High School Female Dunker of the Year Award™ Brittney Griner has grown six inches since her freshman year and has already dunked twice in games. Photo Courtesy of Debbie Jackson   2007 Brittney Griner 42 Height: 6-6 Position: Center Class: Sophomore Age: 15-year-old Hometown: Houston, Tx High School: Nimitz Brittney Griner, 6-foot-6, Soph., Nimitz (Houston) Excuse 15-year-old sophomore Brittney Griner, for acting her age and not her shoe size. Griner, who won't celebrate her 16th birthday until April, wears a size 16 men's sneaker and has exploded on the high school basketball scene over the last year and a half. And she's loving every minute of it. A newcomer to the game last year, Griner played her first year of organized basketball as a 6-foot freshman, first as a member of the jayvee squad, and then working her way onto the varsity, where she led the team with 13 points per game and earned first-team all-district honors. Since then she has grown six inches, dunked in a game and begun to draw the attention of college recruiters from national powers, including Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Tennessee, Miami, Texas Tech, Kansas, Baylor and Wake Forest. "She did a very good job considering her experience," Nimitz coach Debbie Jackson says. "Quite often she got into foul trouble because of bad decisions. She really worked hard in the summer. She plays smarter now and has improved her footwork." Griner, whose nickname is "Big Foot", knows how to use her size, already posting seven triple-doubles for Nimitz (20-5) this season. Her latest triple-double came last week when she had 32 points, 16 rebounds and 13 blocks as the Cougars defeated Houston Memorial, 49-38. Her efforts are particularly surprising because three of the Cougars' starters have been sidelined by injuries and she constantly is double-and triple-teamed. "Every game they always run zone on me," Griner says. "One person's in front of me and one behind me. At first I was frustrated, but I've learned to deal with it. It doesn't bother me anymore." Through 25 games, Griner is averaging 23 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.1 blocks. She is shooting 65 percent from the field but just 49.6 percent from the free throw line. "She's an ideal player," Jackson says. "She has a 70-inch wing span from finger tip to finger tip and she jumps. She always works hard and challenges herself. She is very agile. What's really amazing is that when she is double- and triple-teamed, she stays very mentally calm and still is productive. She is a very confident young lady -- a real joy to coach." Last summer, while playing for the AAU Houston Hotshots, Griner dunked for the first time, and last month she threw one down. "The whole crowd just jumped up and was screaming," Griner says. Griner, who has a 3.2 GPA, says math and chemistry are her favorite subjects and that she would like to be a crime scene investigator some day. But for now she is following the footsteps of her favorite player, Tennessee star Candace Parker. "She plays hard and is a good team player, too," Griner says. "And she can dunk."
High School Female Dunker of the Year Award™ McDonald's All-American Candace Parker, of Naperville, Ill., slam dunks her way to winning the POWERAde Jam Fest slam dunk competition, as part of the McDonald's All-American Game festivities, Monday, March 29, 2004, in Midwest City, Okla. The McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game will be played Wednesday at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities. (AP Photo/McDonalds, Henny Ray Abrams) 2004 Candace Parker 31 Height: 6-4 Position: Forward Birthdate: 04/19/1986 Experience: 1L Class: RS Sophomore Hometown: Naperville, Ill. High School: Naperville Central Candace Parker Dunks Twice agaisnt Army CP3 changed the game High School Games 1 dunk at the 2001 Dundee-Crown Christmas Tournament 1 dunk in another game during her sophomore season 2004 McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest 3 dunks to win the 2004 McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest which included the men's All-Americans as well 2004 FIBA Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament Games 3 dunks in 5 games to lead the USA team to the Gold Medal
High School Female Dunker of the Year Award™ The first woman to compete in the McDonald's slam dunk competition 2003 Brittany Hunter Height: 6-5 Position: Forward / Center Class: Sophomore Hometown:Columbus, OH. High School: Brookhaven HS High School 2003 Parade National Player of the Year...attended Brookhaven H.S. and played for head coach Reggie Lee...consensus top-rated player in the nation in recruiting rankings by All-Star Girls Report, Full Court Press, Blue Star and All-Game Sports...first team Parade and Street & Smith All-America...played in the WBCA High School All-America game and scored 11 points, had six rebounds, five blocks, two assists and one steal for the white team... had nine points and six rebounds in the McDonald's All-America game for the east team...became the first woman to compete in the McDonald's slam dunk competition...scored 1,344 points (19.8 avg) and had 1,044 rebounds (15.4 avg.) in three years at Brookhaven and collected 63 double-doubles in 68 career regular season games ... as a senior, averaged 23.5 points, 17.6 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 2.0 steals at Brookhaven...led Brookhaven to district and regional championships, while advancing to the Final Four as a senior...selected Miss Basketball in Ohio, one of three players selected Associated Press Ohio Player of the Year and Associated Press (AP) first team All-State as a senior...named Co-Player of the Year by the Columbus Dispatch...one of 10 finalists for the Naismith Award as the National Player of the Year...earned USA Today first team All-America and Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year ...had career highs of 36 points and 25 rebounds as a senior against Mifflin...averaged 23.9 points and 17.6 rebounds in seven games during the 2003 State Tournament ...a three-time OGBM Dream Team member...as a junior, averaged 19.6 points and 14.0 rebounds...led Brookhaven to a 20-3 mark and a No. 4 final ranking in 2002...earned AP first team All-State, USA Today All-America, Parade Magazine third team All-America, AP Division I first team All-State and Street & Smith's first team All-America, as a junior...had 20 double-doubles, 14 games with 20 or more points scored...a second team AP Division I All-State and Student Sports Sophomore All-America selection...led squad to a 24-1 record, No. 2 ranking in Ohio and were City League Champs and District Champions...attended the Nike All-America camp in 2001 and 2002...lettered as a freshman and sophomore in track & field, while earning first team All-City accolades as a sophomore...lettered in cross country as a senior.
