March 29, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State senior forward Billy White has been selected to participate in the 2011 Denny's Slam Dunk Championship, taking place at the University of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion. The event is part of the 23rd annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, premiering at 6 p.m. PT Thursday on ESPN2.
The 6-foot-8 White will be competing against a field of seven other Division I and Division II college basketball players known for their big-time jams: Gilbert Brown, Pittsburgh; Justin Burrell, St. John's; Will Coleman, Memphis; Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State; Jacob Tucker, Illinois College; Darnell Wilks, Cincinnati; and John Williams, UNC Asheville.
NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone will be one of the five judges scoring the event. Previous participants in the friendly competition include current Phoenix Suns guards Aaron Brooks (Oregon) and Steve Nash (Santa Clara), NBA legend Gary Payton (Oregon State) and two-time NBA All-Star Michael Finley (Wisconsin).
White, a Las Vegas, Nev. product known for his crowd-erupting alley-oop finishes and poster slams, finished the 2010-2011 campaign averaging 10.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. The energetic senior played an integral part in SDSU's run to a second-consecutive Mountain West Conference title and an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance.