James White aka "Flight 75"

I consider myself a pretty big sports fan. I used to think I kept on top of the sports world until I just recently learned who James White is.


I was casually reading the lame University of Cincinnati paper when an article about James White jumped out at me on the back page. The article claimed this guy could do a between the legs dunk form the free throw line. From the free throw line??? Really?? And I've never heard of him?

Thanks to the goodness of YouTube, here is the proof via a Turkish slam dunk contest.



A couple of things stick out to me from the video. If you wanted to see the between the legs dunk only, it's at about 4:50 on the video. I recommend the entire viewing experience for the unintentional comedy.

1. Who are these clowns judging this competition? They look like they grabbed some Turkish grocery store managers and said hey, "Hey, we'll give you 10 lira if you judge this competition. Don't worry, you don't have to know anything about basketball."
2. He makes it look effortless. Dunk after dunk from the free throw line and the guy's not breaking a sweat.
3. Do the fans have any idea what they are seeing? There's about 300 people in the stands and he gets a couple of cheers. Could you imagine if he's throwing these down at NBA all-star weekend? (Note: he signed a contract with the Rockets recently, so maybe we will get to see it).
4. What are those emcees wearing and where did they find those guys? Are they cool in Turkey? Do people like them or are they shunned from society? This all got me thinking that I have no idea what Turkey is like. You should read up, it's interesting.
5. Did you see the trophy he got for winning? Look at the trophy this kid won for little league; if I were in charge of that slam dunk contest, I would be embarrassed.
   

Finally, the acceptance speech is hilarious. What's going through his head? "None of these people know what I'm saying, but I better throw in my team name so I can keep my sweet endorsement deal."