Henry Bekkering

fightthepower

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http://hooplife.ca/viewclip.asp?clipid=9



If this link doesn't work goto google.com and type in his name and
check out the 2nd result. Pretty amazing video. I've never heard of him
until I saw his name here on the Slam Dunk Contest thread. It looks as
though he'd probabaly win the NBA dunk contest.



Looks like the link didn't work--you can copy/paste it though. Make sure you check it out!


Edited by: fightthepower
 

jaxvid

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Great link! Unbelievable dunks, that kid can FLY!
 

Don Wassall

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Darnvideo clipdoesn't work for me. Would really like to seeHenry doing his thing.
 

jaxvid

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He jumps over a guy on one of his dunks!
 

white lightning

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Henry does a dunk from the free throw line taking off of two feet.He puts half his arm down in the net on one dunk like Vince Carter to show how high he jumps.He dunks over a guy and also does a 180 and 360 dunk.Henry can do any dunk out there.He is 6'6 and about 230lbs of muscle.
 

JD074

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fightthepower said:

I doubt that that's a 10 foot goal, but he did jump over his teammate, which is impressive regardless. If it's a ten foot goal, then he's arguably the best dunker on the planet. Certainly better than anybody in the NBA or college ranks. Maybe some other obscure freak of nature out there would be better, but nobody that I know of could do better than what he did in that video. Vince Carter in his prime, perhaps. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure that's a 9 foot goal.

That Marko footage is great, too. I'd seen a photo of his car-jumping feat, but not the video. That was fantastic. And you could tell by one of the side shots that he could've cleared that car even if it had a roof. Interesting comment about how he lost his college eligibility after he won the car. Edited by: JD074
 

emefinsob

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That's definately a 10 foot rim, if you don't think so, look at the first video which was a dunk contest that he won easily. http://hooplife.ca/viewclip.asp?clipid=9.He probably is the best dunker on the planet, he's about 6'5" and has a 43" vertical leap since he could get his head even with a 10 foot rim. If that was a 9' hoop that would mean his vertical leap is only 31" which isn't even that good. I'm 6' tall and my vertical is 33" and all I could do is a 1 handed dunk. I know damn well Henry Bekkering jumps a hell of alot higher than I do.
 

Bart

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I've read Henry is 6'-6' or 6'-7" tall. With sneakers on at least an inch would be added to his height. So, he could have a height from the floor to the top of his head of approx. 80 ". A 10' rim height is 120", leaving a gap of 40". If he does have a vertical of 43", he could easily hit the rim with his head, leaving 3" to spare.
 

white lightning

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Henry Bekkering is the REAL DEAL!JD074,he has been on countless shows.He can dunk on a 11 foot rim with ease.He is that good.Didn't you see him touching his head on the rim?He is amazing.Now if only he can get his all around game to catch up with his athletecism!I am one of this kids biggest fans!He is also a christian and doesn't drink or smoke which means he should be a little bit healthier and hopefully have a longer career.I want to see him play in person sometime.Big Up to the skywalker!
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fightthepower

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Does anyone have the link to the video of Marko MIlic dunking over the car? Could you post it here? Thanks!
 

JD074

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emefinsob said:
That's definately a 10 foot rim, if you don't think so, look at the first video which was a dunk contest that he won easily.

That's what I was looking at. I hope I'm wrong! I wouldn't mind that at all! Because that is truly phenomenal stuff if that's a ten foot rim.

Bart said:
I've read Henry is 6'-6' or 6'-7" tall. With sneakers on at least an inch would be added to his height. So, he could have a height from the floor to the top of his head of approx. 80 ". A 10' rim height is 120", leaving a gap of 40". If he does have a vertical of 43", he could easily hit the rim with his head, leaving 3" to spare.

Good logic. I hadn't thought of it like that.

white lightning said:
Henry Bekkering is the REAL DEAL!JD074,he has been on countless shows.

Have you seen him on any shows? I saw him on Best Damn Sports Show Period. Any others? Unfortunately it didn't go too well on Best Damn. He ended up kneeing Brian Bosworth in the face while trying to leap over him... and Bosworth was seated, not standing. He didn't do any of the dunks that he did in those videos. I don't mean to be hard on the kid. I like him. But I would like a little more proof.

white lightning said:
Didn't you see him touching his head on the rim?

