Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) crosses the ball between his legs, from his left hand to his right, on a dunk during a 111-77 semifinal win at Clinton in the District 3-AAA tournament on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
CLINTON—You’ve probably never seen this in a high school basketball game before. You might not ever seen it again. A between-the-legs dunk.
It happened Saturday night in Clinton. Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins told Coach Aaron Green at halftime during a District 3-AAA semifinal game that he was going to do the between-the-legs dunk if he had a chance.
That was okay, Green said, as long as Higgins made it. He did.
Higgins was wide open on a break from half court, and after launching into the air, he moved the basketball between his legs from his left hand to his right before winding up and slamming it through the hoop with his right.
The move fired up fans. Even Clinton fans enjoyed it.
Green said you might not even see that kind of dunk in college or NBA games.
“Those are dunks that are done in dunking contests,” he said. “I wish I could do that, to be honest with you.”
The move by Higgins, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver who will play football at Clemson, gave Oak Ridge a 35-point lead, 81-46, about halfway through the third quarter.
It was followed 20 seconds later by a one-handed dunk by Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones.
The final score Saturday was 111-77. That was the fourth-highest point total for the Wildcats in school history. The record was 137 against Sunbright in 1971, broadcaster David Clary said.
The Wildcats (25-2) were led Saturday by senior Tyshawn Young with 22 points. Young also had six rebounds. Jones scored 16 points. Junior point guard Levert Smith had 15 points and six assists, and sophomore Joe Kesterson came off the bench to score 12, all on three-point shots. Sophomore Herbert Booker added 11 points off the bench, and Higgins had 10.
Oak Ridge, the top seed after finishing undefeated in the district, advances to the District 3-AAA championship game at Clinton High School on Tuesday. That game against Powell, the number three seed, starts at 7:30 p.m.
Clinton (12-16), the number five seed in the district tournament, was led by junior guard Daraon Jones with 21 points. No other Dragon scored in double digits.
The Dragons will play Karns (20-6), the number two seed, in a consolation game at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
After crossing the ball between his legs from his left hand to his right, Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) slams it through the basketball hoop with his right hand during a 111-77 semifinal win at Clinton in the District 3-AAA tournament on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
No words! @teehiggins5 @espn @sctop10 @ORSchools @OakRidgeToday @oakridgersports @ORBoysBball @OakRidgeSports @ORHSWildcatMGM @prepxtra pic.twitter.com/dC9hsGrm77
— Myles Hebrard (@myleshebrard) February 19, 2017
Myron Iwanski says
Thanks John, for your outstanding coverage. Another great season for the boys and girls teams. Thanks Tee for four years of watching you play amazing basketball and football. Good luck at Clemson.
johnhuotari says
Thank you, Myron. Yes, another great season for both teams. I’ll miss watching Tee play here, but I guess we should still be able to watch him at the next level.
Peter Scheffler says
Great photo!
johnhuotari says
Thank you, Peter.