The dunk-rockers

The crowds at Nagpada's Mastan YMCA quietened down twice for the evening azaan,and hushed once in serious dread,when visiting player Jason Faulkner,an acrobatic Canadian,went leaping over the wheeled trolley box in which basketballs sat idle.

The crowds at Nagpada’s Mastan YMCA quietened down twice for the evening azaan,and hushed once in serious dread,when visiting player Jason Faulkner,an acrobatic Canadian,went leaping over the wheeled trolley box in which basketballs sat idle. Then he spectacularly crashed. The idea was to go over the almost 3 foot tall box like a hurdler – minus the landing,and dunk the ball into the basket on way to the lightning descent. The six-and-up footer barely managed it on his second attempt,but came down with such an almighty thud,smashing into the boundary boards and some stray chairs,that the crowd gasped their loud concern.

Faulkner,coolly – where cool is not a mere state of mind,but means all peachy and dandy – readjusted his spread-eagled frame into a taut plank pose on his toes and palms,and started a series of fast-paced,full-fledged push-ups. The crowd had by now forgotten about the botched flighty dunk,and thoroughly impressed with Faulkner’s athletic antics on the ground declared Jason their hero for the Indian All Star weekend – the honour earning him incessant chants from the wide-eyed kids and a feeling of recognition by the basketball-crazy Nagpada crowd.

“You need to get the crowd involved – that’s the most important thing when dunking,” Faulkner said later,even as he conceded the tie-break of the contest to fellow North American Titus Robinson,who amongst other things did a pauper’s version of Jordan’s between-the-legs dunk and over the head with his back to the hoops. He clung on for good measure. What won him the prize though was his audacious runway,and take-off over the crouching India player Akanksha Singh – pulled out from the crowd and instructed to toss up the ball just enough for him to go airborne and drive-dunk into the basket.

“The dunks need to be creative,” Robinson says,explaining that though the first round was planned and rehearsed,the later ones were spontaneous. Commenting on the Slam Dunk contests back home,both admit that they have lost some sheen. “They used to be popular,but they aren’t that much creative any more,” Titus says,adding that the winner this year Jeremy Evans’ two-ball dunk was tough to execute nevertheless.

“The superstars need to participate,” he declares. It might have straggled into a drab affair every summer in the US,but Indian audience are still agape when anything like this is transposed here. “Yadwinder’s got good skills,” Robinson says,pointing to the turbaned talent from Punjab. While Vince Carter’s dunking at Olympics has influenced both,Jason who started on the hoops after not quite enjoying hockey and baseball,believes that the athletic skills need a strong attitude to back their swagger.

India captain Vishesh Brughavanshi lined up some kids and jumped over the kneeling wall to get it spot on,and only needs the confidence,Jason believes,to get the crowd going. “But the facilities need to get better,” Jason adds. It’s not just the cement courts that discourage all pretence to athleticism,and leave hoopsters with a perennial fear of skinning their knees,but also the wind in outdoor courts that plays a massive role.

“The biggest challenge adjusting to India was the win – flying into it!” said Robinson. One spectator who had no choice but to feel confident was Akansha Singh,who saw a mere blur of arms and legs fly over her half-open eyes before the roaring crowd told her that the dunk was a good go.

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