Weber State University Athletics
Patten to Compete in Final Four Slam Dunk Contest
3/27/2007 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ATLANTA, GA -- Twenty four talented seniors will kick off Final Four weekend in Atlanta in The 19th Annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & Three Point Championships, airing on ESPN on Thursday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ET.
Among the 24 contestants will be Weber State's David Patten, who had 54 dunks in 2006-07, breaking the old single season mark of 48 set in 1998-99 by Harold "The Show" Arceneaux. Patten ended his WSU career with 85 career dunks.
This annual event, held at the Georgia State Sports Arena at 7 p.m. on March 29, features the country's best dunkers and three-point shooters competing in a series of events, including the Vegas.com Men's Slam Dunk Championship, the Midas Touch Men's 3-Point Shooting Championship, the State Farm Women's 3-Point Shooting Championship and the Taco Bell Battle of Champions (3-Point Shooting).
Facing off in the Vegas.com Men's Slam Dunk Championship are Notre Dame's Russell Carter, Long Beach State's Louis Darby, Rutgers' Adrian Hill, Chicago State's Royce Parran, Georgia native Brent Petway of Michigan, Texas A&M's Marlon Pompey, Patten and Georgia Tech's Mario West.
The panel of judges for the dunk competition includes new Atlanta Falcon Joe Horn, Atlanta Hawk Josh Smith, former Atlanta Hawk and 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Champion Spud Webb, Miami Dolphin Ronnie Brown and Philadelphia Eagle Takeo Spikes.
Headlining the talented field in the Midas Touch Men's 3-Point Shooting Championship are All-American Acie Law of Texas A&M and Stephen Sir of Northern Arizona, who ranks first in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (4.1) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (.490). Rounding out the field are Aaron Brooks (Oregon), Colin Falls (Notre Dame), Adam Haluska (Iowa), Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech), Demetris Nichols (Syracuse) and Kammron Taylor (Wisconsin).
Confirmed participants in the State Farm Women's 3-Point Shooting Championship include: Cori Chambers (Georgia), Ashley Davis (TCU), Dee Davis and Caroline Williams (Vanderbilt), Lyndsey Medders (Iowa State), Eshaya Murphy (USC) and Noelle Quinn (UCLA). The winner of the women's competition will face off against the winner of the men's contest in The Taco Bell Battle of Champions.
In the history of the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, 61 men and 37 women proceeded to the NBA and WNBA. Past participants include current and former NBA stars Michael Finley, Steve Nash, Nick Van Exel, Gary Payton and Freddie Jones and WNBA players Shannon Johnson, Betty Lennox, Coco Miller and Nikki Teasley, among many others.
