‘Tap the Baby’
Words. HShoop
With the legend Dr. J in the building as one of the POWERade Jam Fest judges, another 6-6 swingman with incredible hops tallied two perfect 50′s in his final two dunks to win the McDonald’s All-American dunk contest. DeMar DeRozan‘s first 50 was as regular as it gets for a kid with a 45-inch vertical. He went between-the-legs while in the air and then crammed with one hand.
But his final dunk, his ‘Tap the Baby,’ was remarkable even by DeRozan’s standards. After bouncing the ball off the floor, and then the backboard, he caught the ball with his right hand and tapped the backboard with his left as he slammed it through.
“I call that ‘tap the baby,’ DeRozan said. “You tap the backboard soft, like you’re tapping a baby.”
Though he was going up against two high flyers, neither Scotty Hopson (University Heights, KY) nor Elliot Williams (St. George’s, Tenn.) lived up to the hype. In the finals, Williams only converted one of two dunks, and Hopson missed both of his.
Because both Hopson and Williams came up short, DeRozan told RISE that he played it safe.
“I didn’t pull everything out of the bag,” he said. “I had a lot of goodies in there.”
Stay tuned to High School Hoop for coverage of the McDonald’s High School All-American week, and check back in tomorrow for footage of DeRozan’s contest-clincher.
