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Dennis Smith Jr. ROBBED! Perfect 50 doesn’t get him to Dunk Contest Finals

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Former Wolfpacker and current Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr is known for his highlight reel slams. That’s why, when he was invited to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk contest, people considered him the front-runner. Here is a quick clip of his peers talking about his chances..

On to the contest…

To start things off, Smith went with the high-flying, double-pump reverse in round 1.

That’s not a bad dunk. In fact, that’s a pretty amazing athletic feat right there. Unfortunately, it only netted him a 39.

Really, though?? Victor Oladipo didn’t even make his dunk and ended with a 31. Smith had something to say about it.

DSJ followed that up with the dunk that maybe should have won him the night. This 360, through the legs, switching hands slam earned him a perfect 50 in round 2.

Are you serious? Let’s see that in slow motion…

Like we said, that dunk netted Smith Jr. a perfect score, but because of the way they combine the two rounds, he didn’t get to advance to the finals.

Now sure, that first dunk wasn’t all that unique, but it was pretty darn good. Then, to follow that up with what ended up being the best dunk of the entire contest and not get to advance. That shows a real flaw in the system.

Below is the full highlights of the competition. But save yourself the time. It isn’t all that exciting. Larry Nance Jr, recreated his father’s windmill dunk from years ago and he did it pretty perfectly. Problem is, it isn’t that difficult of a dunk. In the finals, he did what in theory was a pretty cool dunk, but in real time it looked boring. He threw it off the backboard caught it, threw it off the backboard again (although it looked like he just tapped it against the backboard and threw it in without much authority.) Somehow this got him a perfect score.

Donovan Mitchell went on to win by again, copying someone else. His final dunk was a re-do of Vince Carter’s reverse 360. Very cool, but please, we’ve seen it before. How is this the big winner?

I hate watching the NBA dunk contest these days. It’s less about the creativity or athleticism and more about gimmicks. The only reason I cared about it this year was because Dennis Smith Jr was in it. But after this robbery, I’m back to hating it again.

I mean, can you really even take it seriously when Chris Rock, Mark Wahlberg and freaking DJ Khalid are 3 of your judges? Is this what entertains people today? People who have never done something, judging people who do that thing professionally? I’ll pass.

Sorry, Dennis. You deserved better.

Pack in the Pros

T-Wolves Sign Former NC State Forward TJ Warren for Remainder of the Season

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Back during the first week of March, former All-ACC NC State Forward TJ Warren signed a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. After finding success as a scoring option off the bench, the T-Wolves signed him to another 10-day contract.

With only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Minnesota went ahead and signed him for the rest of regular season yesterday.

In the 7 games Warren has played for the T-Wolves, he has averaged 4.1 points per game in 14.0 minutes of play, shooting 47.8% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc.

Warren has not played in Minnesota’s past two games, but he has a chance to prove his worth once again tonight in the T-Wolves matchup vs. the Pistons. As things currently stand, Minnesota sits in 3rd place in the Western Conference.

Here’s a look at the former ACC Player of the Year’s stats over 10 seasons.

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines Signs 1-Year Deal With Cleveland

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines has signed a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Browns worth up to $3.5 million.

Maybe Cleveland will use Hines to his full potential. If you’re not using him as a Swiss Army Knife in the passing game, you’re wasting an opportunity.

The former All-ACC Running Back Hines missed all of last season due to a torn ACL he suffered in a boating accident.

This will be Hines’ 7th season in the NFL.

When you look at what former NC State players have done in the NFL, Hines ranks in the Top-10 in Rushing and Receiving.

His 1,015 rushing yards ranks 7th in school history and his 10 rushing touchdowns rank 9th. Hines’ 240 receptions rank 8th and his 1,778 receiving yards rank 10th.

In the return game, he’s one of the best to represent NC State in the NFL as well. His 1,015 punt return yards ranks 2nd in school history and his 817 kickoff return yards rank 6th. Hines’ 2 punts returned for TD’s ranks 3rd, and his 2 kickoffs taken to the house ranks 1st.

 

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett Signs 1-Year Deal with Pats

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is signing a 1-year deal with the New England Patriots, rejoining the team that drafted him in the 3rd Round back in 2016.

The deal is worth $8 million.

After the Pats traded away Quarterback Mac Jones to the Jaguars yesterday, it’s abundantly clear what they are planning to do with the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After winning a Super Bowl in his lone season in New England in 2016, Brissett went on to spend 4 seasons in Indy, before spending the next 3 seasons in 3 different cities: Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

Brissett has had a great career as a backup Quarterback through 8 seasons in the NFL, playing in 79 games (starting 48), throwing for 10,574 yards and 51 touchdowns, with 23 interceptions, and a QB Rating of 85.3.

Brissett ranks 5th in NC State history in career passing yards and touchdowns, and 3rd in QB Rating by a former Wolfpack player in the NFL.

Prior to making a dime from New England in 2024, Brissett has made $50.9 million through his first 8 seasons in the league.

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones Signs with Arizona

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones (2014-17) has signed a 3-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

The deal is worth a total of $30.1 million, with $19.75 million guaranteed.

Jones spent the past two seasons in Chicago, where he started in every game, recording 101 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

In 2018, Jones was taken in the 3rd round by the Chargers. After playing in 15 games as a reserve as a rookie, Jones started for the Bolts for the next 3 years before signing with the Bears.

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