In Notre Dame's first game of 2015, the Irish's senior guard climbed the stairway to heaven for a jam that exploded the internet.
Notre Dame improved to 2-0 in ACC play with an ugly but effective double overtime win over Georgia Tech (read about it all here), but the headline of the game was Jerian Grant's second half dunk. I'm assuming everyone has seen it, but let's take a few looks of what might end up being the best dunk of a year that's less than 96 hours old. First, the video, which includes Jack Nolan trying to make sense of what's happening in the moment:
The Vine, which will be over 4 million loops by the time you read this:
The GIF:
The most enjoyable part of the aftermath was watching the appreciation of Grant's work spread across parts of the internet that never mention Irish basketball as they tried to figure out the best comparison to make.
I feel like this is how Spider-Man would dunk if he played basketball. RT @RobDauster: Oh my god, Jerian Grant https://t.co/BOflK35W0f
— Scott Phillips (@phillipshoops) January 3, 2015
VIDEO: Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant flies through the sky and dunks like a goddamn eagle http://t.co/hTIJh7AoSZ
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) January 3, 2015
It's like watching Mario jump off a goomba to dunk RT @teamziller: This is comic book stuff http://t.co/qy6AKQJGwI https://t.co/64JhHB2RSv
— Trae Brown (@Trae_Brown317) January 3, 2015
Wow!!! Like a young Tom Chambers RT @RobDauster: Oh my god, Jerian Grant https://t.co/nzZ7TjmFeO
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 3, 2015
"SportsCenter" was impressed, and later (obviously) had the dunk as its top play:
Can't. Stop. Watching. RT @NDmbb: Hey #SCTop10, here's your top play for tonight courtesy of Jerian Grant: https://t.co/HuXOF4RgD5
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 3, 2015
Jerian (obviously) trended:
The United States is talking about this kid named Jerian Grant on twitter ... I wonder what he did? #DunksDuLac pic.twitter.com/67pbNs0Fhw
— Notre Dame MBB (@NDmbb) January 3, 2015
His draft stock went up, I guess?
You all know I don't like talking about the NBA draft in January but people projecting Jerian Grant as a mid second rounder need a lobotomy.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) January 3, 2015
Praise was given to the new man running the show at the Vatican:
They're dunking like that at Notre Dame now?? Gotta be Cool Pope's doing.
— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) January 3, 2015
There was the belief that Jerian had potentially discovered human flight:
@MeredithFrost #HasJerianLandedYet
— Slade Sohmer (@SladeHV) January 3, 2015
Jerian Grant just proved he can fly!
— Jack Nolan (@NDJackNolan) January 3, 2015
WHAT ON EARTH https://t.co/E71SQVaWvu
— Lana Berry (@Lana) January 3, 2015
Let me be clear: Holy sh*t. https://t.co/gLNVcazlYq
— Meredith Frost (@MeredithFrost) January 3, 2015
I'm convinced that he had to grab the rim to keep from floating out of the building. https://t.co/bVLirNokRS
— Dan Bodner (@DanBodnerKSC) January 3, 2015
Investigations took place into how the hell he got so damn high:
New angle reveals that Jerian Grant SOMEHOW USED THAT DUDE'S ARM AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR HIS FOOT https://t.co/K1jZzU9veH
— Pablo S. Torre (@PabloTorre) January 3, 2015
Grant himself was a little confused about what to do, like when you jump really high in a dream and realize you don't have a safe way to get down:
Jerian Grant on his big dunk: "I didn't know what to do when I got up there."
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) January 3, 2015
It was an incredibly fun afternoon of much-deserved Jerian Grant love, but it raises two questions. The first: What do we call the dunk? Personally, I'm going with "The Stairway to Heaven," because of the Pope reference Ziller made and the fact it looked like Grant was using some invisible pathway to climb higher and higher. I also really like "Flight Over The Bumblebees," but sticking with Stairway.
Second issue: Was Jerian's dunk the best from Notre Dame this season, or do you side with Demetrius Jackson going over top of a man a foot taller than him?
The poll is below. Vote there on your favorite dunk, and please give suggestions to what we should name Grant's dunk in the comments.
