EMMITSBURG, Md. (April 3, 2020) – If you attended a game at Knott Arena this past season, you know the name Nana Opoku. And chances are, you saw the 6-foot-9 sophomore forward leap from the floor of the Jim Phelan Court, fly through the air and throw one down for the cheering crowd.

This season, Opoku – a product of Potomac High School in Woodbridge, Virginia – delighted fans home and away with 25 dunks this season. He now has 39 for his career, combining the 14 from his freshman year.

"Nana is an impact player for us in many ways, but his dunks have the ability to change the complexion of a game." Mount St. Mary's Head Coach Dan Engelstad said. "Our team and crowd feeds off the energy in the gym after one of his big dunks."

Of all the throw downs fans will remember, it was the 18^th. On January 20^th, Mount was locked in a defensive battle against the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers. But with 17 minutes to go in the second half, point guard Damian Chong Qui garnered a steal and he and his teammates marched the length of the floor. With Chong Qui on the wing looking for a quick bucket, he spotted Opoku running up the middle of the court.

The Terriers hastily tried to set up a defense, with guard Jordan Williams getting in position to try and draw a charge. Opoku received the ball from the Chong Qui, took one step at the free throw line and launched. His dunk posterized Williams, sending him to the floor and sending the crowd at Knott Arena into a frenzy.

Later that night, someone at ESPN found the tagged Twitter post and placed it in the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10. Opoku's feat eclipsed Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and his dunk on LeBron James, which took the No. 2 spot.

"The dunk at St. Francis Brooklyn was electric." Opoku said. "I knew Dame [Chong Qui] saw me running with him and delivered the pass when I had a full head of steam. After I finished, I could hear the arena in an uproar and I loved every second. It wouldn't have been possible without an unselfish point guard like Dame to dish it off on the money. It was insane to have the best highlight on SportsCenter. I had to turn off my notifications."

Dunking has been a part of Opoku's game since middle school. His first hand-to-rim contact came when he was playing for VA Monstars under coaches Delroy McDonald and Eric Smith.                                                                                                                   

"I first started to dunk in the eighth grade. I was in an AAU game when I got the ball on a fast break. Coach had been screaming at me to dunk the ball all season. After I did it, I dunked again that same game and I thought to myself, 'I want to keep doing this.'"

Opoku also played AAU ball for Team Loaded VA, with Georgetown's Mac McClung was a teammate.

He continued up the ranks, making the varsity team at Potomac High School as a junior. While there, his play helped the Panthers to a title in his junior year and earned Player of the Year honors for Virginia's 5A North region. Along with other facets of the game, including defensive efforts that helped him earn a triple-double against Freedom High School, dunking continued to develop.

"Talents developed late. I was a late bloomer but I was always able to dunk throughout high school. I would practice dunking with a volleyball during pool workouts, spending an entire summer dedicated to unlocking athleticism I didn't know I had. It became more natural when I was in the 10^th grade."

The dunk over the Terriers was not the only highlight reel dunk of the season. He also received notoriety in one of the earliest games of the season, with a dunk from the baseline against Washington on November 12^th. Two weeks later, he forced a turnover against Utah Valley, and put up a one-handed slam taking off from the second free throw block. Against Grand Canyon – his ninth dunk of the season – he found the crack in the defense, helping Mount push overtime with the Lopes.

14 of the 25 throw downs happened in Northeast Conference contests. He found the rim three times in a road win versus Bryant on January 11^th and thrice more in a home contest with Saint Francis U on February 15^th.

The dunks were split three-to-two home versus away, with 15 at Knott Arena and 10 elsewhere. They were equally split two-handed versus one-handed, and on least six occasions the dunk involved posterizing an opponent. Six of the dunks came off offensive rebounds for second chance points. Opoku was more likely to dunk in the first half than the second, at 16 to nine.

While dunking provides the main components of Opoku's highlight reel, he possesses more in his arsenal than the jams. He finished the season with 9.3 points per game, a 50.4 field-goal percentage and six rebounds across 30.1 minutes per game.

"I really made progress with my outside shooting and my aggression. All that came while playing with a chip on my shoulder and believing in the work that I put in. The dunks will always be there, but I believe becoming more of an all-around threat will help me progress even further."

Mount St. Mary's are set to return to the hardwood this November, with Opoku ready to reprise his role for his junior season.

Opoku's Dunks

1. 11/9/19 vs. Gettysburg, 19:41 1^st Half
2. 11/9/19 vs. Gettysburg, 6:51 2^nd Half
3. 11/12/19 at Washington, 1:43 2^nd Half
4. 11/15/19 at Lamar, 9:23 1^st Half
5. 11/20/19 at UAB, 18:07 2^nd Half                                 
6. 11/26/19 vs. Utah Valley, 12:02 1^st Half
7. 11/26/19 vs. Utah Valley, 5:06 1^st Half
8. 11/30/19 at Howard, 19:27 1^st Half
9. 12/3/19 at Grand Canyon, 0:46 2^nd Half
10. 12/7/19 vs. Loyola, 11:36 1^st Half
11. 12/7/19 vs. Loyola, 1:56 1^st Half
12. 1/11/20 at Bryant, 7:46 1^st Half
13. 1/11/20 at Bryant, 18:36 2^nd Half
14. 1/11/20 at Bryant, 15:41 2^nd Half
15. 1/18/20 vs. Central Connecticut, 18:06 1^st Half
16. 1/18/20 vs. Central Connecticut, 11:16 1^st Half
17. 1/20/20 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, 6:21 1^st Half
18. 1/20/20 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, 16:47 2^nd Half
19. 2/6/20 at Long Island, 6:05 2^nd Half
20. 2/15/20 vs. Saint Francis U, 14:44 1^st Half
21. 2/15/20 vs. Saint Francis U, 7:38 1^st Half
22. 2/15/20 vs. Saint Francis U, 9:38 2^nd Half
23. 2/23/20 vs. Merrimack, 2:12 1^st Half
24. 2/27/20 at Saint Francis U, 6:07 1^st Half
25. 2/29/20 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 3:57 1^st Half