Could anyone else here ever dunk?

[WayOutWest]

I've had three concusions on the b-ball court.  

The first was because of a takedown and subsequent kick to the head.  I started playing in adult tournaments on and off when I was 15, full time at age 17.  I was about 16 and I was on the wing of a fast break, I got the ball going to the hoop and I got taken out pretty bad by a defender.  I hyper extened my right elbow and broke my thumb trying to break my fall.  I was in alot of pain so I was just laying on the ground holding my harm and a fight started on the court because of that.  Then some POS MoFo kicked me in the head while I was down and not even in the fight and I was out for a couple of seconds.  I had no idea what happened and neither did anyone else, all I knew was that somebody F'd me up.  Both teams were kicked out of the tourny.  Unfortunately for the other team I was in the middle of my gang banging years so each and every one of them got caught slipping within a month and get a severe beatdown.  A couple of these guys I beat up where friends of my dads so they ratted me out.  That kinda triggered the beggining of the end of my gang banging years, by 19 I was completely out.  So the incident turned out to be positive in the end.

The second one was the fault of the L.A. Unified School System.  I was backpeddling trying to cover a fast break and I tripped on a huge crack on the floor and smacked my head on the court.  I had to go to the ER, turned out I also had whip lash so I was on med and sky high for three days.

The last one was about 4 years ago.  I was going up for an easy put back on a missed shot and some guy just shoved me really hard on my lower back.  I came to with a real deep but dull pain in my left elbow.  That was the first time I actually lost conciousness for a while and couldn't remember what happened.  Had to goto the ER and I had a hyper extended left elbow, concusion and whip lash.  That cost me a whole week on my back dopped up on drugs.  Caught up to that punk at the De La Hoya/Mosely fight and put a little payback on the back of his head.

That being the case, I'm usually pretty careful about getting hurt but I play pretty rough.  Kinda like Rick Mahorn, I don't do things that put me in vunerable positions but I body people alot on D.

[spursfan101]

I know Spurx3 is like 5'1 :lol: "...and thats WITH HEALS! :lol:  

[Reality]

brutal.  That could be our 1st yet winning post on the brutal scale.

I should say WOW i wasn't inferring you did undercuts to others but rather takeouts is what you did and do, correct?
Big difference i realize.  Takeouts at least the one taken out can see whats coming and can choose to brace for the contact.  Undercuts from behind or the side are just cowardly in my book.

The lamest undercut i ever saw had a high flyer who got the ball out on the wing with no one between he and the basket.  A steal had occured and so the ball came the other way to him.  Took a couple huge steps, gathered the ball and launched into flight.  A defensive weasle, the one who just got picked subsequently ran from the top of the key to right under him as he was at the apex.  The flyers legs were taken right out from under him.  Beatdown ensued on Weasle.

[WayOutWest]

I can get up high enough that when I go after a dunker I hit his torso so I'm not undercutting.  Sometimes I'll just grab a guy by the waiste and set him down nicely and tell him "sorry but you're not dunking on me kid".

The easiest way to stop a dunker is just get between him and the basket or angle him away from the rim with and elbow/forearm to the hip.

[JoMal]

Dunkers never bothered me either. I played them just like WOW said - by keeping my body between where they were and where they wanted to go.

The long ball shooters, though, out on the rim, they were tough. The best I ever played against was a college star (Chico State), who was shorter then me, but could take me and anybody else off the dribble. I could defend him okay on his drives, but if he posted up outside he was Peja. I learned much from him. He was really good at eye fakes and would keep his eyes on mine until he made his move.

As for injuries, my worst hurts came in pick-up games, where the rules are bent religiously. Those are also where I did my worst as well. Overly aggressive players- guys who would drive the key and finish by putting a knee into your gut, or defend by slapping at your head instead of the ball. For the first, on his next drive, I jumped into him just after he lifted off and fouled him so hard his back hit the court first with his legs up in the air. The second guy got a gut shot of his own when he jumped up for a block. I still remember the game going on around that guy as he lay on the court for five minutes. We never stopped unless we had to.

After I took that knee in my gut, I was in pain for quite a while, but I never let the other guy know how badly he had hurt me. I continued to play until I could feel normal again. That is when the game got really tough.  

[WayOutWest]

The Magic Johnson knee to the guy manuver is easily defeated with a hard elbow to the top of the theigh.  When you see it comming just turn to the side, stick out your hip and drop you elbow, just like Kareem used to do.  They'll think twice about that move if you defend it right and give them a charlie horse.

[Reality]

Dunkers never bothered me either. I played them just like WOW said - by keeping my body between where they were and where they wanted to go.
 

So you and WOW have never had to break off from guarding your own man to give weakside help against 40"+ jumper?

When jumper has ball in hands and is in the air ready to throw down i dont see how you stop even with a takeout.  Maybe you guys consider that a dunk but not on you.

 

[WayOutWest]

Dunkers never bothered me either. I played them just like WOW said - by keeping my body between where they were and where they wanted to go.
 

So you and WOW have never had to break off from guarding your own man to give weakside help against 40"+ jumper?

When jumper has ball in hands and is in the air ready to throw down i dont see how you stop even with a takeout.  Maybe you guys consider that a dunk but not on you.

Blocking a dunk is actually pretty easy cuase most people have to put the ball out in front of them.  In my younger days I could get up and stop a dunk clean as long as they were not at the top of their jump, if that's the case that's someone else's "bad".  Now in my older days I couldn't get over quick enough anyway to HELP so it's not really getting dunked on.

[Reality]

So you and WOW have never had to break off from guarding your own man to give weakside help against 40"+ jumper?

When jumper has ball in hands and is in the air ready to throw down i dont see how you stop even with a takeout.  Maybe you guys consider that a dunk but not on you.

