High School

Dunk of the year? W.F. West's Dirk Plakinger puts defender on poster with baseline slam

Look out below – Bearcats senior captain's two fourth quarter hammers rock rim in win over North Thurston.

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

Dunk of the year? W.F. West's Dirk Plakinger puts defender on poster with baseline slam
Dunk of the year? W.F. West's Dirk Plakinger puts defender on poster with baseline slam /

It may only be the end of January, but there's a new submission for Washington high school basketball dunk of the year.

W.F. West senior and Dirk Plakinger spun out of a baseline inbound, rose up and flushed a one-handed dunk over the head of a North Thurston defender on Monday night. Plakinger finished with 27 points on the night and W.F. West won 68-64.

The baseline poster sent one fan walking away from his seat in the bleachers in awe. And it was the first of two head-turning fourth quarter dunks by the 6-foot-4 senior, who is averaging 18.2 points, 4.5 boards and almost two blocks per game for the Bearcats (6-6, 3-2 Evergreen 2A) and has built a reputation for his above-the-rim prowess. He threw down a very similar dunk, from setup to execution, not two weeks ago.

The second Monday night was a two-handed slam transition after he leaked out ahead of the defense on a fast break.

Watch for yourself, as well as the broadcast view from

This angle from @YourESN is even better 😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/EAHQR3vOrt

— Bearcat Basketball (@WFWBasketball) January 25, 2022

">Eli Sports Network.

Published
Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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