After watching my Hamden Hall Boys put a beating on Hopkins, I was inspired by the energy that was created when, 6'8, Darren Payen cleaned up the missed shot, in the opening minute of the game, with a monstrous dunk. The crowd erupted! Hopkins had no chance from then on.
I really started to think, "what if I could dunk!" or "what if one of my teammates could dunk!". The closest high school girls basketball players can get to a dunk is a long three pointer. It seems to have a similar affect from the crowd, but not nearly as much as a dunk would. Imagine a Lisa Leslie, Brittney Griner, Candace Parker, or Michelle Snow on your team. Your coach would set up out of bounds lob plays for her to get a quick bucket. And even scoring the go-ahead basket in the last seconds of the game would be much easier with a tall, leaping presence at the rim ready to slam home or tip in any miss.
It is just funny because if the average female basketball player goes on a fast break, she can only lay it up. Many of us would be thankful to tap backboard on our lay-ups. The dunk seems like a more high percentage shot than any other. I could be totally wrong, but to my eye it is the highest percentage shot. Yes, there is always a potential to miss, but you are right there at the rim, and all you have to do is put the ball in the hoop. I know easier said then done, but still all that is needed is a some elevation and authority. Everything would be so much easier. Maybe more people would start attending girls' games if they knew of such female phenomenons. It would be a great addition to the female game if it could be done regularly.
On that note...to all female basketball players, we can achieve more than just a lay-up (lol). I am going to keep working on my ups and maybe next year I will be dunking; you never know! Impossible is nothing. :)
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Dreisen -
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time reading your blog. The title "Imagine At Least One Female Dunker On Your High School Team" caught my eye while reading the NHR sports section.
I am an adult male who is a life long UConn Women's Basketball fan. Unfortunately, many men hate Women's College Basketball (WCBB) because the game is slower and there is no dunking.
These men have a right to their opinion. But they are missing basketball the way the game was meant to play. Legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden was a fan of WCBB and especially UConn because they were unselfish, passed the ball, and played defense.
Long ago, men's basketball unfortunately turned into individuals showing off their dunking skills and not playing team offense and not playing defense.
If one of your dreams is to dunk a basketball, I hope you achieve it. Maybe you can be leader someday in WCBB or the WNBA and incorporate dunking into the game without changing the way the game is played.
I hope you understand my comments. Keep dreaming. And more importantly, keep achieving.