It was January 25, 1988, during a shock of the “Big East” between his team of Pittsburgh and Providence, one of whose assistants is none other than… Jeff Van Gundy. On a counter-attack, Jerome Lane (1m98) does not ask any questions: he climbs on the defender and goes to explode the circle and especially the basket which flies into a thousand pieces!
In the comments, the “Send It In, Jerome” repeated by Bill Raftery remains in posterity, while the dunk is looped for days on television. It will even cross the Atlantic to be broadcast in… bloopers.
“It was a harmless counter-attack that Sean Miller screwed up by making the right move” remembers the consultant. “It’s the kind of absurd stuff that happens in a game, and I was lucky to be there. I’ve experienced so many great things in the comments, but this one had an impact like I’ve never experienced. It’s extraordinary. “
After this dunk, the game will be stopped for almost an hour to clean the floor, remove the shards, and of course replace the basket. Spectators will even come to the field to collect some debris as souvenirs…
“I hadn’t realized anything before turning to Demetreus Gore” will later tell Jerome Lane. “He had his mouth open, and then I saw the pieces on the ground. It was falling like snow. “
Best rebounder in the NCAA the previous year despite his small size, Jerome Lane joined the NBA in 1988, selected at the end of the first round by the Nuggets. Strong winger by training, he will miss a few centimeters to make a career, and he will shine mainly in CBA then in Europe, to then become a coach in a high school in Akron. A very modest career marked by a dunk which we still talk about more than thirty years later.
