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The Dunk Debate: Who Will Be the Next to Put an Opponent on a Poster?

In high school basketball, there's nothing quite like the energy that comes from a player taking flight and slamming the ball through the hoop. From the roaring crowd to the players on the court, everyone knows the significance of a powerful dunk. At The News Pulse’s winter sports media day, we asked Section III boys basketball players who they believe is most likely to put an opponent on a poster with a monster dunk.

Here’s what some of the players had to say:

Players Who Believe They Can Dunk

Jacob McDonald, Altmar-Parish-Williamstown
“I probably have the most athleticism on the team and I don’t know, nobody else can dunk on my team. So most likely I probably won’t, but I hope I do. That’d be crazy.”

Johntae Smith, Auburn
“He’s a good player. He’s smart, he’s athletic.” – Datavion Pertilla

Mike Virginia, Baldwinsville
“I got the most bounce on the team.” – Virginia

Mason Roberts, Canastota
“He’s probably one of the closer ones to dunking. No one can dunk.” – Richard Fairbanks

Phillip Norgaisse, Carthage
“I jump the highest on the team. I’m the big dunk guy for the team. I’m the second tallest. I jump out of the gym at practice and things like that. So, yeah, I’m most likely.” – Norgaisse

Brody Smith, Cato-Meridian
“He’s got hops this year. He gets up. ...He tried. He will try. He’ll try. He’s one of those guys who, if he’s got an opportunity, he’s gonna go try it.” – Dylan McGetrick

Gavin Wagner, Cazenovia
“He’s been dunking since about sophomore year. He’s our tallest player and he’s gotten more athletic, so he’d be the most likely to do that.” – Edmond Richardson

Jace Bukowski, Central Square
“He’s gotten way better. He definitely has the talent.” – Jacob Conway

Brayden Smalls, Central Valley Academy
“He can dunk the easiest and I think he’s going to do it this year.” – Calvin Jacquays

David Oyewole, Chittenango
“He just jumps so high, like, it’s insane how high he jumps. ...He blocks so many shots. He gets up and just floats up there. He can just block anything.” – Mason Corlis

Kieghlin Hicks, Christian Brothers Academy
“He’s tall, could jump, lengthy. He’s a great player.” – Gino Bullock

T.J. Walker, Cincinnatus
“He’s the tallest.” – Rob Turshman

Nate Peto, Clinton
“He’s got bunnies for his height.” – Jeffrey Knight

Bob Robinson, Corcoran
“He’s the only one that could really dunk.” – Jonathan Hemingway

Iniko Abani, Cortland
“He’s got the most ups on the team and he’s definitely got it to go up and pull one on somebody.” – Cal Albright

Cole Venditti and Brian McAlpine, East Syracuse Minoa
“They’re just very athletic. They block shots, they jump high, great rebounders. They can do it all.” – Anthony Bryant

Landon Bregou, Faith Heritage
“I can’t wait. I dunked on a kid last year and I want to do it again. It’s fun. ...It was one of the best experiences of my basketball career. It was awesome.” – Bregou

Asa Caldwell, Fabius-Pompey
“He’s about 6-foot-3, and he can dunk, so he’s like the only one. ... He’s a kind of scrawny guy, but he can jump.” – Wyatt Esposito

Adam Winnowicz, Fayetteville-Manlius
“He’s very athletic. He can jump.” – Gavin Knuth

Xavier Doty, Fulton
“He just gets the most looks at the rim, I would say. I would say he’s pretty athletic. He gets up there a lot. We throw a few lobs to him. We have a few lob plays. So there’s a good chance that he might get a poster this year.” – Zack McDougall

Branden Wiggins, Hannibal
“He’s been getting up there. Getting that jump up there and he’s been getting close. So he could.” – Martin VanBuren V

Micah-Jarrell Stewart, Henninger
“He’s got mad bounce. He gets up there. He can windmill. He really gets active.” – Milen Williams

Carl Pace, Herkimer
“I think I got the most bounce on the team. It’s got to be me. ... I mean, I’ve got the highest vert.” – Pace

Dane Francis, Homer
“He’s huge and he can jump out of the gym.” – Benny Wilbur

Azir Germany, ITC
“Very lengthy. So as soon as he jumps, he’s automatically at the rim. So it’d be easiest.” – Tyquanne Harris

