Syracuse Basketball: Top Five Orange Dunkers Since 2000

Tyus Battle’s VTB United League dunk contest championship comes as no surprise. But is he a top-five dunker among Syracuse basketball players since 2000?

On February 14, former Syracuse basketball star Tyus Battle won the VTB United League dunk contest. This is Battle’s first year in the Russian-based professional basketball league. He plays for the basketball club Enisey.

Battle made all four of his dunks on the first attempt and showed off a wide array of tricks from his bag. Perhaps his most impressive was a between the legs dunk which he finished with his right hand. His final dunk came from a pass off the side of the backboard which he caught and windmilled for an athletic finish.

This isn’t Battle’s first time being crowned the top dunker in an event. He won Syracuse’s Orange Madness in 2016, using one of the same dunks that he repeated in the VTB United League dunk contest.

For how acclaimed of a dunker Tyus Battle is – would he rank in the top Orange dunkers since 2000? There’s been a lot of them, and Tyus certainly has a case.

Honorable Mentions:

Carmelo Anthony, Donte Greene, Elijah Hughes, Jonny Flynn, Jerami Grant, Michael Carter-Williams, Michael Gbinije, Tyus Battle, Wes Johnson

Coming up with the top FIVE dunkers in the Syracuse basketball program since 2000 wasn’t an easy task. Cuse has had their fair share of all sorts of dunkers – short guys who throw down with thunder, athletic guards who can catch a body, forwards who make it look easy, and big men who add a little mustard to an alley-oop.

And before I go any further, not all of these guys should be in the same tier as each other. They just happen to be grouped together for the purpose of this article.

So yes, Jonny Flynn and Jerami Grant have some more memorable throw downs than Donte Greene and Carmelo Anthony. But unfortunately – and this will be up to heavy debate – they just didn’t have the same consistency with impressive dunks.

5. Tyler Roberson

This might be the most scrutinized of my top five, but I’ll just throw out my main reason for placing Roberson above just an honorable mention. If he wasn’t able to produce some of the highlight reel dunks and alley-oops that he did during his Syracuse basketball career, he wouldn’t have played many minutes at all.

And no, Jim Boeheim didn’t play Roberson for the desire of the crowd. But Roberson had an uncanny leaping ability that served as an extra dimension for a few Orange teams that needed it on offense.

Roberson also was an underrated dunker. While he may not have one single dunk that sticks out above the rest, he has a fairly good reel of consistently impressive dunks and alley-oops that deserve to place him on this list in a spot by himself.

In this dunk against Cornell, Roberson used his bounce and length for a crowd-pleasing putback off a Tyler Lydon miss. Perhaps the most impressive part, Roberson timed it well, but when he caught the ball off the miss, it was at least a foot under the rim as he one-hand slammed it.

Perhaps putbacks were the theme of Roberson’s Syracuse Orange career – and not just his highlights. Against North Carolina in the 2016 Final Four, the 6-foot-8 undersized power forward followed a miss off the backboard and adjusted mid-air for a ferocious two-hand slam.

Whatever the case may be for how good of an overall player Tyler Roberson was, there’s no doubt that he was one of the better dunkers to put on a Syracuse uni.

4. Paul Harris

Like Roberson, Harris’s Syracuse basketball career was a bit disappointing at times. During his recruitment, he was expected to be the next Carmelo Anthony (although in hindsight that was probably a bit high of a comparison to draw).

Despite his lack of star power, he did have three successful years in the Salt City, becoming one of Cuse’s most reliable tough guys, rebounding better than his size, and improving his efficiency and passing abilities.

But one of his underrated skillsets was his dunking ability. He brought in the outdoor park style of rim-rattling dunks and put some defenders on some posters.

In one dunk against Villanova, Harris went baseline for an impressive one-hand slam over the Wildcat defender, Dante Cunningham. Cunningham was a full four inches taller than Harris, but the Cuse forward paid no mind, getting the fans in the Carrier Dome on their feet.

And in classic Paul Harris style, he once threw himself an alley-oop against Rutgers. And no, it wasn’t off the backboard or with no other players around. Harris actually tossed it to himself mid-air and threw it down. Was Jim Boeheim happy with the decision? Probably not. But at least it made for a cool highlight.

3. Dion Waiters

There may not be another player in the history of Syracuse basketball who made everyone hold their breath when given a wide-open fastbreak opportunity. And with the amount of steals Waiters pilfered at the top of the 2-3 zone, he sure had a lot of them.

Of course, Dion could do more than just dunk. He was a bucket getter from anywhere on the court and an underrated defender.

In two seasons on the Hill, he had enough gripes with coach Boeheim to fill four years. But he was Boeheim’s swiss army knife – a bench player that was counted on because of his unique ability to score from all three levels.

But his dunking stood out. Enough in fact to earn him the nickname “Downhill Dion” on basketballreference.com. Although for good measure, he also gave HIMSELF the nickname “Kobe Wade.”

All of that aside, Waiters was a supreme talent, and his dunking was a big reason why. In the iPhone shot video below, Waiters shows off his trademark tomahawk dunk on St. John’s. While it may be the prototypical flush, it was Waiters’ style at the ‘Cuse and he owned it well.

Against UConn, Waiters threw down this dunk that forced a Huskies timeout. After splitting two defenders at the top of the key, Waiters glided to the rim for a two-hand slam. Perhaps it was the ease he did it with, but there was always something smooth about a Waiters dunk.

2. C.J. Fair

C.J. Fair brought a tough, slick, style of basketball that Orange fans will always remember. Like Harris, he played above his size and was one of the most improved players from his freshman to senior year.

The 6-foot-8 forward saw his scoring go up each year and vastly improved in all parts of the game. But it was Fair’s athletic throwdowns that never really needed too much work.

Fair’s dunks also had a uniqueness to them. As a lefty, they often drew more attention than the same dunk done by a right-handed player. But Fair also had a strength that separated himself from practically any player, regardless of dominant hand.

Fair had a long list of highlight dunks to choose from, but his poster of Georgetown’s Otto Porter was perhaps his most famous. The Syracuse basketball star needed just one dribble after a jab step before rising over Porter for a left-hand slam.

This next dunk against Minnesota was eerily similar to Fair’s slam on Georgetown. It was another left-handed poster after driving from the free-throw line. But this time it drew national press from Fair’s bloody face. Talk about putting your body on the line for the team.

1. Hakim Warrick

Hakim Warrick is one of the best players in Syracuse basketball history, but he’s also one of the most elusive dunkers. With a slender frame but great jumping ability, Warrick was able to catch his fair share of bodies at the rim.

As a basketball talent, Warrick was of course more than just a dunker. But it seemed as if every game he played he was able to add something to his career highlights.

In fact, it may be hard for any current or future Orange dunker to dethrone Warrick. He had one of the most memorable dunks in program history and has a lengthy reel from his three years in an SU jersey.

In the 2003 Final Four, Hakim “Skinny” Warrick had a memorable dunk where he drove baseline and threw one down on Royal Ivey.

How good were Warrick’s dunks? There’s not often a standstill slam that makes it to the top spot on the SportsCenter top ten plays. And that’s why he’s our number one.