The youthful Lakers raced up the court, chasing a fast-break bucket against the Golden State Warriors.?But Larry Nance Jr. remained near the rear of the pack, pacing himself, surveying everything before him, calculating space and angles, searching, most of all, for an open runway.Throughout a game, the 23-year-old Lakers forward hopes for these moments, almost hunting them but not quite. Hes learned that if he hunts too much, rarely do they unfold just the way he wants: culminating in a powerful, sky-scraping, momentum-shifting slam that blazes across social media and sends fans screaming out of their seats.Above all, Nance, one of the NBAs highest and most exciting flyers, has learned patience. Most of the time, he doesnt have to seek these moments as they will often find him. He just needs to be in the right place at the right time and ready. When a shot goes up, for instance, Nance tracks its arc, then tries to position himself carefully among the rims tall timbers so that he can snatch the ball if it ricochets. Seven, eight times out of 10, Im very certain of where its coming off, he said.Sometimes an opponent will try to box him out, then turn to look at Nance and notice that Nance doesnt seem to be going anywhere. If the opponent falls for this ruse, they will turn away and go chase the rebound. And thats when you crash right on top of them, Nance says. Thus, the simple but effective formula for his signature putback dunks: lure prey into a false sense of security, then strike.When it comes to fast breaks, Nance will trail the action -- not too much but enough that the opposing defense might lose sight of him for a split second. This allows him to slip into the lane unnoticed, where, if all goes as planned, a teammate will feed him a pass which hell turn into a rim-rocking highlight. But first, Nance needs an open runway. If he sees one emerge, hell start to pick up speed, lining up his steps just so, preparing for liftoff, which is what he did early in the second quarter against the Warriors on Nov. 4.After receiving a pass from guard Jordan Clarkson, Nance exploded off the court, ascending skyward much like his famous father, Larry Nance Sr., the NBAs first slam dunk champion, did decades ago. The Lakers once measured the younger Nances vertical leap at 44 inches, though they believed their devices werent calibrated correctly and that he can actually jump higher than that -- and against the Warriors, Nance utilized every bit of bounce in his legs, taking off a few steps inside the free-throw line. Only Warriors forward David West separated Nance and the rim, and as Nance soared by, holding the ball in his right hand high over his head like a torch, he placed his left hand on Wests head, almost palming it.Then Nance dropped the hammer in poster-worthy fashion. Staples Center went wild; the Lakers bench did, too.For Nance, the dunk wasnt just a highlight, a viral sensation; hes had plenty of those -- so many that he says his teammates are very used to them and only offer him a high-five and a pat on the back afterward.Nick [Young] shoots 3s, I dunk, Nance said. Everybodys good at what theyre good at.There are other aspects of his game that Nance excels at, too, such as rebounding or being a versatile defender. His offense has picked up steam, too, and he scored a career-high 18 points against Chicago on Nov. 30.But his dunk against Golden State marked one of the biggest leaps forward in his young career, one of the first moments that he could trust his right knee since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in February 2014, when he was a junior for the University of Wyoming. Immediately after that injury, Nance, like many who have sustained it, wasnt sure if hed ever have the same explosiveness again. All he knew was that it would take a while -- perhaps years -- to truly know.During his rookie season with the Lakers, after being drafted with the 27th pick in the first round in 2015, Nance remained cautious. Understandably, he worried that his knee might fail him, so he didnt put much pressure on it when executing various moves. This past July, during summer league competition in Las Vegas, he planted his right leg and threw down a breath-stealing dunk against the Philadelphia 76ers, but even then, Nance still didnt feel like his explosiveness had completely returned. That changed on Nov. 4.Before taking off against the Warriors, Nance planted his right foot and leaped, as he did before the injury, but it all came second nature, without worry -- and that was the first thing he noticed when he watched replays of his vicious slam after the game.You know, my knee didnt hurt when I did that -- it felt solid, it didnt cave in, Nance said he told himself. Thats pretty good.Said Nance, That was a page-turner for me, because I knew I was feeling well. I knew my legs were strong -- they were of equal strength and everything. When I planted on that right leg and was able to explode the way I did, it was -- Im good now. I feel great.Nance believes his quickness and explosiveness have returned to his pre-injury levels, and now that they have, the next question on many fans minds is whether hell showcase his aerial acrobatics in the 2017 NBA dunk contest, which will be held in New Orleans. He received an invitation to last seasons event in Toronto but declined in part because he physically didnt feel capable. Like many others in February, Nance watched Minnesota guard Zach LaVine and Orlando forward Aaron Gordon put on one of the most exciting dunk contests in the history of the event.On my way to do some lunges and squats... Nance tweeted after, enticing those who hoped