Nick Timberlake’s dunk impresses Jayhawks: ‘Kind of looked like a prime Derrick Rose’
Kansas senior Nick Timberlake could hear the voice of Kevin McCullar imploring the 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard to dunk the basketball as he raced in for one of the highlight-reel slams of the college hoops season on Tuesday at Oklahoma State.
“I heard Kev say (dunk) it,” Timberlake relayed to media members after the Jayhawks’ 90-66 victory over the Cowboys at Gallagher-Iba Arena. “I knew I couldn’t go in soft. He (OSU’s Bryce Thompson) was coming back fast. I had to get it up there.”
Here’s how the one-handed slam — one that gave KU a 46-27 lead with 2:35 left in the first half — developed.
Freshman guard Johnny Furphy blocked a shot down low and grabbed the carom, making a long two-handed pass to Timberlake around halfcourt. It took Timberlake just two dribbles and one leap to deposit the ball into the goal one-handed.
“I kind of jumped up, threw it in there,” Timberlake said. “I didn’t know it went in until I landed. I didn’t hear a loud boom from the crowd celebrating. Then I saw the ball at halfcourt and figured I better get back on defense.”
Timberlake’s dunk impressed the Jayhawks.
“That was a great play. I passed ahead. I didn’t expect him to get that high. It was a great play by Nick,” said Furphy, who scored 15 points with seven rebounds and two assists with two blocks in 33 minutes.
“It kind of looked like a prime Derrick Rose,” stated KU center Hunter Dickinson. “He brought back the Towson highlights with that one for sure.”
Timberlake is a first-year KU player who transferred from Towson last spring.
He was asked where that slam rated as far as the best plays in his career.
“Probably one or two I’d say,” Timberlake said with a smile.
He had two points in nine minutes with two rebounds and two steals.
“That can energize not only myself but the team. That’s what I bring to the table is energy, whether the defensive end or offense,” Timberlake said. “Whatever I can do to get the guys going I’m going to do. Keep stacking W’s.”
Timberlake said his goal remains “to come in every day working my butt off, hopefully taking advantage of the time I get in the game.”
KU coach Bill Self was impressed with Timberlake’s performance at OSU.
“I’ll tell you who played good tonight was Nick,” Self said. “Nick made a couple big-time plays. Two passes he made in transition, one to Juan (Harris) was terrific. I thought that was a good sign. He’s an athlete, guys. He’s got good bounce.”
This story was originally published January 17, 2024 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Nick Timberlake’s dunk impresses Jayhawks: ‘Kind of looked like a prime Derrick Rose’."
