Darrick Jones Jr. is the undisputed slam dunk champion of high school basketball.
He was 5-0 coming into the slam dunk contest at the ‘Iolani Prep Classic on Thursday night. With a series of windmills, East Bay Funk and lob-off-the-side-of-the-backboard throwdowns, Jones prevailed once again. He was won all six dunk contests he has entered. All of them were at high school tournaments. At ‘Iolani, he brought fans to their feet again and again.
“How much power I dunk with, I like to dunk with force. I like to let people know I’m not playing games with this stuff,” Jones said. “I’m still undefeated.”
Jones edged Kordel Ng, a 5-foot-9 skywalker from Kamehameha by way of now-defunct St. Francis. Ng had his own arsenal of 360, windmill and East Bay Funk offerings that brought spectators to their feet. The two went into a tiebreaker round after scoring 96 totals with two dunks each.
Ng’s tiebreaker dunk netted a score of 49 by leaping over older brother and current Hawaii player Kameron Ng for the slam. Jones settled the matter by dunking over three teammates, including 6-9 Bradley Ezewiro, who initially shook his head and refused to participate.
“He just got scared. He ended up trusting me. He was fine,” Jones said.
Jones had played earlier in Oak Hill’s win over Kalani, scoring 17 points. He didn’t lack for energy.
“It’s God’s gift that I have,” he said. “Jumping over my bigs was the best one. Whatever came to my mind, that’s what I did.”
Here are the best dunks from Thursday night’s competition.
Darrick Jones Jr. with the through-the-legs Eastbay Funk Dunk. @HawaiiPrepWorld @oakhillacademy @iolaniclassic #slamdunk #eastbayfunkdunk pic.twitter.com/8XyV9qjJA3
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
This is Darrick Jones Jr’s second dunk. Definition of #windmill. @HawaiiPrepWorld @oakhillacademy @iolaniclassic #slamdunk pic.twitter.com/NFI6TD7VML
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
The best @iolaniclassic dunk contest since Detrick Mostella in 2012. Darrick Jones Jr. landed 50-burgers with his insanely powerful dunks. Kordel Ng of @KSKAthletics pushed him good, matching his combined 96 score to force tiebreaker. @HawaiiPrepWorld @oakhillacademy #slamdunk pic.twitter.com/iYYjrH0A7Y
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
5-9 Kordel Ng scores a 49 on this #windmill off the glass. Assist by brother Kameron. @HawaiiPrepWorld @iolaniclassic #slamdunk @KSKAthletics pic.twitter.com/qqnZxxnEK3
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
Kordel Ng’s #360 is insane for a guy 5-9. But not surprising if you’ve seen him over his HS career. @KSKAthletics @SaintFrancisHNL @HawaiiPrepWorld #slamdunk @iolaniclassic pic.twitter.com/OexEJHkHmv
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
At 5-9, Kordel Ng leaps over brother Kameron for 49 score in the tiebreaker round @HawaiiPrepWorld @KSKAthletics @iolaniclassic #slamdunk pic.twitter.com/WnFB2cvhmv
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
Daeshon Shepherd of Archbishop Wood (Pa.) channels his inner Aaron Gordon. #withauthority @HawaiiPrepWorld @iolaniclassic #slamdunk pic.twitter.com/vSNfSmm6Fw
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
Daeshon Shepherd’s opening slam: #windmill. Score: 45. Tough panel. @HawaiiPrepWorld @iolaniclassic #slamdunk pic.twitter.com/Kfp9gQRXgu
— Paul Honda (@PupulePaul) December 20, 2019
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