Of course! That's what made me curious. He just made it look so effortless. And what about the dunk where he jumped off two feet, one in front of the free throw line, the other behind it? That's freaky.

I want to see him in the college dunk contest. That would settle it once and for all. They have to invite him. He's practically a cult legend at this point. That has to count for something.
 

white lightning

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He was on the cover of S.I. this year.What does that say?Obviously he can perform on a 10 foot rim.There are alot of blacks that even talk about how phenominal he is!I will have to get the name of the other shows I saw him on.He was nervous on "The Best Damn Sports Show" and it made him look a little bad.Anyone can miss a dunk on occasion.I've even seen Jordan in his prime miss a few.Bekkering only got the one chance on that show with no warm up in front of a live crowd.They should have gave him more time.Just to add,David Lee out of Florida,and now a rookie with the Knicks can do all of these dunks too but he is 6'9.Lee can fly and hopefully will get to prove it in the Nba Slam Dunk Contest.
 

emefinsob

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Henry Bekkering is a wasted talent, it doesn't look like he's going to have any kind of career in the nba, he's shooting 54% but he doesn't even start and averages 16 minutes a game and 5 points. Most of the shots he makes are dunks, if he wants to have any kind of nba career, at 6'6 he needs to start shooting 3's, he won't be able to just play in the post and dunk at his height, he's like a power forward in a shooting guards body
 

Realistic

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There was some footage of him in the Canadian high school all star game
and he was shooting well from the outside. I'm not sure what's
going on with his college career.
 
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There are a ton of guys who can dunk and can't play -- and
shoot and not have guard skills. Throw Henry on the pile.
 

sunshine

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I would rather have one Bekkering type breakthrough than 25 white "shooters" who lack foot speed. The truth is even when a player like Redick etc. make it big the announcers etc. keep harping on his "lack of athleticism". I want some white athletes to shut these jerks up once and for all!!!!!!!!!!!We need really really athletic types to make noise and it is sad when big time leapers like Bekkering don't seem to be very good players. Worth mentioning Bekkering has a sister Janelle who has commited to Gonzaga. She is reportedly an explosive athlete with speed and incredible hops. And I suspect is a more rounded player.Henry also has a younger brother.
 

JD074

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I wonder how good he would have been as a football player- maybe wide receiver or safety....
 

emefinsob

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Henry dropped completely out of the rotation. He hasn't played at all in his team's last 3 games, and his team went 1-2. I don't understand why he doesn't play, he's by far the best athlete on the team, and his numbers look pretty good when he does play, and his team is pretty bad
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Bekkering is transferring out of Eastern Washington and back to somewhere in Canada.

for some reason,he never found his place on the court at EWU. maybe he'll put it together north of the border.
 

Realistic

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I don't know why it didn't work out for him at Eastern Washington but I do know that the brothers don't like to be shown up when it comes to jumping and dunking. Maybe it played into why he's leaving.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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just in case any of you guys were wondering...

Henry has simply dominated since returning to Canada. after sitting out last year due to transfer rules, he has led the University of Calgary basketball team to its best record in over 30 years!
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the Dinos are now gearing up for the postseason.

Dinos star still living above the rim
LORI EWING
Canadian Press
February 5, 2008 at 8:25 AM EST

TORONTO  Dan Vanhooren says there's at least one moment in every practice when Henry Bekkering does something so athletically outrageous, the coach can only shake his head in amazement.

"Any take to the rim that he has, he has so much power," says Vanhooren, head coach of the University of Calgary Dinos.

Bekkering became a hoops folk hero in 2002 when footage of a high-school dunk contest was posted on the Internet. The high-flying basketball player from Taber, Alta., hangs from the rim by the crook of his elbow, borrowing from Vince Carter's winning performance in the 2000 NBA dunk contest. He soars to the hoop from the top of the key. He leaps over his point guard.

Vanhooren recalls a dunk at a recent Dinos practice: "I threw an alley-oop to him from centre court. Henry goes up from the weak side of the floor and I throw it . . . it's a horrible pass, like it's horrible. Nobody on this planet should have got it. But he catches it and reverses it over top of some of our six-foot-eight posts.

"That's an NBA thing."

