All-star extravaganza

Charleston's Deonte Jones leaps over East Prairie's Dustin Caldwell in the Slam Dunk Competition on Saturday at the BA All-Star Extravaganza held at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter.
(Photo by Chris Pobst, Staff)

sd_sports@yahoo.com

DEXTER -- Charleston senior Deonte Jones took to the sky on Saturday afternoon.

He out-dueled Poplar Bluff's Jay Raulston to win the BA Promotions Slam Dunk contest with a little extra motivation from a past slam dunk champion.

Spud Webb, the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk champ, was the celebrity judge during Saturday's spectacle and was having some fun with Jones as he tried to throw a few down.

"He was talking stuff," joked Jones about Webb. "I had to show him up.

"I was just playing around with him."

Jones may not have been one of the shortest players to win a slam dunk contest, but he did win over Webb and the Bearcat Event Center crowd in Dexter with a few rim-rocking jams as he took home the title of best slam dunker.

"I just watch the NBA and see how they do their dunks," Jones said. "I talked to a couple of high-flyers to get some tips."

One of Jones' many highlight dunks was jumping over East Prairie senior Dustin Caldwell as Caldwell sat in a chair in the middle of the paint. He finished with a one-handed jam.

That dunk was just thought of minutes before the contest.

"We talked about it right before we came out here," said Jones.

Jones started another dunk from behind the rim and caught a pass from New Madrid County Central's Dontre Jenkins who's assist bounced off the back of the backboard. He also assisted himself with a full-court pass, which he caught up with on the second bounce, and then slammed it down.

Jones and Raulston went a few extra rounds to decide the winner, but Jones eventually came out on top.

"I had so much fun," Jones said. "It was good for all of the seniors to come out here and play for one last time."

Jones was also apart of the winning Lamberts team in the Class 3, 4 and 5 boys game who beat the Allen-Christian squad, 87-65.

In the small schools game, featuring teams from Classes 1 and 2, County Wide featuring Scott County Central senior Bobby Hatchett beat ADI, 94-89.

The girls game was won by Trammell & Sons, 86-78, defeating American Steak House.

A volleyball game took place before basketball took the court with Scott City's Katie Diebold earning MVP honors.

The Volleyball and Basketball awards are as followed:

Volleyball Awards

MVP All-Star Game: Katie Diebold (Scott City)

Passing Contest Winner: Kristen Pratt (Puxico)

Spiking Contest Winner: Lauren Henderson (Fredericktown)

Defensive Player of the Year: Cassandra Bollinger (Jackson)

Offensive Player of the Year: Brooke Simpson (Scott City)

Setter of the Year: Lauren Seller (Leopold)

Player of the Year: Brooke Simpson (Scott City)

Coach of the Year: Haley Jennings (Scott City)

Basketball Awards

Slam Dunk Champion: Deonte Jones (Charleston)

3-Point Contest (Girls): Jane Morrill (Notre Dame)

3-Point Contest (Boys): Jake Owens (Bernie)

MVP All-Star Game (Small School Boys): Jake Owens (Bernie)

MVP All-Star Game (Large School Boys): Jay Raulston (Poplar Bluff)

MVP All-Star Game (Girls): Ruthie Johnson (Poplar Bluff)

Female Player of the Year: Jane Morrill (Notre Dame)

Male Player of the Year: Bobby Hatchett (Scott County Central)

Girls Basketball Coach of the Year: Becky Hale (Neelyville)

McFerren Award: Drew Church (Cape Central), Jim Vaughn (Kennett)