One-Armed Emmanuel Throws Down Vicious Dunk

Nineteen-year-old Hansel Emmanuel sent the crowd and his Northwestern State teammates into a frenzy when recording the first collegiate points of his career over the weekend.

Emmanuel, a one-armed freshman, entered late in Northwestern State’s 91-73 win over Louisiana-Monroe and posted a huge put-back dunk on a missed free throw — drawing a big reaction from his teammates and fans in the stands.

A recent story from ESPN.com and the Associated Press detailed the late-game highlights put together by the one-armed Emmanuel. Below is an excerpt from the ESPN.com article.

“I had to keep going after the layup — that was my first bucket,” Emmanuel said in a quote posted on the Southland Conference school’s website. “I know my family was proud. I had to keep working. You can’t give up.”

Emmanuel, a 19-year-old who lost his left arm just below his shoulder in a childhood accident, wound up scoring five points. He was 2-of-3 from the field and 1-of-5 from the foul line along with two rebounds in eight minutes.

He had played in four previous games for the Demons this season, shooting 0-for-2 with one rebound.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Emmanuel was 6 when a pile of cinder blocks fell on him. The damage was so severe that doctors had to amputate his arm.

Emmanuel later moved to Florida and became a big scorer in high school. He drew interest from Memphis, among other colleges, and became an internet sensation last year for his highlight videos posted to social media.

The Demons (8-2) were well on the way to their seventh straight win when Emmanuel started to drive toward his first points. He smoothly cut to the hoop for his layup with 2½ minutes left.

HANSEL ENMANUEL THROWING IT DOWN 😤 pic.twitter.com/nkQ9xmcSYT

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 11, 2022

With slightly over a minute to go, Emmanuel was fouled and made the first free throw. He missed the second shot but corralled a loose ball just beyond the foul line, took one dribble and threw down a high-flying dunk.

The slam made it 89-70 and brought Emmanuel’s teammates and the crowd of 1,627 to their feet again for an even longer cheer.

To read the full story from ESPN.com & the Associated Press, click here.