Let me just come rightout with it: There’s noshame in geing dunkedon in the game of bas-ketball. Geing dunkedon keeps us all honest, inthe same concept that youhave to have any dirt onyou for anyone to trustyou.

The internet has beengoing haywire due to therim-shaering dunk de-livered by L.A. Clippersforward DeAndre Jordanduring the Clippers-Pis-tons game March 10.

Detroit Pistons guardBrandon Knight was thelone defender in front of Jordan and the basket. Jordan received the lobfrom Chris Paul, and then… POW! Jordan proceeded to

 jam the alley-oop withsuch authority thatKnight didn’t even havea chance to land right, ashe hit the oor hard whilecontesting the dunk.

Twier was set ablaze,as was most of social me-dia. Other sports writersmade him a subject of rid-icule on TV and in print.

As a former athlete andformer baller myself, I’vehad many discussionswith friends regardingthis pivotal play in thegame.

Current GVSU men’s basketball coach SteveErnst told me at an AimHigh basketball camp back in 1995, “If you getdunked on, it’s becausethe other four guys areloang on defense.

No shame in it.” I stillsing that tune in perfectpitch and vibrato.

One can’t help but re-member Blake Grin’sdunk on Oklahoma CityThunder center KendrickPerkins.

As a center, Perkinsis bigger and stronger,

which makes Grin’sdunk more tenacious. Itwould be even more im-pressive if there was moreto Grin’s game. Thereisn’t more, unfortunately.

Which brings me to mynext point: Jordan madea hell of a play. He’s an-other player with a $40million plus contract withno oensive repertoire orany ability to score out-side the paint. Soundslike someone I just men-tioned.

Yes, he can leap anddunk over guys smallerthan him. If Jordan can el-evate like that, shouldn’the be grabbing more re- bounds than he does? At$11 million a year, onewould think so.

Players like Knightshould be commended, but there is no stat in the books for geing yokedon. You’re just going tohave to return to practice,take your lumps and con-tinue to play hard everynight.

There is no shame ingeing dunked on. Itkeeps us all honest.

March 18 - 31, 2013

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