Really.
“I used to jump, when I couldn’t really jump, and try,” he said.
The roomful of reporters in the post-game press conference laughed. They were eager to hear more about this particular revelation of Bane’s background, probably as much as anything else surrounding TCU’s 65-61 victory against Texas, in which the junior forward did indeed hit his head on the backboard after soaring high for a block.
So, on purpose, in the past? Did we hear that right?
He laughed. “I would jump and try to hit my head on the backboard, but I’ve never done that in a game.”
That made Wednesday night a first, and he got his money’s worth. The hit was flush on the back of his head. He tumbled to the court, then got up slowly holding his head in discomfort.
He laughed again as he remembered how close he used to get on his attempts to get high enough for contact with the backboard.
“Just graze it — I used to have the flat top on top,” he said. “The little curls I got sitting on top of my head would hit the backboard. But that was full head. That was not just the hair.”
Online, a highlight package tweeted by @Frankie_Vision showed how violently Bane came in contact with the backboard at 15:52 of the second half.
Desmond Bane Hits Head On The Backboard! pic.twitter.com/xKd2XhtRSW
— Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) January 24, 2019
“I was just kind of shocked at first, and then I was like, ‘I’m fine,” he said.
The crowd of 7,099 at Schollmaier Arena would agree. Bane finished with a team-high 17 points, including a couple of rabbit-out-of-a-hat layups that provided a crucial cushion in the late stages, plus seven rebounds and three assists.
Despite a subpar shooting night, Bane still found a way to score points, as Texas coach Shaka Smart lamented.
“One shot in particular at the end of the clock in the second half was really, really a tough shot, and I thought relatively well-defended. But he made it anyway,” Smart said. “With Bane, you can’t give him anything easy. He got a couple where we got in the side of him, and he was able to drive. We did a good job for the most part contesting his outside shot, but he got in the paint and our guys got in the side of him a couple too many times. That’s what allowed him to get going. For them, obviously Alex Robinson is the playmaker, but Bane is a guy you’ve got to do a terrific job on. We didn’t quite do a good enough job.”
Bane is the best athlete on the team. It’s how he came to the attention of Jamie Dixon in the first place.
“When we recruited him, his strength and his game was finishing around the basket,” the Frogs coach said. “He was an athlete that wasn’t much of a shooter. And he’s become, obviously, a very good shooter with work and putting the time in. That’s why he’s unique in that he can score in a variety of ways and he’s getting a little better off the dribble, too.”
Bane is the Frogs’ leading scorer at 14.9 per game and third in rebounds at 5.7. He has started all 18 games and leads the team in minutes. Lightly recruited, the Richmond, Ind., product has turned himself into one of the best players in the Big 12.
“We’re fortunate that he’s a great kid and wants to get better and puts in the time to do it,” Dixon said. “But in transition, that was the first thing that stood out to me, was his ability to finish at the rim.”
Well, that hasn’t changed. Bane is still finishing at the rim. Just check the padding on the backboard. Make sure there’s plenty.
