March 31: A view of a broken backboard with the NCAA logo seen through it taken during a practice session before the 1995 Final Four Series on March 31, 1995. (Photo by Steve Dunn/Getty Images)
By: Evan Jankens
If you haven’t ever had the chance to see a backboard shattered in person then you are missing out. You most likely have at least seen Darryl Dawkins do so. I remember while reffing elementary kids on a Saturday morning while in high school (you had to while playing for the varsity) a former player at my school Chippewa Valley in Clinton Township did just that. At an elementary school that didn’t have breakaway rims — which now it seems most schools do — kids who could dunk (not me) were told they shouldn’t because the backboard could shatter.
Well, the guy who was telling us this dunked and shattered the backboard and is one of the cooler things I have ever seen while playing basketball.
Now having told that story brings me to 6’8, 280-pound Ako Kaluna, a senior at West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) Kaluna got the ball after a missed shot and foul for a put back slam that just shattered the backboard. In high school, there aren’t reserve hoops to continue the game, I wonder if they continued the game? No information about that. According to the Daily News when asked about the backboard he said, “it was awesome.” I would have to say so. Check out the video for yourself below.
Click HERE for the full story on Ako
