Taurian J. Fontenette (born 1983), also known as "Air Up There" and "Mr. 720", is a

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

player from

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He is a former player on the AND1 Mixtape and

Ball4Real Ball4Real was the name of a traveling basketball exhibition and competition which made its debut in June 2007. A group of well-known streetball players traveled from city to city to challenge teams composed of local talent. Games tended to be cha ...

Tours. He is 6'2" tall and weighs 185 pounds. Fontenette attended Hitchcock High School (class of 2000) and attended three different colleges:

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

in 2000–01, Richland Junior College in 2001–04, and

Paul Quinn College Paul Quinn College (PQC) is a Private college, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black African Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist college in Dallas, Texas. The college is affiliated with the African Methodist E ...

in 2004–05. His original streetball name was "Air Up There", but due to naming rights claimed by

AND1 AND1 is an American footwear and clothing company specializing in basketball shoes, clothing, and sporting goods. AND1 was founded on August 13, 1993. The company focuses strictly on basketball and is a subsidiary of Sequential Brands Group. It s ...

, he goes by "Mr. 720", "Birdman", "The Human Pogo Stick", "Your Highness", and "Way Up There". As his nickname implies, Fontenette is best known for his leaping and dunking ability. During the AND1 game in Houston, Texas, in 2006, Fontenette stunned fans by performing the first ever widely documented 720-degree dunk. Video clips of the feat have been shown on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

'' and also have been widely distributed over the internet. He is also well known for his signature dunk, the axle-rider (a.k.a. the 360-degree between-the-legs), which he says he did before everyone else back in his high school days. Fontenette is considered by some to be one of the best dunkers ever due to his sole ability to do a 720 degree dunk and the ease with which he can perform his axle-rider dunk (such as in games and on breakaways).

Professional career

Dallas Generals (2009)

Fontenette signed a contract to play for the Dallas Generals of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

in 2009. However, the team folded in January 2010.

References

External links

Taurian Fontenette dunk videos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontenette, Taurian 1983 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Texas Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Paul Quinn College alumni People from Galveston County, Texas Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area Street basketball players University of Texas at El Paso alumni