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College Basketball Player’s Dunk Collapsed the Entire Hoop

Merrimack’s Jordan Derkack collapsed the entire hoop with a dunk against LIU.

Dan Gartland

College Basketball Player’s Dunk Collapsed the Entire Hoop
College Basketball Player’s Dunk Collapsed the Entire Hoop /
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Thursday night’s men’s basketball game between the Merrimack Warriors and LIU Sharks featured a brief and very unusual delay after what should have been a routine play. 

Midway through the second half, LIU turned the ball over, leading to a Merrimack fastbreak. Warriors guard Jordan Derkack collected the loose ball and threw down an easy dunk. 

Simple enough, right? Except the entire basket began to sag to the floor as Derkack hung on the rim. The sight of Derkack swinging from the rim as it slowly lowered to the floor was absolutely hilarious. 

Bringing down the hoop like that brings to mind memories of when Shaquille O’Neal snapped the entire backboard off its stanchion during a game in 1993. But Shaq’s play was much more dangerous and destructive. It came crashing to the floor and nearly hit O’Neal in the head. Derkack just got a leisurely ride back down to the floor. 

Derkack wasn’t just destroying equipment on Thursday night on Long Island. He also destroyed the Sharks, putting up 34 points in Merrimack’s 82–79 overtime win. The Warriors are now tied for first place in the Northeast Conference with an 8–2 record. 

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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