Maryland vs. Duke, 1/26/13
Akil Mitchell - Virginia vs. North Carolina State, 1/29/03
Adrien Payne - Michigan State vs. Illinois, 1/31/13
Victor Oladipo - Indiana vs. Michigan, 2/2/13
Kevin Young - Kansas vs. Oklahoma State, 2/2/13

Justin Glover - Winston Salem State vs. Elizabeth City State (D-II)

For all intents and purposes, this dunk should be in the top-5. Heck, it’s probably the best dunk of the season. But it took place in a D-II game, so it can’t crack the top-10. But HOLY MOLY, this is the craziest dunk of the year. And that’s saying something considering what our No. 1 dunk is.

Top-10 dunks of the college basketball season:

10. Chris Denson - Auburn vs. Tennessee Tech, 12/18/12

The SEC is not a good college basketball conference this season. True, Florida is dismantling teams left and right, but Missouri, Kentucky and Ole Miss are next in line and none of them ave inspired much confidence in the general public.

So if Ole Miss is 6-2 in conference play, and they aren’t as good as their record indicates, what does that say about Auburn, who sits at 8-13 overall and 2-6 in the SEC? The Tigers are not good, that’s what it says. But you wouldn’t think that based on this superb one-handed poster-dunk by 6-foot-2 guard Chris Denson.

9. Rodney Purvis - North Carolina State vs. Miami, 2/2/13

NC-State is one of the most puzzling teams in the country. They put together a 10-game winning streak which included a win over then-No.1 Duke. But since then, the Wolfpack have lost four of six, including losses to Virginia and Wake Forest.

Oh then there was also the recent issue of freshman Rodney Purvis re-tweeting a negative comment one of his former-teammates made about head coach Mark Gottfried. I think this sensational put-back dunk he had against Miami might be enough to get him out of the dog house.

8. Troy Huff - North Dakota vs. Idaho State, 2/2/13

There isn’t much you need to know about North Dakota or Idaho State. There are only two things you need to know about Troy Huff. First, he’s the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18.1ppg. Second, the kid can fly.

This dunk cracks the top-10 because of Huff’s in-flight transition from a two-handed slam to a one-handed jam. The mid-air transition is such an underrated part of the dunk game. Huff makes it look easy.

Thank God there wasn’t a defender in Huff’s way. Things would have gotten ugly. This was one of the strongest dunks I’ve seen in a long time.

7. Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. St. John’s, 11/13/12

Doug Anderson is the best dunker in the country. Plain and simple. There is not a player in the country who dunks with as much vertical height, velocity and frequency as the Detroit freak-show. On any given night, he’s good for a handful of highlight reel plays. Scouting for Doug Anderson is not all that complicated. Simply box him out on every shot or he will make you pay.

6. Mason Plumlee - Duke vs. Maryland, 1/26/13

Mason Plumlee is on the short-list of National Player of the Year candidates and this incredibly difficult reverse putback dunk is just one of the many reasons why. Plumlee has improved in all facets of the game. There aren’t many big-man as athletic or as agile as Plumlee, and this dunk shows why. The degree of difficulty of this dunk is off-the-charts, and Plumlee almost makes it look easy. But trust me, this dunk was not easy at all.

5. Brandon Paul - Illinois vs. Minnesota, 1/9/13

When Illinois played Minnesota during the second week of conference play, both teams were ranked and were thought to be legitimate contenders in the Big-Ten. While a lot has changed since then, the Illini have lost five of six, nothing changes the fact that Brandon Paul’s poster-jam over Trevor Mbakwe is one of the most violent dunks of the season. When you look up the definition of #POSTERIZED in the dictionary, a .GIF of this dunk shows up next to the word.

4. Victor Oladipo - Indiana vs. Central Connecticut State, 12/8/12

Three months into the season and it’s Victor Oladipo, not Cody Zeller, who is the Hooiser’s best player and likely candidate for Player of the Year. The junior is one of the most athletic players in the country, has improved his jumper, and is one of the best lockdown defenders in the country. Did I mention he was athletic? Central Connecticut State had to find out the hard way.

3. Deonte Burton - Nevada vs. UNLV, 1/30/13

Watch the video. Now watch it again. And again. I’m still in shock.

Burton is one of the most electrifying players that nobody knows about. He’s only 6-foot-1 yet can explode like somebody 6-foot-7 and has hit clutch shot after clutch shot. But look at this dunk. Look at how he get’s his arm cocked back for full extension. Remember, Burton is just 6-FOOT-1! This is an incredible dunk.

2. Marcus Lewis - Eastern Kentucky vs. Southeast Missouri, 2/2/13

Remember how I just said that Deonte Burton’s out-of-bounds ally-oop was incredible? Well it was. But Marcus Lewis’ out-of-bounds ally-oop was incredible on steroids.

First he burns the poor defender who gets caught peeking at the in-bounds pass. Then he jumps up, uses a defenders face as a springboard and dunks all over the entire team. Like I said: incredible on steroids.

1. Jamaal Franklin - San Diego State vs. Fresno State, 1/10/13

This is why the kids call him “Circus Time”.

Only Jamaal Franklin would toss himself a 25-foot self-ally-oop off the backboard in while splitting a double team. Who does something like that? Jamaal Franklin. That’s who.

This is...I just...The thing about it is...A month later, and I’m still speechless.

Just shut it down already. Game over.

I can’t even begin to imagine what has to take place in order for this dunk to not still be No. 1 at season’s end.