Former Penn player Remy Cofield impresses at last night's dunk contest

Before my team's intramural basketball game, I got a chance to watch a four-person dunk contest at the Palestra. Of course, no varsity players were participating, but there was some Red and Blue presence. Freshman Dau Jok looked like a kid in a candy store and was loving every minute of the contest, as he took video with his iPhone. Meanwhile, Tyler Bernardini and asst. coach Leibovitz were guest judges on a panel of about 5 or 6 people.

Initially, I kind of scoffed at the idea that Penn Rec was even hosting this type of event because for all the pickup games I've played at Pottruck's courts, I have seen maybe a handful of dunks — and none was of the high-flying, posterizing sort. But I was wrong. These four participants — three were students, the fourth a West Philly local — were actually impressive leapers.

The one who stood out the most was former Penn player Remy Cofield. A solid 6'4, he left the team mid-season during the 2008-09 campaign — for those so inclined, read here, here, and here for more on why he left the team. Anyway, Cofield definitely showed D-1 athleticism and had a nice repertoire of dunks, including a 180 and a two-handed dunk off the backboard. One of the show-stoppers was his dunk over two of his buddies, who appeared to be around 5'8-5'10. He even tried dunking in place (with no running start) but couldn't quite get enough elevation — still impressive, nonetheless.

Some of the other highlights included a dunk in sandals by one student and the West Philly local's dunk over three Quaker dancers. Definitely a fun event — they even had a funny announcer who ribbed all of the participants in between dunks — despite the low turnout. I imagine not many showed up because nobody really thinks anyone on this campus can throw down, but maybe word will spread and more will show up if Penn Rec decides to do it again next year.