Sion Willis, Jamesville-DeWitt
“He’s just been working on how to get to the basket and finish, like, actually dunking. He’s one of the few players on our team that can actually dunk the basketball, so I can see him.” – Stephen Bazile

Dylan Czarnecki, Jordan-Elbridge
“He can jump. I think if someone were to dunk, it’d definitely be him.” – Nolan Brunelle

Kaden Bullock, Liverpool
“He’s bouncy and he’s tall. He might put some on a poster for real.” – Alex Trombley, Liverpool

Brendon Bowers, Lowville
“He’s been working a lot in the gym.” – Isaiah Spence

Sam Timmerman, Lyme
“He’s an absolute beast.” – Cooper Kaplan

Tyler Wladis, Manlius Pebble Hill
“He’s got a lot of energy and he’s got some vertical to him. ... He’s got some handles. He’s most likely to break your ankles, too, I think.” – Max Crawford

Dom Gosh-Sandy, Marcellus
“I mean, the stuff he does to us in practice can get a little crazy. He’s just a gifted athlete and you saw it a little bit in some summer, but, boy, can he jump high. He can really — he flies.” – Tucker Burnett

Brayden Mack, Mexico
“He may not look like he can play basketball, but he can play basketball. He’s very athletic, but he’s also just very athletic and he likes to compete.” – Christopher Hermitt

Ra’id Adams, New York Mills
“He’s very explosive off the ground. He kind of — he gets up there.” – Santino DiOrio

Zaier Escho, Nottingham
“People don’t think he got that much bounce, but he gets up there.” – Bol Garang

Justis Brown and Preston Cashman, Oneida
“Basketball’s their heart and passion. They play it all year round, it’s their sport, they love it and they’re very passionate about our success this year.” – Ryan Cashman

Kzar Greene, OnTECH
“I got the most hops on the team.” – Greene

Jayson Mayo, Oriskany
“Big body, big in the post.” – Eddie Wright

Donovan Manley, Phoenix
“He’s definitely got the most bunnies on our team. I feel like he’s got the attitude for it.” – Eli Bailer

Travis Stuart, Port Byron
“He can jump really high and he’s really good in the air.” – Owen Gilmore

Matthew Plyter, Pulaski
“He’s got like a 40-inch vertical. He’s cramming on people in open gyms. It’s definitely him.” – Gabe Basciani

Spencer Oliva, Sackets Harbor
“I can get up there and dunk it pretty well.” – Oliva

Nolan Sigman, Sherburne-Earlville
“He’s closest to dunking on our team, so I definitely say him.” – Tomek Jusianiec

Joe Delmonico, Skaneateles
“He’s the best dunker on the team, obviously. As a player, he could shoot too. So I think he’s going to be key for us this year.” – Reid Danforth

Jeremiah Benjamin, Solvay
“He’s an athletic kid. He’s a bigger kid. He’s one of the only kids on our team that could probably get up there and dunk.” – Chris Nichols
“He’s a great guy. He loves the jump.” – Ahmed Jusu

Daniel Garback, Tully
“He’s really big and he’s tall and I think he can slam one on a guy.” – Sean Mize

Clyde Taylor, Utica Notre Dame
“He’s got the most bounce on the team.” – Kyrie Anderson

Cormac Sherwood, Vernon Verona Sherrill
“The big man on our team. He’s definitely been in the weight room all summer long, all offseason. Definitely got built. Overall, built to posterize somebody.” – James Ward

Sean Robinson, Watertown
“He is a first-year player in the organization, but he’s really good. He’s tall and he’s thrown some down over the summer, so I would be excited to see that.” – Mason Hurst

Clyde Allen, West Genesee
“6-foot-5. Bouncy.” – Musbah Ahmed

Eli Welch, Westhill
“I mean, he’s got almost a 40-inch vertical. Definitely him. I mean, he always tries to dunk on me in practice.” – Eli Prince

Owen Smith, Westmoreland
“Owen Smith’s a big kid. I feel like he could get up and randomly just throw one down if he wants to, but he’s definitely got some work to put in to get up there.” – Evan Saxton

Mike Hill, Whitesboro
“He’s got the hops on the team, definitely, Mike. He’s got the most hops, for sure.” – Nico Lupia