16/07 - 2004 College Slam Dunk Competition
Andre Emmett of Texas Tech took home the title, leaping over six children huddled in a group on his final dunk to beat out Bowden by two-tenths of a point. Emmett scored a near-perfect 59.4 on the jam. Bowden made the individual contest a team show by taking a Statue of Liberty handoff from teammate Tyler Newton in the semifinals. Then Bowden lept over Miah Davis, another teammate, in the finals. Part of the judging criteria was creativity. Emmett earned the only perfect score of the night in the semifinals by tossing a bounce pass to himself off the back wall. Other contestants were Julius Page of Pittsburgh (named after Julius Irving), Bobby Carter of Western Illinois, Sylvester Willis of Southern Illinois, Winston Davis of Lafayette. Tony Allen of Oklahoma State was invited but did not compete because his team is playing in the Final Four. Contestants were judged for difficulty and creativity. With this mandate, dunkers tried everything - off the shot clock, wall, backboard, tearing their shirts off - as well as resorting to the classics - 360-degree dunks, windmill jams and from-the-foul-line leaps. Some of the contestants post-dunk showboating reflected NFL-style celebrations, without the fines and 15-yard penalties. One contestant pulled out a Sharpie to sign the ball a la Terrell Owens, and another pulled out a cell phone. A shirtless Bowden took a black cowboy hat from Newton after the semifinals to dance under the hoop.