Byron Parker To Participate in College Dunk Contest
Mar 27, 2003 | Men's Basketball
March 27, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane senior Byron Parker has been invited to participate in the College Slam Dunk Championships in New Orleans at the Alario Center on the West Bank next Thursday evening.
The event, which is being held in conjunction with the Final Four, will begin at 7 p.m. (Central). It also includes a Three-Point Contest among top college seniors and it will be broadcast by ESPN.
Parker is a six-foot senior who played two years for the Green Wave after a junior college stint at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. As the Green Wave's sixth-man this past season, Parker led the team in steals and ranked second in Conference USA in steals per 40 minutes.
A high-energy player, Parker is an explosive leaper who began dunking as an eighth-grader in Georgia. His first dunk in a game came when he was 13 years old and just five feet, seven inches tall.
"Byron is phenomenal because of his size and leaping ability," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "He is an exciting dunker. He will awe the crowd with his abilities.
"He can win because of his size and skill in dunking," Finney continued. "He is a six-footer and his head is up by the rim when he goes dunks. It's amazing."
Some of the college stars invited to participate in the event include Duke's Dahntay Jones, Oklahoma's Hollis Price, Notre Dame's Matt Carroll, Indiana's Tom Coverdale, Mississippi State's Derrick Zimmerman and LSU's Ronald Dupree.
Past participants at the College Slam Dunk and 3-point Championships include current NBA superstars Gary Payton, Damon Stoudamire, Michael Finley, Allen Houston, Eddie Jones and Steve Nash.
This year's event will feature celebrity judges including at least three New Orleans professional athletes. Expected to judge the contest are Baron Davis and Robert Traylor of the New Orleans Hornets and Deuce McAllister of the New Orleans Saints.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet or at ticketmaster.com or by calling (504) 522-5555. All seating is general admission.
