Simon Cowell wasn’t there to judge the McKale Madness dunk contest Friday night and neither was Judge Judy, Clarence Thomas or even John Salley, who MC’d the event last year. Seniors Kirk Walters and Ivan Radenovic did their best Paula Abdul impressions, but we’re going to take back the scores and re-judge the dunks and the previously unjudged but always entertaining entrances.
Scorecards please.
Nic Wise’s Khalid El-Amin impersonation:
Remember when the pudgy little point guard from Connecticut leaped on the scorer’s table in 1999, screaming “”we shocked the world”” after the Huskies beat Duke in the championship game? Wise has a lot fewer cheeseburgers under his belt – and he likely wasn’t screaming “”we’re going to shock the world,”” but it was one of those moments.
If the scrimmage was any indication of Wise’s future at Arizona, the Wildcats may have nabbed themselves a point guard with El-Amin’s poise. And most importantly, he already has UA head coach Lute Olson’s endorsement.
“”Nic is a very cool, confident guy,”” Olson said.
Score: 7
Chase Budinger’s introduction:
Classic California boy, complete with a towel, sunglasses and a volleyball thrown into the crowd, which made it the best introduction of the night. The volleyball intro was a nice touch from the 2006 Mizuno national volleyball Player of the Year, so long as he doesn’t have another sport on his mind than the one that will make him a millionaire.
Score: 9, but 1 if he goes back to volleyball
David Bagga’s T.O. impersonation:
The walk-on has been lifting. You won’t mistake him for Arnold Schwarznegger, but Bagga stormed in raising the roof with his hands and quickly dropped to the ground to do his shirtless Terrell Owens sit-up routine. He even threw in some push-ups to boot. My only question: Where is Drew Rosenhaus these days?
Score: 6.5
Fendi Onobun/Marcus Williams’ dancing:
From a clumsy white guy’s point of view, I am probably not the best person to judge this event, but Onobun’s moves certainly had some Riverdance inspiration. Williams led a team “”shoulder lean”” to make up for it, though.
Score: 6
Senior entrance:
Look up there, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…””Cats on the Court.”” Kirk Walters, Ivan Radenovic and Mustafa Shakur walked down McKale Center’s steps slapping hands with fans before running onto the floor. Shakur and Radenovic were uneventful, but Walters did his customary cartwheel and worm, despite having a concussion. That’s not only creativity – that’s toughness.
Score: 8
Kirk Walters’ introduction:
It’s always interesting when a skinny 7-footer does the worm. But come on Kirk, you did that last year. Sequels are never as good as the original.
Score: 6
Fendi Onobun’s dunk:
I’ll give Fendi this: He tried to get his teammates involved. After a few botched attempts from J.P. Prince to throw lob or bounce passes from the bench to a flying Onobun, “”Fendi Cent”” decided to use Wise as a prop – he sat Wise down on a chair and dunked over him. If he hit Wise, an immediate Fendi/Wise feud would have begun, à la 50 and Ja Rule. Oh, and Onobun also had a windmill from the baseline that could have torn the basket down.
Score 8.5
Bagga’s dunk:
The always-entertaining Bagga missed a number of dunks before slamming one home thrown off the top of the backboard. But he played the role of comic relief well, as he had not only his teammates in stitches but also 2007 commit Jerryd Bayless, who was stationed behind the team’s bench.
Score: 7
Budinger’s dunk:
What’s there to say about the man who’s making a hobby out of winning slam dunk contests? “”He makes it look so easy,”” UA head coach Lute Olson said. Budinger went with his patented windmill dunk, made famous in the McDonald’s All-American contest he placed second in, and finished it off with a little bit of J.R. Rider’s between-the-legs slam, all silky smooth. With the Wildcats planning on running more than ever, watch out when Budinger’s on the break.
Score: 10
-Compiled by Michael Schwartz and Roman Veytsman