Kelley Cain Girls Can't Dunk? By Glenn Nelson HoopGurlz Publisher Posted: Mar 27, 2007 Three girls signed up for the McDonald's Slam Dunk Competition but did not make the cut after being asked to audition. No boys were asked to try out, according to two of the girls. STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON LOUISVILLE, Ky. - You'd think that certain stereotypes were smashed when Candace Parker turned this event on its ear back in 2004. That's when she shocked all by winning the Slam Dunk competition at the McDonald's All-American Game. Then again, the record of that event in the official media guide is listed under "Past Results - Boys." In spite of the much-chronicled efforts of Parker, Lisa Leslie and others, the dunk contest has gone the way of the treehouse with the "No Girlz Allowed" sign hanging on its door. Krystal Thomas At least that's the way it kind of felt to Georgia's Kelley Cain and Florida's Krystal Thomas, who along with Georgia's Maya Moore, signed up for the Dunk Competition at Monday's Powerade Jam Fest. The three were asked to "try out" (Thomas said this while making the signs with her fingers) for the contest by attempting dunks after Monday's team workout. No boys were required to audition, they said. Cain and Thomas said all three missed some dunk attempts, but also made several. Cain said Thomas had the most creative jam, coming along the baseline, taking off on one side of the basket, going underneath the backboard and dunking on the other side. Cain and Thomas said the girls were told that there was too much concern that they'd reach the limit of two missed dunks and end up with zero points in the first round. However, as they pointed out, at least one of the boys did just that. Although by far the most spectacular competitor in the field, Michael Beasley of Notre Dame Prep in West Virginia, missed two dunks and had a zero score, albeit in the finals and for just one of his dunk scores. Blake Griffin of Oklahoma City won the 2007 competition. "I'm not mad they made us do that," said Thomas, who is 6 feet 5 and hails from The First Academy in Orlando, Fla. "I understood where they were coming from." Moore, who is 6-1, is the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2007 class and signed with Connecticut. The Duke-bound Thomas is the No. 5 prospect nationally by HoopGurlz.com, while Cain is No. 12 and signed with Tennessee. Cain, who is 6-6 and hails from St. Pius X Catholic in Atlanta, Ga., said she believed the three girls would have fit in with the boys who competed on Monday night. "We could have been out there with them," she said. "The top three were really good. We can't turn around and do that other stuff ... yet." Neither has even attempted a dunk in competition. Moore has been filmed and photographed dunking in other contests. Both, however, had a plan for the contest. Cain said she would have made a straight-on dunk, then slammed off a drop-step move. Thomas said she would have dunked straight-on, then from the baseline, optimistically saving her behind-the-board dunk for the next round. "I just wish I had a chance to be out there," Thomas said. ***** All-American Rim Shots Topps created cards for all 48 players (24 girls and 24 boys) who will compete in the McDonald's All-American Game at Freedom Hall on Wednesday night. The cards, produced in 24 hours using a special production process, feature color portraits and an autograph section on the front and personal data, playing style description and career highlights on the back. Each player received 100 copies of her or his own card. Fans attending the game will receive two cards (one girl and one boy). ... The states of California - Vicki Baugh of Sacramento, Jeanette Pohlen of Brea and Lenita Sanford of Inglewood - and Georgia - Cain, Moore and Drey Mingo of Atlanta - have the most McDonald's All-Americans. ... Eight McDonald's All-Americans played on the USA U18 National Team - Baugh, Cain and Moore, plus Stefanie Gilbreath of Katy, Texas; Jantel Lavender of Cleveland, Ohio; Italee Lucas of Las Vegas, Nev.; Kayla Pedersen of Mesa, Ariz., and Khadijah Rushdan of Wilmington, Del. Click Here for More McDonald's Coverage Discuss This on Our Message Board: Click Here Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com and the editor-in-chief of Scout Media (www.Scout.com), an online sports network and magazine-publishing company and subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media. Glenn also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams. He previously was a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work also has appeared in several national magazines and books. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). He can be reached at hoopgurlz@comcast.net. © HoopGurlz.com
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