Showtime

By Joe Conroy

Published: March 27, 2008

A little more than a year ago Donald Vaughn became the surprising winner of the Hoops Fest dunk competition, beating out heavy favorite and now George Mason freshman Cam Long.

The winning slam? Vaughn hopped over four of his friends while wearing ski goggles that netted him the hearts of the fans and judges alike.

So is leaping five pals a possibility for the 6-foot-4 Potomac forward in this year’s event at Gar-Field High School Friday night?

“I don’t know about all that,” Vaughn said laughing. “It’s hard to come in and out-do my jumping over four people.  But I’m going to try to top that.

“I’ve come up with a couple new ones. (But) it’s kind of a secret,” he added with a sly grin.

Vaughn’s been working on his moves since Monday but won’t say what he’s got in store other than he has two already planned and is working on a “big finale.”

He’ll have plenty of competition this year with seven others in the field. And though he says you can’t ignore anyone in the event considering his win last year over Long, Vaughn admits two in particular concern him the most.

“Everybody’s competition,” he said diplomatically, “but I think Freedom’s Sadonas (Davis) and Darryl McKeithan from Gar-Field.  Darryl was in it last year and I know Sadonas is a real jumper.”

Vaughn and the rest of the dunkers are putting their abilities on display for the Hoops Fest cause, this year raising money for the Perez family. The Perezes are a Dale City clan who is currently without a single home, leaving family members separate, including two daughters enrolled at Gar-Field.

With two other events at Hoops Fest set to entertain the expected crowd (in 2007 1,300 fans attended at Osbourn Park), there are plenty of skills to be seen.

Seton senior Samantha Spencer and Stonewall Jackson sophomore Kyani White will compete for the girls’ 3-point shooting crown along with 13 others.

“I’ve been watching Hoops Fest for many years,” White said. White has attended the event with her father and Raiders coach Nsonji since she was 10 years old. “I’ve always wanted to participate in it. It looks really fun.”

“The environment is completely different from the season,” Spencer said. “We’re usually lucky to have 20 or more people in our stands for our games and to be playing in front of 1,000 people, it’s definitely different. But I like it, it’s exciting.”

Spencer, who will also compete in the 2-ball competition with Seton boys player Gage Arnold, said she is adjusting her technique for the 3-point event from last year.

“In the past I just tried to get all 25 shots off and I’ve rushed my shots,” she said. “There’s no bonus for taking all the shots, so I plan to take my time this year make sure I make them.”

Spencer’s top competition will be White, the top girl 3-point shooter in 2008, sinking 79 to Spencer’s 76 on the year.

For the 2-ball competition, Spencer said she and Arnold have worked together this week and have their strategy down.

But like Vaughn, Spencer’s not giving anything away. The key, she says, is communication.

“We have a good routine for if we miss where we go from there,” Spencer said. “We talk when we do it, that’s the big thing.”

The Hoops Fest events officially begin at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 5:30.