hed follow in his fathers footsteps and win the competition, perhaps as soon as this February.Ive always maintained that at some point, I would love to, Nance said. I just dont know when. I dont know if its this year. I dont know if its next year. I dont know at this point. Ive just got to be ready.And as for living up to his father? Nance says he feels no burden, largely because the 1984 contest his father competed in is far different than whats done today. Man, they hadnt even thought of doing an under-the-legs dunk over a mascot, Nance said. Guys do windmills in warm-ups now; thats nothing. Its a different contest.He said he hasnt studied past dunk contests, hasnt really considered what hed even do if he were in one. Honestly, if they threw me in one right now, Id get last place, because I have no idea what I would do, Nance said. It would just take a lot of planning, which I havent [done]. Instead of worrying about dunks, Im trying to figure out my jump shot and stuff like that.But, he pointed out, there are two kinds of dunkers -- those who are at their best during a game and those who are their best during a contest. Very few can do both. I dont know if Im that rare breed of both yet, Nance said. I havent really tried it. What he does know is that hes a in-game dunker. I see somebody in front of me, and thats what I like to do, he said.Larry Nance Sr., a three-time All-Star and 13-year veteran with the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers, told ESPN in January that if his son wants any help preparing for the dunk contest, Ill do anything he wants. But, Larry Sr. pointed out, with a touch of pride, that his son is a far better high-flyer than his old man: I could jump really well, but hes just so much stronger, and he just jumps so much easier than I did. Ill give it to him. I had my day. And nothing makes me prouder. Nothing makes me prouder, trust me, than if he just flat-out out-dunks me.Larry Sr. continued, All the little dunks I did, he can do them so easy; there wont be no tips on none of those. Two-hand ball dunk, he can do that. He can cup it and dunk it. If he ever gets invited to be in the slam-dunk contest, Im sure Ill spend some nights awake trying to come up with some stuff. His chances of winning should be as good as anybody elses.And what would Larry Sr. think of his son winning it all? That would be awesome, Larry Sr. said. That would be cool.On that note, Larry Nance Jr. agreed. It would be very cool, he said. It would be a cool story and everybody would love it.Nance Jr. added with a smile: If and when the time comes, I will be ready. Air Jordan 11 Retro Cheap . PAUL, Minn. Air Jordan 11 For Sale Cheap . 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Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen remembers Utahs undefeated, BCS-busting 2004 season that was punctuated with a win against Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.How could he forget?We won every game by [nearly] 21 points, beat three different BCS schools, and didnt get the opportunity to play for the national title, said Mullen, who was the Utes quarterbacks coach that season under Urban Meyer. I thought we were deserving but didnt have that opportunity.Has the opportunity to win a national title truly expanded with the four-team College Football Playoff? The answer lies within each individual committee members stance on whether they should choose the four best teams or the four most deserving ones.?Just like choosing the top four teams is a subjective process, so is drawing a concrete distinction between the best and most deserving résumés. Should you go with a Power 5 team with a tougher schedule that has one or two losses (best), or an elite Group of 5 team that went undefeated against a weaker schedule, with just a couple of marquee wins (most deserving)?The selection committee simply isnt going to seriously consider a team from the Group of 5 that hasnt played any ranked opponents (like Marshall in 2014, which was undefeated through the first 11 games), but had Memphis gone undefeated last year after knocking off No. 13 Ole Miss, theres no question the Tigers would have deserved to be considered. The so-called best teams from the Power 5 conferences have more wiggle room. Because of their talent and aggressive scheduling, they can afford one or two losses because they have played against more elite competition.Its debatable -- or is it?The mission stated right up front, the role of that committee is to pick the four best teams, said Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, a former committee member. Not the four most deserving, not the fan favorites, not the Cinderellas. None of that language is in there. It says the four best teams, and so that might mean something different to everybody in the room, but its still a constant reminder, heres our mission, lets stick to it.That, of course, is the perspective of a retired three-star general. Its not necessarily as clear for every committee member, though.If you read the protocol, it tells you to take the best teams, said former committee member Mike Tranghese. Well theres no clear definition of what is the best. Is the best team the team with the most talent? Is it the team with the best performance? That to me came into play as we discussed Baylor and TCU. Baylor had beaten TCU, but a lot of people felt TCU was better than Baylor. How do you vote? Whether youre a coach or not a coach, you have to vote your conscience at that point. We really never had to take that vote as to which one of those teams was going to get in because of Ohio States performance.ESPNs data from the past