2010 Sprite Showdown Dunk Contest Finalist (Dallas - Feb. 12)

The search for the nation’s best amateur dunker will culminate when four finalists compete in the inaugural Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown at NBA All-Star 2010 in Dallas, Texas.

The Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown will take place at NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas at the Dallas Convention Center on Friday, Feb. 12 at 9:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM CT. The event will be streamed live on NBA.com and will air on NBA TV on Saturday, Feb.13 at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 PM CT.

An All-Star panel of judges will help determine the winner, including NBA All-Star LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Legend Darryl Dawkins, and two-time GRAMMY® nominee Drake, who also will perform before the fans at Center Court at NBA All-Star Jam Session during the event.

Each participant will perform two dunks in the first round. The two with the highest score from the judges will advance to the second and final round. In the finals, each participant will complete two dunks and fans will determine the winner via SMS text message. The champion will receive a $10,000 grand prize and the opportunity to present the trophy to the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk competition at American Airlines Center the following night.

The four finalists who will compete at the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown are:

Willie Barnes, 6-6, a.k.a. “Flyte” – Barnes, 28, hailing from Wilson, N.C., brings 10 years of dunking experience to the Showdown and is the winner of the semifinal competition in Washington, D.C.

Taurian Fontenette, 6-2, a.k.a. “Air Up There” – Fontenette, 27, of Hitchcock, Texas, is an 11–year dunking veteran who won the semifinal competition in Dallas.

Haneef Munir, 5-10, a.k.a. “Young Hollywood” – Los Angeles native Munir, 21, has been dunking for more than seven years and won the semifinal competition in his hometown.

Carlos Smothers, 6-0, a.k.a. “Los” – Smothers, 21, from Union City, Calif., is the only finalist to clinch a spot in the Showdown through the online competition by uploading his dunk clip to NBA.com/dunk. He has been dunking since he was 13.

“The art of the dunk has inspired athletes for decades, but some of the highest levels of creativity have been reached with only a few witnesses at the playground or gym,” said Ellen Lucey, director, sports marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “The Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown gives some of the best amateur dunkers in the country a chance to put their talents on display in front of a national audience during NBA All-Star weekend.”

Inspired by the NBA Sprite Slam Dunk contest that takes place annually on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Sprite and the NBA launched the national search for the best amateur dunkers with competitions in eight cities throughout the summer of 2009. James also led a panel of judges that picked two semifinalists from video entries. Through online votes, fans narrowed the top ten down to the four finalists who will compete in Dallas.

Fans can visit the online home of the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown at NBA.com/dunk, where they can access highlights from all the local competitions, including the finalists. Sprite is the world’s leading lemon-lime soft drink and has been the official soft drink of the NBA since 1994.

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QUESTIONS:
How do you rank the 4 dunkers?
Would Guy Dupuy win this event?
Would you take this 4 or the NBA dunkers (Wallace, Robinson, Brown, DeRozan)?