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Bradley Dean had a busy day last Saturday.
He spent the afternoon putting up a season-high 15 points for the Miami University men's basketball team as the RedHawks blasted Ball State 80-59 at Millett Hall. Dean came off the bench to go 4-of-9 from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers, and finished a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line. The junior guard scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to help the Red and White outscore the visitors by 20 points after intermission and win their sixth conference game of the season.
 
Less than two and a half hours after the final buzzer sounded, Dean was pulling into downtown Indianapolis and frantically looking for a place to park his truck. His best friend, Mac McClung of the G-League's Osceola Magic, was about to try and win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for the second consecutive year, and the clock was ticking.
 
7:45…
 
7:50…
 
7:55…
 
"We thought it started at 8 p.m. originally, so leaving the gym, I was like, 'I've got to hurry,' Dean recalled. "I ended up getting into Lucas Oil Stadium at around 8:15, and it's like, 'We're good. The Skills Challenge just started. We've still got two hours!'"
 

Dean had been a 'prop' in the 2023 contest in Salt Lake City, famously holding a ball while sitting on someone else's shoulders before McClung jumped over both men to throw down a memorable dunk. This year, although there was an outside chance he would be called on to participate at the last minute, Dean was more than happy to encourage his buddy from the sidelines.
 
"The only time Mac and I got to practice at all this year was when we went home for Christmas. Nate, [one of his trainers], who ended up actually holding the ball for him this time, could practice anytime they wanted to down in Orlando.
 
"I was kind of a standby this time. We were all confident in them. I was like, 'Bro, you've got it. I got to go last year. You go have your moment.'
 
"I was happy to see them out there and see someone else get to enjoy what I got to enjoy [in 2023]."
 
The next couple of hours were a blur. Dean met up with Osceola general manager Kevin Tiller so he could get from the main stands to where McClung was practicing on the event level of the stadium.
 
"It was really cool…Mac's getting ready and getting loose, and we're just out on the practice floor messing around. Steph and Sabrina are walking around there shooting, Jaylen Brown and all the dunk participants are coming through; it was neat to see them up close joking around and stuff.
 
"We go from there into the locker room, and that's always fun just to see the players. Trae Young and Damian Lillard had come in right after the three-point contest, so we got to see their immediate reaction…
 
"I still hadn't eaten anything; I was leaving Oxford so quick that I forgot to grab my Raising Cane's after the game…but the locker room there had this huge buffet: wings, mashed potatoes, all kinds of different stuff. It was good food!"
 
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When the dunk contest finally got underway around 10:15 p.m., the good news for Dean was that he had a spot to stand just off the floor and incredibly close to the action.

 

The bad news: Trying to see over and around a collection of seven-footers like Shaquille O'Neal and Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't easy!
 
"We were also right behind the G-League Ignite team that Mac played with in the Rising Stars game," Dean recalled. "They're all ginormous! But we had good seats and we were able to see everything."
 
There were celebrities ringing the court, from Guy Fieri to Bill Walton to 'Jake from State Farm.' The judging panel seated on the floor included nine-time All-Star Dominique Wilkins and other previous winners of the Slam Dunk Contest.
 
Speaking of the floor, this year's event took place on a 'state-of-the-art full video LED court', so it was a bit surreal for Dean to see video replays of McClung's 2023 dunks, including the one he participated in, displayed literally on the floor for millions to see once more on television.
 
"After it was over, we were out walking around on the court. It definitely felt kind of weird: I was thinking, 'Man, I don't know if I could play a game on something like this,'" Dean said.
 

"But they were talking to me and explaining everything you could do with it. There were sparkles following the players as they walked around, highlighting them like a video game in some sense. Some of the effects with the floor 'cracking' and 'falling in' were really cool...it's just crazy with everything they can do.
 
"It is a lot brighter on camera than it is in person, though."
 
The actual contest got off to a slow start for McClung. His initial dunk, while impressive, didn't garner the scores it probably should have.

"Mac jumped over the dude, caught it, floated, let go of the ball and threw it to himself. Then he grabbed it and dunked it backwards," Dean said.
 
"Dominique gave him a 48 and one of the other guys gave him a 46…
 
"One of the judges messaged him the next day: 'I'm so sorry. With the commotion of everything, I didn't even realize that you'd let go of the ball…that was a 50!'"
 
Still, McClung's first two dunks were enough to advance him to the finals. From there, he put the exclamation point on his second straight title with a perfect score on his fourth and final dunk, jumping over Shaq while O'Neal was wearing a specially-made —and very large— Gate City (Va.) High School jersey.
 
Dean, who is only a few years removed from throwing highlight-reel alleyoops to McClung as teammates with Gate City, thought that was the perfect ending to a special night.
 

"Mac always loves bringing attention back to Gate City," Dean explained. "Putting a Gate City jersey on one of the greatest players of all time, having him wear it, and then making a dunk to win back-to-back NBA dunk contests? Everyone's going to remember that just as much as they remember the first one…
 
"This year kind of felt different," Dean continued. "Last year, for all of us, it was such a new shell-shocked experience. We're in the same building with all of these insanely successful athletes…now, it's like, 'Okay, let's get the job done.'
 
"We knew what to expect. We'd already been there; he'd already been successful at it. So, the whole mojo was just, 'We're going to go and dominate this thing and win it again.'"
 
Later that night, McClung gave credit in a press conference to dunk coach Chuck Millan 'and all my friends taking late-night calls that they probably didn't want to take.'
 
"I had a lot of help…but it's an honor to be right here, right now," McClung told reporters.
 
For at least one of those friends who had helped brainstorm McClung's set of highlight-reel jams, it was yet another late night. Dean managed to get about two or three hours of sleep and was back in Oxford in time for a Sunday morning weightlifting session with the RedHawks, followed by a full practice. After that?
 
"I went to sleep from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, woke up, ate, and then went back to bed!", he laughed.
 
And even as the excitement from a whirlwind weekend begins to wear off, Dean is looking forward to what the remainder of his own season has in store with the Red and White. Miami sits in a tie for sixth place in the MAC standings heading into its next game against Central Michigan.
 
"I think last Saturday was just the third or fourth game we've had everybody healthy," Dean said. "Things started flowing better. I came out in the second half and hit that first three, and from there, it feels like, 'Once I hit one, I'm as hot as I can be.'

"We get a couple stops in a row and bust things open…we're dangerous whenever we get like that, but it all starts on the defensive end and rebounding, and that's what led to our success on the offensive end.
 
"It's really all about the little things. Setting good screens. Boxing out. If you tie all those together, that's what makes the good shooting nights happen. That's what makes the good runs happen.
 
"We definitely need to go on a run here to end this stretch and make sure we solidify ourselves in the tournament to give us a chance. I think if we get in the MAC Tournament, we are probably the most dangerous, most unpredictable team in the tournament."
 
So, after he watched from courtside last weekend while his best friend won a championship, don't be surprised at all if it ends up being Bradley Dean's turn to lift a trophy next.
 
Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures
 
Dean and the RedHawks are back in action this Saturday, Feb. 24 as part of Miami's ninth annual Love.Honor.Care event, presented by Western & Southern and benefitting RideCincinnati. Complimentary tickets to the women's/men's doubleheader are available, courtesy of President Greg and Dr. Renate Crawford! Click here and use the promo code LOVEHONORCARE to request your tickets today.