Diamond DeShields Is A Six-Foot 16-Year-Old Who Can Dunk And Be Female At The Same Time

It's true that men and boys who are younger and shorter than Diamond DeShields dunk a lot, and that they don't automatically get national attention for it. We're promise we're aware of that. This isn't a Stern call for league integration, this is a basic call for appreciation of the fact that DeShields, a 16 year-old sophomore guard at Norcross High in Georgia, is six-foot female who is capable of dunking on an alley-oop with ease.

DeShields, who is the daughter of former MLB player Delino, is considered by some to be the No. 1 sophomore in the country. She hasn't yet dunked in a game, but she will, and she'll likely be the shortest woman to ever do it (previously: 6'5" Lisa Leslie, 6'4" Candace Parker, 6'8" Brittany Griner, 6'5" Sylvia Fowles). In a game last weekend, the she grabbed the rim on a layup. "I didn't realize how far my hand was above the rim until I got up in the air and put my hand into the basket," DeShields explained. The experience of realizing, with surprise, that one's hand is in the hoop is certainly a unique one for women's basketball.

We'll likely see her throw down soon, although DeSheilds says she's holding off in games because she doesn't want her first attempt "to be one of those weak dunks. It's going to have to be a powerful dunk like you see on TV." Well, then.

Norcross High's Diamond DeShields discusses dunking for girls [AJC]