SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A 7-foot-1 South Dakota high school basketball player pulled the rim off the basket during a game Tuesday night, Jan. 31, in Sioux Falls.
The damage caused by Sioux Falls Lincoln center JT Rock led to a delay, and the game against the Watertown Arrows had to be moved from the main gym to the auxiliary court.
JT Rock breaks the rim 😱 The remainder of this game had to be moved to a different gym #sdpreps pic.twitter.com/RLXW7oJSqe
— Landon DeBoer (@landon_deboer) February 1, 2023
The play happened early in the second quarter. The Lincoln Patriots were on a fast break, and Jack Hilgenberg found teammate Rock as the center was streaking down the lane. Rock went up and threw down a two-handed dunk, and as he was landing the top piece of the rim was pulled down off of the base that attaches it to the backboard.
The dunk caused an immediate stoppage while referees examined the damage. After a brief period of celebration with his teammates, Rock returned to the hoop, jumping up and hitting the bottom of the rim in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to fix it.
As players and officials stood with hands on hips, it became clear the game would need to be moved. The remainder was played in an auxiliary gym just down the hall, where the Patriots would defeat the Arrows 74-60, driven by 30 points from Rock.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rock is one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) prep basketball stars in recent South Dakota history. The junior is committed to play college basketball at Iowa State under former South Dakota State University coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Forum News Service reporter Hunter Dunteman contributed to this report.
The Trust Project