To look at the video footage  which now numbers over a million views  the future looked bright for Bekkering. His eye-popping athleticism would make any NCAA coach salivate. His ticket, it seemed, was his for the writing.

But it didn't turn out that way. A wrong turn took Bekkering to Eastern Washington University, where he wilted at the end of the bench for two seasons. His confidence disappeared.

But Bekkering's found a fresh start. He's back in Alberta, playing alongside his younger brother Ross, and leading the University of Calgary Dinos to what could be their best season in decades.

"I just wasn't enjoying it down in the States," Bekkering says. "It was a chore to an extent. Now I'm playing how I want to play, how I envisioned myself playing. I'm happy where I am in Calgary."

The six-foot-six forward is averaging 21 points and 6.5 rebounds a night for the third-ranked Dinos, who capped their perfect 12-0 home record with a pair of wins last weekend against Manitoba and Winnipeg.

The Dinos (17-3) wrap up the regular season with a pair of games at Saskatchewan this weekend. They have a bye through the first round of the playoffs before hosting the winner of the Alberta-Saskatchewan semifinal in a best-of-three Central Division final.

Bekkering's three highlight-reel dunks Saturday against Winnipeg brought the crowd to its feet at the U of C's Jack Simpson Gym.

But the Dino player was hesitant to leave his feet when he first arrived home from Cheney, Wash. His web fame painted him as a one-dimensional player; he was keen to show off the other facets of his game.

One online video shows Bekkering leaping over a group of children en route to the rim. He was even featured on the Best Damn Sports Show Period in 2004. The show counted down the Top 50 dunks of all-time  Bekkering was No. 39.

"When he started playing for us this year, he wouldn't even dunk in warmup because he didn't want people to think of him only as a dunker," Vanhooren says. "He's a great athlete and he provides a heck of a lot more than just that, and that's the part that I think he'd like people to notice sometimes but doesn't get noticed.

"I've had to have chats with him about just being who he is and embracing that. I think he's going to have to grow into that a little bit."

Bekkering scored 39 points in a game last month against Lethbridge, the best single-game performance by a Dino in nearly 11 years. His scoring that night came on a wide array of shots, as he poured in points on layups, three-pointers and free throws.

But when the Dinos need a big play to boost momentum, he'll respond with a rim-rattling dunk.

"It helps get our team pumped up," he said. "But it's not the be-all and end-all, it's not like I score 20 points off 10 dunks. But it definitely helps our team with a momentum boost, or heps turn our game around.

"It's a bit of an intimidation factor too."

So impressive is Bekkering's athletic ability that the Calgary Stampeders took him in the fifth round (35th overall) in the 2007 CFL draft.

"Henry Bekkering is as talented an athlete as has probably ever played in this league," Stamps GM Jim Barker said at the time. "He's a guy we believe is better athletically than anyone in the CFL."

"He's already one of the fastest, biggest slotbacks  if he's going to play  in the CFL, and he hasn't even played," Vanhooren says.

But basketball is in Bekkering's blood. Growing up in the hoops hotbed of southern Alberta, his W.R. Meyers high school  with 350 students  dispatched Calgary's Lester B. Pearson (1,500 students) in the 4A provincial championships when he was in Grade 11.

Bekkering is the fourth in his family to play for the Dinos. His older sisters Anna and Cory both played for the U of C. His younger sister Janelle plays NCAA Division 1 basketball at Gonzaga.

His father Simon could still dunk when he was 50.

"I think that was the last time he did," Bekkering said, laughing.

While he's not sure of his plans for the future, he has Dutch citizenship so playing pro in Europe could be in the cards. He'd also like a shot at playing for the national team.

As for the Dinos, Vanhooren is optimistic the team could go all the way to the CIS final this year. In 2004, the team went 15-5 in conference play and won the Canada West conference. They lost to Carleton by two points in the national semifinals, and Carleton went on to win the CIS title.

"It definitely is one of the best teams ever here by far," Vanhooren says.

even though his leaping ability is one of the most breathtaking things i've ever seen, it's true that Henry is more than just a dunker. as seen on the video link here.
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his younger brother is pretty damn good, too.
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jaxvid

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Jimmy Chitwood said:
just in case any of you guys were wondering...

his younger brother is pretty damn good, too.
smiley2.gif

How about his sister Janelle, at Gonzaga which you mentioned in a previous post?
 
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