Earlier this season, HBCU star Christian Ings had a viral moment in Norfolk State’s win over Morgan State when he threw down a smooth windmill dunik that captivated the basketball world. Now, he can officially say that he is a slam dunk champion.
TIME TO GO HOME
@CollegeSLAM #GoldStandard
pic.twitter.com/a2ZoxtCthl— Norfolk State Men’s Basketball (@NSU_BBALL) April 4, 2025
On Thursday evening, Ings won the State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship, which was held live on ESPN. He dazzled the crowd and the judges with a series of dunks: an assisted off the backboard slam, a windmill dunk, and a slam dunk over 6’8″ Iowa forward Payton Sandfort. The performance was enough to help him bring the slam dunk crown back to Norfolk State.
Ings’s journey to this moment is astounding. With just 18.4 seconds remaining in the Spartans’ game against Morgan State and his team up 67–60, Ings seized an open lane to the basket. He soared through the air and delivered an explosive windmill dunk that was worthy of a slam dunk contest and reminiscent of his second dunk in tonight’s contest.
The dunk quickly went viral, featured on SportsCenter, and shared widely across social media. Norfolk State’s post on X alone garnered an impressive 460,000 impressions. His dunk and the acclaim around it give even more traction to an athletic program that is used to basketball dominance but continues to captivate the sports world with its on-court excellence.
In addition to his high-flying dunks, Ings made a significant impact on Norfolk State’s 2024-2025 MEAC Championship-winning team. He wrapped up the season with averages of 12.1 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game. A third-team All-MEAC selection, Ings ranked ninth in the conference for free throw percentage (73.6), fifth in assists, and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).
Ings’s impressive victory adds to the good news for Norfolk State men’s basketball, as head coach Robert Jones inked a huge extension to stay with the program. Although their season is over, the Spartans will surely have more basketball excellence in store when the new season tips off this fall.
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