Michael Wilson is a former player of the
Harlem Globetrotters and the
University of Memphis, also known as 'Wild Thing'.
Wilson, 6'5, holds the world record for the highest dunk.[
citation needed] On April 1, 2000, Wilson dunked a basketball on a goal set at 3.65m (12 feet) from the floor; the feat placed him in the
Guinness Book Of World Records, and broke a previous record held by former
Arizona State University basketball star Joey Johnson, the younger brother of former NBA great
Dennis Johnson. However,
Wilt Chamberlain was also known to have performed the feat on an experimental basket set up by
Phog Allen at the University of Kansas in the 1950s.
[1] Chamberlain, unlike Wilson, did not have the advantage of being given an alley oop. In 2001 the record (3.65m) was repeated by
Robertas Javtokas from
Lithuania during a
local All Stars day.
Michael Wilson played high school basketball at
Melrose High School in
Memphis, Tennessee. The Texarkana Gazette reported that he had a 52-inch vertical leap.
In 1995 he was a starter on the University of Memphis Tiger basketball team that went to the Sweet 16 under coach Larry Finch.