Blocking a dunk is actually pretty easy cuase most people have to put the ball out in front of them.  In my younger days I could get up and stop a dunk clean as long as they were not at the top of their jump, if that's the case that's someone else's "bad".  Now in my older days I couldn't get over quick enough anyway to HELP so it's not really getting dunked on. [/QUOTE]
Then we are talking about the same thing and this dunk defensive failure would be assigned to the dunkees man.

Yes these guys would have the ball above their heads (not in front) by the time i got there.  Would i go up anyways and try to get a hand in their face?  Oh sure, you never know.  I played the type of game that "it aint over till its over."

Which brings up an annoying pet peeve that I'll bet is a peeve for a lot of us:

When someone is going up for a shot or a dunk and you have no chance of stopping the shot attempt but do have a chance of getting a foul while stopping the make, DO SO!

Another glaring example of what not to do last night.  Spurs had chipped away at what had been a fairly comfy 8 point Wolves lead.  Bam its down to two points.  Wolves need to have a good offensive possesion.  Instead Turkey tips the pass away, steals the ball and heads upcourt dribbling towoards the hoop.  Snoop Spreey Spree chases and gives the shooting Turkey a love slap on the writst.  Tweet obvious foul but not nearly enough to stop Turkey from getting the shot off.  Which he makes.  Tie game.  2+1 freethrow.  Either

• foul them in such a way to cause a miss

• or DONT FOUL THEM AT ALL

[jn]

:lol:  :lol:  

Listen to you guys!!  Talking about the best way to minimize your humiliation by elbowing and kneeing people.   This sounds more like a self defense class at the Y than a basktball topic. PATHETIC!!!  

[WayOutWest]

:lol:  :lol:  

Listen to you guys!!  Talking about the best way to minimize your humiliation by elbowing and kneeing people.   This sounds more like a self defense class at the Y than a basktball topic. PATHETIC!!!

Any time PUNK!

Just give me a months warning so I get ready and warm up.  :ph34r:  

[jn]

:lol:

Forget it! This Saturday at Painter Park, 34th and Lyndale.  If you're gonna whine about how the snowfall affects all your old injuries then don't bother showing up!!!  

Your chopping and grabbing techniques won't help you.  I'm now nailed to the ground, have a weak handle and I'm slower than the help at a barrio McDonalds but I'm still tall and my shot is deadly!!  B)  

[Guest]

In response to the height, I'm 6'1"

*this is dbodner btw.

[JoMal]

So you and WOW have never had to break off from guarding your own man to give weakside help against 40"+ jumper?

When jumper has ball in hands and is in the air ready to throw down i dont see how you stop even with a takeout. Maybe you guys consider that a dunk but not on you.

First off, it was not like guys I played against dunked on every possession, or even every game. But they would try on occasion, and being non-NBA calibur players, often they flubbed it themselves without any help from anyone. The guys I guarded were comparable in size to me, occasionally a little bigger, but if they were 6'7" or above they were likely off playing organized ball somewhere, which I only did in Junior College, where I was a PF, not the center. Even there, a few guys would dunk in games, but most were the lay-ups types.

But since I never had anyone dunk on me in any games either in JC or in rec leagues, where it was unlikely to see more then two or three attempted dunks in a game, if that, I have to admit it was not that big a deal.

BTW, I managed maybe half a dozen dunks total in any of these games myself, and some of those were semi-finger rolls. You really have to have the right setup during a game to even attempt a dunk if you aren't six and a half feet tall with hops, so why risk it? Most of the athletic guys I played against preferred to spin the ball off the backboard when they got close to the basket because they were much more sure of getting the points that way then being in position to attempt a dunk.

[Joe Vancil]

Well, being 5-9, myself, it's highly unlikely that I'd have any dunk stories --  but I do, and it's quite funny.  However, its best told first by one of the witnesses, and as soon as Skander gets back in town, I'll let him tell you the particulars before commenting.  (Mostly because it'll be fun to watch him try to type it while laughing.)

No, I can't dunk on a regulation rim.  At my best, which was about 100 pounds ago, I could touch the rim, and even then, not easily.  Playing basketball, for me, is about knowing and understanding the game and not about trying to exploit some sort of athletic skill that I don't have.  Heck, one look at me, and you'll think "this guy can't play."  But I've held my own over the years.

I will, however, match effective shooting ranges with anyone here.  Not guarded, mind you - I'm a catch-and-shoot shooter and can't really generate my own shot off the dribble.  And that should make it rather obvious that I'm a better fit for regular teammates or for organized basketball than I am for streetball.

Right now, however, I'm missing basketball.  I ended up tearing up my knee on the ski trip - strained medial collateral ligament and a tear of the medial meniscus.  The MCL healed quickly; the meniscus, which I also tore four years ago on the court (just before my FIRST ski trip), is healing VERY SLOWLY.

As for dirtly play, fouling on dunks, etc.?  Hey - it's part of the game.  Keep in mind that I'm the guy who defended Danny Fortson fouling Zarko Cabarkapa over on FanHome.  (Got called everything but a white bear for doing it, too.)  The rules say basketball is non-contact, and if you play me clean, I'll play you clean.  Of course, that doesn't happen often, does it?  Best to know how to defend against players throwing elbows, leading with shoulders, pushing off, hooking arms, etc.  If I can learn something I can use from watching a Rick Mahorn, John Stockton, or Michael Cooper, then that helps make sure that it's not *ME* getting hurt by someone else.  And those are probably the three guys I've learned the most from in terms of playing "dirty" while not going out there to hurt people.  I learned footwork for guarding the post, as well as playing a person at their balance point  by watching Mahorn.  Stockton's arm-hook keeps me from taking hard elbows or getting pushed off.  Michael Cooper was the best at burying a knee into a person's calf or thigh if they were trying to back you down.