Cassius Stanley on Dunk: I Thought I Jumped Too High

Cassius Stanley led Duke in scoring on Monday

Cassius Stanley led Duke in scoring in Monday’s 88-69 win over NC State, although he had a slow shooting start to open the game.

Stanley shot just 2-of-9 in the first half before closing with a 5-of-9 effort in the second half for a game-high 18 points. That included two impressive transition dunks on long passes that ignited the Cameron Indoor Stadium crowd and helped spark a rally that broke the game open.

The second dunk was a one-handed slam on a pass from Wendell Moore Jr.

“I know I’m glad I caught it high,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure behind him, coming in—the defense—he was about to pull them off. Then it was like a split second, he found me. It was a great pass. We haven’t practiced that at all, but we have a good connection. It’s amazing.”

As amazing as the pass was, the dunk was even moreso.

“I thought I jumped too high,” Stanley said. “I was worried about being too high and missing the rim.”

The first dunk was on a pass from Tre Jones, who Stanley said is “the best in the country at starting the fast break and controlling the tempo.”

Stanley also had six rebounds and two blocks, which is part of the reason why he wasn’t concerned about his early shooting struggles.

“Keep being aggressive,” Stanley said of the message from coaches when his shot wasn’t dropping. “Do other things that impact the game. I wasn’t really worried about struggling, because I knew I was going to affect the game whatever way it could be.”