THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605050214
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Forget the 20 guys who competed for the Hoop-It-Up 10-foot slam dunk contest Saturday. The real attraction was the fans.
If the spectators were pleased with the performances, they yelled and applauded. But if they were unhappy, which was often, the athletes heard the criticisms.
``To the left,'' or ``see ya'' they hollered during the first day of the fifth annual 3-on-3 tournament at the Naval Station.
And every now and then, even the M.C. had remarks of his own.
``You're nothing like Mike,'' he yelled to one participant who missed all three of his attempts. The athlete was wearing a white Chicago Bulls' jersey with Michael Jordan's no. 45.
But in the end when the applause and cheers counted the most, the fans picked a new champion: Spencer McCoy of Kannapolis, N.C.
McCoy missed two of his three dunks in the final round but won the crowd over with a jam in the semifinals.
The 19-year-old slammed the ball off the court, jumped from near the foul line and rose a few notches before bringing down a thunderous dunk that drew ``10s'' from everyone with score cards.
This was something defending champion Corey Etheridge of Virginia Beach figured he could overcome.
Etheridge made all three of his dunks in the final round, even accepting suggestions from friends and fans, but the crowd was not impressed.
``It's getting old,'' one fan hollered after Etheridge jumped over two boys sitting in chairs.
And when the fans' applauses and cheers earned McCoy the championship, Etheridge saw his undefeated streak go down.
Etheridge, 24, had won his first 190 slam dunk contests, including four national Hoop-It-Up titles, dating back to 1990.
``What more could I do?,'' said Etheridge, who was bothered that the fans decided the winner.
In previous years, he said the judges' scores decided the winner just as the officials' scores determined the finalists for Saturday's contest.
``You name it, I've done it,'' Etheridge said.
Etheridge won the crowd over last year by dunking over a Mitsubishi Eclipse. The crowd made it clear that he had to do something as extraordinary to take home this year's pair of Nike basketball shoes.
``That's what we give them the score cards for,'' tournament director Tracy Halman said. ``This is as much a spectator event as it is participatory.''
In a less spectacular and attended event, 18-year-old Marvin Taylor of Virginia Beach won the nine-foot dunk contest.
Too small to participate in either contests were the Riverdale Devils and the Tanner Creek Tigers.
The two teams are a group of 11-and 13-year-olds from the Riverdale Apartments in Hampton who raised their own money for registration to compete.
``My son came home one day and said he wanted to play in the tournament,'' Renona Powell said of her son Corey Dantzler. ``So for the last month, I've been working with them trying to earn money.''
The children raised $179 by washing cars, taking out the neighbors' trash and receiving donations to cover the $176 fee for the eight players.
And the players did not disappoint themselves or their families. The two teams won three of their first four games. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
L. TODD SPENCER/The Virginian-Pilot
Trailing his and another shawdow, a player drives for the basket
Saturday at in Hoop-It-Up action at the Norfolk Naval Station.
by CNB