2017 NABC-NAIA Fan Vote Dunker Announced
By Chad Waller, Director of Athletics Communications and Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- (Buy tickets) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the fan-vote slam-dunk winner for the 2017 NABC-NAIA Shoot & Slam, presented by US Bank. Henry French from Trinity International (Ill.) will participate in the contest as he earned the most fan votes with 404 likes. As a part of the Slam Dunk Contest on March 18 at 4 p.m. CDT, fans had the opportunity to vote in one player by way of the PlayNAIA Instagram page.
Potential contestants were nominated by Division I and Division II Head Basketball Coaches and then the Shoot & Slam Selection Committee narrowed the nominees down to three for the online Instagram voting, which ran from Feb. 20 through Feb. 28. Fans had the chance to vote up to once total.
French joins Brendan Chapman of Science & Arts (Okla.), Johnny Griffin Jr., of Loyola (La.) and Brendyn Taylor of Northwest Christian (Ore.) competing in the Slam Dunk Contest, in conjunction with the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship.
The order of dunkers will be alphabetical by school name. All four dunkers will be judged on two dunks in the first round. Each dunker must complete one dunk within a two-minute span. The two dunkers with the highest composite score advance to the final round. The format is the same in the final round. The dunker with the highest final round score will be the winner. A panel of judges will score the dunks from 8-to-10 points, resulting in a maximum score of 50 and a minimum score of 40 per dunk.
List of 4th and final Dunker in order of fan votes:
1. Henry French – Trinity International (Ill.): 444 likes*
2. Micheal Patterson – William Jessup (Calif.): 335 likes
3. Daniel Radford – Cal Maritime: 205 likes
*Fan-Vote Winner on Instagram
For tickets to Saturday’s activities – which will cover the Shoot & Slam and all four quarterfinal games – go to www.NAIAHoops.com.
To learn more about the 2017 NABC-NAIA Shoot & Slam, presented by US Bank, click here.
| 3-Point Contestants (listed by school) | |||
| Name | School | 3PM | 3PM% |
| Zach Taylor | Carroll (Mont.) | 45 | 47.4 |
| Michael Gholston | Central Christian (Kan.) | 108 | 40.9 |
| Jalen McGaughy | Dillard (La.) | 48 | 57.1 |
| Kyle Pipenger | IU East (Ind.) | 70 | 51.1 |
| Dunk Contestants (listed by school) | |||
| Name | School | ||
| Johnny Griffin Jr. | Loyola (La.) | ||
| Brendyn Taylor | Northwest Christian (Ore.) | ||
| Brendan Chapman | Science & Arts (Okla.) | ||
| Henry French (fan vote) | Trinity International (Ill.) |
Schedule -- Saturday, March 18 (All Times CDT)
Noon -- Quarterfinal Game No. 1
2 p.m. -- Quarterfinal Game No. 2
4 p.m. -- NABC-NAIA Shoot & Slam, presented by US Bank
5:30 p.m. -- Quarterfinal Game No. 3
7:30 p.m. -- Quarterfinal Game No. 4
Previous Champions:
• 2016
o DUNK: Richard McCalop, Science & Arts (Okla.) | WATCH DUNKS
o 3-POINT: Trae Bergh, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)
• 2015
o DUNK: Jamaal Thomas, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | WATCH DUNKS
o 3-POINT: Marcus Hurn, Great Falls (Mont.)
• 2014
o DUNK: Tyler Inman, Southwestern Christian (Okla.) | WATCH DUNKS
o 3-POINT: Travis Schuba, Madonna (Mich.)
