Rising over his opponents, the Toronto Raptors’ 6-7 star shooting guard Demar Derozan flew through the air as he slammed in a dunk that left the rim shaking and crowd cheering during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 5.
As highlight moments like this make clear, the act of dunking is iconic to the sport of basketball. Though it is most well known as a scoring technique, for many high school players, it is a dream and ultimate goal.
Only three Saratoga varsity players can consistently dunk in practice: seniors Joel Schneidmiller and Apoorv Kwatra and junior Neal Iyengar.
Standing at 6-2 and playing power forward, Iyengar has been working on dunking for years.
“Dunking has always been a dream of mine,” Iyengar said. He said it can create an advantage for players both mentally and physically.
Iyengar has been working on dunking for the past two years and is always trying to get better at it.
“I’ve been improving my vertical a lot so I can get higher and I’ve been working on the security of the ball as well so that I wouldn’t lose it during a game,” Iyengar said.
Despite not being able to touch the rim during his freshman year, he continued training. By the end of freshman year, all of Iyengar’s training paid off when he managed to reach the rim, and this September, he was finally able to dunk. Now he hopes to pull off one in an actual game.
So far, Schneidmiller, at 6-5 and with strong leaping skills, is the only player who has been able to dunk in a game while Kwatra and Iyengar can only dunk when given a running start, emphasizing the difficulty of the feat for smaller players.
Dunking, of course, isn’t a big deal or even a goal for some players. Junior guard Michael Xue puts his emphasis on long-range shooting.
“Three-pointers are a lot more versatile because there are a lot more opportunities and points that can be scored if you are consistent,” Xue said.
At 5-11, Xue is undersized compared to many players. He makes up for this physical disadvantage with his shooting, he said.
In the modern day, 3-pointers and deft passing have taken over the league, as players like the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson dominate the league.
Even so, nothing makes a statement like a ferocious slam dunk.
“Dunking is not only an effective move, but it has become a culture in the school to be able to master it,” Iyengar said. “I will not stop trying until I can perfect the art.”
