CAM HAZZARDI flew to Atlanta on August 4 to watch DunkMan Group C at Overtime Elite Arena, and it might have been the toughest group of the whole league. I already have my spot in the World Championship from winning Group A, so this trip wasn’t about competing. It was about everything else.
Why I Made the Trip
Three reasons:
- Networking with zero pressure. When you’re not competing, you can actually talk to people. Dunkers, media, potential sponsors, all of it.
- Scouting. This was one of the toughest groups yet, and the Worlds are on August 25. I wanted to see with my own eyes what these guys are bringing so I can study up.
- Meeting people in person. Some of these guys I’d only ever talked to online, and that was overdue.
The night backed all of it up. There were guys performing like Isaiah Rivera, Miller Dunks, Aeramiah Binford, and Darius Clark, who holds the vertical jump world record at 53 inches. I was actually in the building the night that record fell at Fanatics Fest. They put on an absolute show, and the full Group C results are on the DunkMan site.
Meeting Vince Carter
Vince Carter is one of my dunking GOATs, and I’ve looked up to him basically my whole life. Getting to see him in person and talk with him one-on-one was a super cool experience I won’t forget.
A Shout-Out on Live TV
At one point during the broadcast I got a shout-out on live television as the Group A winner in the building. Getting my face on TV again never gets old.
This one’s short because the trip was simple: watch, learn, connect. The level in this league is insane, and August 25 can’t come soon enough.