two years show the committee has actually sided with the teams that play a tougher schedule. Seven of the past eight teams to make the playoff ranked in the top four of ESPNs strength of record metric prior to being chosen for the CFP. The metric is designed to answer the question: Which teams record is the most impressive given its schedule? It measures how difficult it would be for another top-25 team to achieve the same record. However, only four of the eight playoff teams have ranked in the top four of ESPNs Football Power Index, which is designed to measure the best teams going forward.West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen is certainly on the side of picking the four best teams.Holgorsen said an undefeated team from a Group of 5 conference (the American, Mountain West, Conference USA, MAC or Sun Belt) wouldnt have the same success against a Power 5 league schedule.If they played our schedule, that 12-0 record would be 7-5 and vice versa, said Holgorsen. I think strength of schedule is incredibly important. If you say thats not fair to the non-Power 5, then Id say well then tell that non-Power 5 to do specific things to be in the Power 5. Because each and every one of them would jump at that opportunity in a heartbeat. Its not our fault being in the Power 5 theyre not, and they may have a really good football team, but Im sorry, you dont play the schedule thatt we play, and I dont think you would be undefeated if you played our schedule.dddddddddddd If it hurts their feelings, well, Im sorry.With so much emphasis placed on strength of schedule, its certainly possible an undefeated team could still be left out in favor of a one-loss conference champion that played a more difficult lineup. The most obvious example is whether an undefeated Houston team deserves a top-four spot ahead of a one-loss Power 5 champion. As of right now, Houstons only two ranked opponents this season are No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 19 Louisville.If a team plays the schedule that this team will play and wins every one of their games, said Houston coach Tom Herman, the answer is absolutely yes, or the system is broke and we need a new system.The conversation goes deeper than Houston.Last years Ohio State team had a lousy schedule but was oozing NFL draft potential. Did it deserve a spot, since it was among the best teams talent-wise? Iowa finished the regular season 12-0 and was deserving of a top-four spot, but certainly didnt look like one of the best teams in the country during its loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl.Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said its impossible for the committee to compare teams fairly when every conference schedules differently.I am not satisfied right now with the College Football Playoff components because we do not have equal data points across the leagues, said Fitzgerald. Until there are equal data points, in my humble opinion it still has to be the most deserving because youve got some leagues playing FCS, some leagues not. Some leagues playing nine games, some not. Those are two huge differences in my opinion that really have to be taken into consideration right now as we move forward. Were on one end where its an extreme. If you run the table in the Big Ten and youre being compared to a one-loss team in the SEC and they played an FCS team and only eight league games, I dont know how its a comparable data point.Coaches in the SEC West think their league strength of schedule should outweigh the fact that they may also play some unheralded nonconference opponents. Even Mullen, in spite of his experience with Utah, now has a different perspective.Having been in the SEC West, the question would come, would that [Utah] team have had enough depth to go undefeated through the SEC West? he said. Not, Could that team have beaten anybody? I think that team couldve beaten any team in the SEC West. I think we couldve beaten USC. Could we have gone through a league like the SEC West week in and week out and taking that grind and having the depth of players to be able to do that? Where would a Houston on any given day could beat anybody in the country, if they played in the SEC West, how would they do after playing Texas A&M, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State on consecutive weeks? Not just Week 1, not just Week 2, Week 3 and 4, how would they do?Ive been on both sides of this, said Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery, who was at Baylor two years ago when the Bears finished No. 5 in the committees final ranking. Its a tough discussion, but I think it is the most deserving. As you look at the schedules and the losses and who they played and all of those things, those are all components of whats going into your body of work.I think we put together a body of work that shouldve gotten us in, he said of the 2014 Baylor Bears. With the politics and everything else that went down during that time, I still believe in my heart as a conference if we wouldve selected -- instead of trying to get two -- if wed have just said heres our true champion, put them in, I think it wouldve happened that year and we wouldve had a chance to go play for it.Maybe.But Baylors body of work that season also included wins over SMU, Northwestern State and Buffalo.Strength of schedule to me is, in my opinion, what should matter most, said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. Thats one persons opinion. Otherwise, why would we be playing Houston and Ohio State in our nonconference schedule?To prove, of course, that the best team is also the most deserving. ' ' '