Eastern's missing person

Last year, amidst the company of Rodney Stuckey, Erik Meyer and Eric Kimble, existed another Eastern Washington University athlete commonly hyped by students around campus. Henry Bekkering, the high-flying Canadian, brought fans off their feet with his arsenal of spectacular slams.

For all of you students talking about how Bekkering quit school to work full-time at the TAJ, or confusing him with Rhett Humphrey and wondering why he doesn't dunk as often, and for those that think he joined the And-1 Tour, here's your answer.

As other players were thrown into the mix at Eastern, Bekkering saw less and less playing time. Following the 2005-06 season, Bekkering opted to transfer to the University of Calgary, where his brother Ross starts for the Dinos.

"EWU wasn't the right situation for me, I wasn't comfortable where I was at as a player and I needed a change that could positively impact my career as a basketball player and student," Bekkering said. "I don't lose eligibility which is awesome. I have three years of eligibility remaining because in Canada you can play five seasons."

Even if Bekkering's name didn't stick as well as others who have shined in Eastern's red and white, the dunks he performed in games are still remembered by a slew of fans at EWU.

"I remember last year he threw down a 360 tomahawk vs. Portland State," said EWU student Ryan Reformado. "He was the dunk master."

Although most wouldn't mark his cumulative 4.2 ppg and 2.2 rpg in his two-year tenure with the Eagles "magnificent," the excitement he brought to Reese Court is what made him a fan favorite.

"When he would come into the game, everyone would cheer for Henry," said EWU student Amber French. "He was a really big sweetheart and was nice to everyone. When he would dunk, the whole crowd would get on their feet and cheer."

The Spokesman Review's Dave Trimmer wrote in his EWU Eagle Blog: "Bekkering is a great young man who just never quite found the game to fit in as the Eagles have improved," he said. "Still, the Eagles are disappointed to lose a quality person with great athletic ability. As they say, a great team guy and great locker room guy."

Prior to joining the Eagles, he made Canada's SuperPages Slam Dunk Contest famous in 2003 by his array of amazing dunks including: A windmill slam over a person and a two-footed left-handed jam from the free throw line. Not only did he win the contest, the video of the dunks has been featured all over the internet on sites like YouTube.com, DunkSpot.com and MySpace.com.

"The Return of the White Boy" on YouTube.com has received over 220,000 views as Bekkering performs his signature dunks for SuaveAndSmooth.com including hitting his head on the rim. The video is in the top 25 for the keyword "Dunk" with videos featuring Vince Carter, Michael Jordan and the ever-so-famous "Dunk jumping off friends' back" videos.

With his video fame widely growing around the world, executives at The Best Damn Sports Show Period invited him to the show where he was to perform a few dunks, but a little more comedy was accidentally added to the show at a former Seahawk's expense.

"Henry was visibly nervous prior to filming, which in turn put me on edge," wrote a BDSSP executive. "The first was a Vince Carter elbow through the rim dunk. Henry did not deliver as advertised. I heard murmurs from my bosses calling this guy a 'FRAUD.' Second dunk was a double pump reverse ala MJ. Henry redeemed himself with a decent rendition.

The finale was a bit more complicated. Henry was going to jump over Brian Bosworth (THE BOZ) who was sitting under the rim on a stool."

"All I can tell you folks is that Henry never quite made it. His knee slammed into Boz's nose and chaos ensued. Ironically, the dunk did go down. I didn't go near Bosworth for the rest of the day... you wouldn't have either," he continued.

In the end, the move north turned out well for both Bekkering and EWU.

"Its great to play with my brother and great to be around a lot of people I respect and know. It's definitely the change I needed," Bekkering said. "I have no regrets, no grudges. I still keep up with the Eags today... I'm hoping you guys make it to the NCAA tournament."