This 14-year-old is lighting the basketball world on fire with ‘electrifying’ dunk
One teenage girl is balling out and dunking on the competition at the inaugural Jr. NBA World Championships in Orlando.
With just over two minutes on the clock in the first quarter, 14-year-old Ashlyn Watkins drove the ball down the court and extended her team's lead with a slam dunk.
"I'm just really happy because I did it in the right place at the right time," she told ABC News. "[The team was] so excited and after that we really got in the zone."
The South Carolina 76ers were visibly stoked in the stunning moment and their head coach, Roger Wiley, called the atmosphere "electrifying."
"We knew she was getting ready to take it as soon as she crossed over the three-point line," Wiley said. "It's always electrifying to see it, it's really gratifying. We could see the parents and fans getting excited and our opponents were just looking in awe."
Wiley added that it was "a real defining moment" for the team -- one of 16 representing the U.S. at Disney World’s Wide World of Sports junior NBA competition. "It's exactly what we needed and we played off that energy the rest of the game," he said.
The team ultimately defeated the Northeast regional team 50-30 and advanced to the first round of pool play for the tournament.
"It made us think we could win the whole thing because of our intensity and how well we work together," Watkins said of the excitement surrounding her dunk. She added that the attention "feels good but half of the time it’s overwhelming."
Wilson is coaching his star forward to stay focused on the game and not get caught up in the limelight.
"I tell her to stay humble because your actions as an athlete are drawing a lot of attention and what you say to people they will repeat how you’re respectful and humble," he said.
Even with the buzz surrounding Watkins' power move on Wednesday, it's not the first time she's shown off her skills.
She successfully dunked at a qualifying game in Louisville just two weeks prior to making it to the competition in Florida.
Wiley said the young 6'2" player has incredible talent, great support from her family and an even better head on her shoulders.
"She’s got a lot of character and she’s an all-around great kid and we really just want to punctuate that," he explained.
But with great power comes great responsibility and that's exactly what Wiley is instilling in his young team.
"We want to be competitive, we want to try and win the game, but we know it's not about ourselves but [rather] how we inspire others by our actions both on and off the court," he said.
On Thursday the team participated in the NBA Cares day of service to help build a playground in the Orlando community.
The single elimination round of games begins Friday.
