JamFest more like funk fest

By Scott Tittrington     Mar 28, 2006

? The POWERade Jam Fest quickly became the jam funk for Sherron Collins.

The Kansas University signee failed to advance to the final round in either of his two disciplines during Monday night’s McDonald’s All-American event in San Diego State’s Peterson Gymnasium.

After playing the role of bystander during the first contest of the night – the Three-Point Shootout – Collins, a 5-foot-11 guard out of Crane High in Chicago, saw his first action when he teamed up with Joy Cheek, a Duke signee from Charlotte, N.C., in the Team-Ball Competition.

The duo struggled to score in the two-person game that requires alternate shots from a variety of spots on the floor, finishing with just 30 points and in a last-place tie in the six-team field.

Collins fired seven shots during the one-minute period and hit just two – a layup that counted for the standard two points and a 17-foot jump shot from just beyond the left elbow that garnered seven points. Otherwise, he was 0-for-3 on three attempts from beyond the arc and missed two additional jumpers.

UCLA recruit James Keefe (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) and Stanford signee Michelle Harrison (Orem, Utah) won the competition, scoring 42 in the opening round followed up by a 41-point effort in the finals.

Collins’ evening didn’t get any better in the marquee competition of the night – the Slam Dunk Contest. The second of six competitors, and easily the shortest, he drew high marks from the six judges – including San Diego Chargers stalwarts LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates and Shawn Merriman – when he converted his first attempt, a one-hand throwdown after tossing the ball off the glass.

However, after a trio of aborted starts on his second attempt, Collins ultimately misfired when he tried to toss the ball in the air and, after allowing it to bounce high, went for another one-handed jam.

His overall score of 53 was not enough to earn a spot in the top three and a trip to the finals.

The one additional dunker with a KU tie, the still-courted Darrell Arthur of South Oak Cliff High in Dallas, fared better, making the same dunk Collins missed and adding a two-handed windmill to score 109 points and make the finals. Once there, however, the 6-9 forward saw his creative mojo come up short as he misfired on both attempts.

So did hometown favorite Chase Budinger, an Arizona recruit who received two perfect scores of 60 in the prelims. That left the door open for Duke recruit Gerald Henderson (Blue Bell, Penn.), who finished off one of his two final attempts to win the title.

Both the boys and girls teams will practice today, take part in closed scrimmages this afternoon and enjoy a Wednesday-morning shootaround before taking the court for the grand finale – the All-American games – Wednesday night at Cox Arena.

The girls game tips off at 4:30 p.m. PST, with the boys game to follow at 7.

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