Weems Selected To Compete In Slam Dunk Contest

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Arkansas Razorback Sonny Weems has been selected to compete in the 20th annual State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships on Thursday, April 3, 2008, at Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN.

Weems, a senior from West Memphis, Ark., is one of eight competitors in the slam dunk portion of the event. Joining him are James Gist of Maryland, J.R. Giddens of New Mexico, Patrick Ewing Jr., of Georgetown, Brian Randle of Illinois, Joey Dorsey of Memphis, Will Bullard of Texas A&M – Corpus Cristi and Deron Washington of Virginia Tech.

Two future Hall-of-Famers will be joined by two talented young stars to comprise the panel of judges for the slam dunk contest. Former Spur David Robinson and former Cowboy Emmitt Smith make up half of the judges. Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. and former Texas Star Limas Sweed fill the other two spots.

The event kicks off the Final Four weekend, and will also feature a men’s and a women’s three-point shooting contest.

Weems recently completed his Razorback career by earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors, as well as all-district honors by both the United States Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Weems, who scored 31 points on 12-of-14 shooting in the NCAA Tournament first-round win over No. 24 Indiana, was 16th in the SEC in scoring (15.0) and 12th in field goal percentage (.464). He also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 37 percent on three-pointers and 80.3 percent at the line.

Weems is the first Razorback selected to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest since guard Brandon Dean in 2002.