And1 basketball team alley oops and dunks to victory in Cache Valley

GOT AIR? And1 player passes the ball between his legs before following it up with a dunk. / Photo by Patrick Oden.

By Rebekah Bradway

December 8, 2006 | With a final score of 111-68, the world-known And1 basketball team beat locals chosen to play in a game full of dunks and ball tricks of all sorts Tuesday evening.

With several minutes left in the game at Sky View High School, audience members began crowding the court as the And1 players, with nicknames such as Showstopper, Elevator and High Octane, stopped dribbling and instead competed with each other in a dunk contest.

Although the players consistently dunked following 360 degree turns and through-the-legs switches, it was nothing the audience hadn't seen throughout the whole game.

"The game was freaking awesome!" USU junior Jenny Taylor said. "The tricks were sweet!"

The And1 players didn't only master with dunks and alley oops; they constantly showed their skills by dribbling through opponents' legs or bouncing the ball off defendants' foreheads before scoring.

Other highlights included a player dribbling through his legs and allowing the ball to go up his shirt and get stuck there, confusing his opponent. One player also ran off the court and up the stairs to the upper level of stands in order to pass the ball near the net and set up an alley oop.

With no rules in the game, instead of referees running along the sidelines, there was a single man with baggy jeans, a backwards LA hat, shiny blue sneakers and a white towel around his neck, announcing the plays as he walked through the middle of the court and next to the action.

"Somebody call security!" he said jokingly into the microphone in reference to David Pak's bright yellow shirt with "SECURITY" written across it. Pak, a former member of the USU basketball team, played with the local team for the evening.

For more photos of the game, click this WildArt page.

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