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Alex Poythress Snags His Tooth On The Net After Dunk, Fans React On Twitter

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 05:05 PST, Nov 18, 2015

College basketball player Alex Poythress snagged his tooth on the net after an alley-oop dunk against Duke Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old forward received the alley-oop pass from his Kentucky Wildcats teammate Jamal Murray, according to Bleacher Report.

Alex Poythress
[Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]
On his way down from his vertical leap and successful dunk, Alex apparently snagged his tooth as his face brushed up against the net. Poythress reached for his mouth shortly after landing back on the court, perhaps checking to make sure he didn’t leave his tooth behind.

In real-time, the actual moment passed in just a few short seconds. However, thanks to skilled photographers and now-viral videos, the footage of Poythress snagging his tooth has made lasting waves on social media.

Alex’s alley-oop dunk has also led to quite a few comments and jokes on Twitter from fans and critics — including remarks about the 6’8? forward “flossing” his teeth.

Alex Poythress’ dunk was just two of the nine points that he added to the Wildcats’ 74-63 victory over the Blue Devils Tuesday night. He also added seven rebounds and a block to his season stats with his overall performance.

According to ESPN, Poythress is currently averaging 6.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and one block per game so far this season.

Most fans of the Kentucky Wildcats are more than likely just happy to see Alex Poythress back in action at all, especially after his season-ending injury last year.

During a team practice session last December, Alex suffered a torn ACL — ending his season after playing only ten games.

Alex Poythress
[Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images]
In a March, 2015, interview with the Tennessean, Poythress shared how he felt about having to sit on the sideline while his teammates continued playing without his support on the court.

“It’s tough. I’d give anything to be on the floor and playing the game. But everybody gets injured once in awhile. It makes you want to cry, but I just have to get through it… I wouldn’t say sorry for myself, but for a week I was kind of down… You go from playing to not playing — it’s tough.”

At the time, there were quite a few reports and rumors circulating that claimed Poythress would have been a mid-second round pick if he decided to declare a spot in the NBA Draft. However, he made it clear during the interview that he was “not worried about that right now and neither is anybody else.”

During his senior year at Northeast Eagles High School, Alex Poythress earned the Gatorade State Player of the Year award and was named “Mr. Basketball.” He averaged over 30 points a game throughout his final season as a high school player and was listed as a top-ten rated recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com, according to Kentucky Kernel.

Poythress reportedly received multiple offers to join such college teams as the Memphis Tigers, Vanderbilt Commodores, Tennessee Volunteers and even the Florida Gators. When asked by the Kentucky Kernel why he chose to join the Wildcats, Alex stated that he “saw it as the best opportunity for [him] to get better as a player.”

Whether Alex Poythress decides to declare a spot in the NBA Draft pool or not is yet to be seen. Either way, chances are that he will have a substantial number of fans supporting him.

[Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]

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