How Star Players Deal with Air Balls
Words. Jason Jordan
When it comes to air balls it’s all about dispelling the embarrassment.
Kenny Boynton is beyond embarrassed.
Not even the roaring waves ramming the Pompano Beach, Fla., coastline can drown out the seemingly deafening chirps of the imaginary crickets inside of the Ely High gym. His eyes frantically shift from left to right like windshield wipers in a monsoon. Boynton, a senior combo guard who is signed with Florida, quickly debates if anyone noticed that he not only missed the shot, but, even worse, the rim.
Everyone’s looking now.
“Are… You… Straight?” a friend asks wearing a puzzled frown.
A handful of others at the open gym burst into laughter and point, but by now Boynton’s found the silver lining.
“If it had been a game, I would’ve heard ‘aiiiiir baaaaall!” says Boynton. “But either way it’s real embarrassing because that’s something everyone notices.”
Everything’s magnified when a player shoots an air ball, and their reactions afterward range from the casual to the comical. Some unnecessarily wipe their hands as if perspiring palms was the culprit, some clap in frustration and some turn into the best defensive player on the court on the next possession. If it’s an away game, the infamous “air ball” chant is imminent. If it’s in front of the home crowd, the collective sigh is just as bad.
“It’s not too often that I shoot air balls,” Boynton says. “But when I do I just try to do whatever I can to get that out of their minds. You’ve got to do something in that short time after the air ball.”
Kinston High (N.C.) shooting guard Reggie Bullock, a junior who is rated the No. 13 prospect in HighSchoolHoop top 50, says that on the rare occasions he has a bad misfire, he goes straight into justification mode.
“I say stuff like, ‘Hey shooters shoot air balls sometimes,” says Bullock, who is committed to North Carolina. “I mean Kobe shoots air balls, who doesn’t shoot air balls? Even the greatest players in the country shoot air balls so whatever. You’ve got to do something because it is pretty embarrassing.”
The only way to dispel that embarrassment, which Bullock says lasts around 15 seconds, is to turn into a lockdown defender.
“See, I feel like the person who was checking me when I shot the air ball feels like he was playing good defense,” says Bullock. “So I’ve got to show him that it wasn’t because of him. You can cut that embarrassment time in half if you get a steal, so that’s what I try to do.”
Garrius Adams, a senior shooting guard from Middle Creek High in Apex, N.C., goes into denial. He immediately begins to wonder if the shot was really that bad. To gauge this, he scours the stands for his mom, Valerie, and reads her reaction. “She’ll either put her hand down or cover her eyes or get up and move or go get some water,” says Adams, who has already signed with Miami. “She’ll definitely let me know in her own way that I shouldn’t have taken that shot. It’s really embarrassing.”
Kansas State Associate Head Coach Dalonte Hill has been present during the embarrassing moments, but contends that it’s all a part of the game.
“Hey if you shoot it long enough, you’re gonna shoot a couple air balls,” says Hill. “They’ll do things to play off the embarrassment like wipe their hands or motion like they got fouled or something like that. I don’t laugh or anything like that, but if it’s one of those shots like, ‘What in the world was that?’ I’ll give a little expression. But hey, it happens. I’m not going to leave the gym when it does.”
THEY’RE NOT ALL BAD…
In 1983 North Carolina State’s Dereck Whittenburg shot an air ball in the closing seconds of the NCAA championship game. Luckily, his shot was grabbed by teammate Lorenzo Charles, who dunked it back just beating the buzzer. The shot gave No. 15 North Carolina State a shocking 54-52 victory over top-ranked Houston, nicknamed “Phi Slamma Jamma” because of their highlight dunks. The shot also sparked the now famous clip of Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano running around the court trying to find someone to hug.
“Some unnecessarily wipe their hands as if perspiring palms was the culprit, some clap in frustration and some turn into the best defensive player on the court on the next possession.” Hilarious!! We’ve all been there.