Dainja Zone: Tigers big man dominates in the paint with breakout game
Memphis forward Dain Dainja (42) shoots defended by UAB forward Bradley Ezewiro (22) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Memphis. (Nikki Boertman/AP Photo)
Dain Dainja collected the pass from PJ Haggerty just inside the 3-point arc, took one dribble toward the hoop and rose up for a two-handed dunk as UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg jumped in an attempt to swat the ball away.
Memphis’ 6-foot-9 center flushed the jam over the outstretched left arm of Lendeborg.
But he wasn’t done.
Dainja hung on the rim for an extra couple of seconds before turning his body and lifting his knees up over the shoulders of Lendeborg, the preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, who was facing him, to finish the posterization.
This was only the fourth basket of the game — it had no impact on determining the outcome. It did, though, set the tone for the afternoon in what turned out to be a 100-77 drubbing by the No. 24 Tigers (16-4, 6-1 AAC) over the rival Blazers (12-8, 5-2 AAC) on Sunday at FedExForum.
“I dunked the ball, and then I (didn’t) wanna just come down and hurt myself,” said Dainja, who finished with a season-high 21 points (10-of-12 shooting) and eight rebounds in his first game starting since Nov. 15, trying desperately not to burst out laughing while speaking with reporters afterward. “So, I kinda pulled (the rim). … Next question.”
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Memphis Tigers Memphis Tigers Basketball UAB Blazers Dain Dainja Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Parth Upadhyaya
Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.
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