Written by Jim Polzin at WisconsinStateJournal.com
Khalil Iverson’s highlight-reel dunk was played over and over on ESPN and went viral on social media as well.
Naturally, the focus was on the spectacular finish by the freshman swingman on the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team during the 67-59 victory at No. 8 Iowa on Wednesday night. Iverson double-pumped to avoid getting his shot rejected by Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff before finishing with an emphatic slam, a conversion that gave the Badgers a two-point lead with 8 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the game.
What was easy to miss on the play was the help Iverson got from a teammate. Not only did UW’s Charlie Thomas make a hard dive in the lane after setting a screen near the top of the key, the freshman forward then put a body on Uthoff, sealing him off long enough to delay the Hawkeyes senior forward’s arrival at the rim.
Had Thomas not done his part, Iverson’s path to the basket likely would have been obstructed by the Big Ten’s leader in blocked shots. A dunk that left the UW bench in awe probably never would have occurred.
The beauty of the play was it was two freshmen working in concert during a tight, important game in a difficult road venue. Iverson and Thomas, together with sophomore guard Jordan Hill, combined for 23 points off the bench — 19 more than Iowa’s reserves produced.
“It definitely helps,” UW junior forward Nigel Hayes said, “when you have guys coming off the bench and playing extremely well like they were.”
Iverson finished with nine points, three rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes. He had three dunks in all to go along with a three-point play in which he showed patience near the rim, used a pump fake to draw a foul on Iowa’s Nicholas Baer and finished with contact.
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