The Pittsburgh Panthers honored former All-American Jerome Lane at Wednesday night’s college basketball game against Wake Forest at the Petersen Events Center.
No backboards were harmed in the process.
Lane, of course, will be forever remembered for his legendary, backboard-shattering dunk on Jan. 25, 1988 against the Providence Friars.
"SEND IT IN, JEROME!"
35 years ago today, @Pitt_MBB's Jerome Lane shattered the backboard 💥 pic.twitter.com/6M6gHz12TG
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) January 25, 2023
If the dunk itself wasn’t enough, colorful analyst Bill Raftery’s great call, “Send it in, Jerome!” memorialized it for all time. It’s often heralded as one of the most famous dunks — and calls — in basketball history.
Lane signed autographs for fans to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the event known in Pitt lore simply as “The Dunk.”
35 years later, Jerome Lane is still sending it in.
The former All-American is at The Pete for a meet-and-greet until 6:45. He’ll be recognized on the floor during the game for his backboard-shattering dunk against Providence on Jan. 25, 1988. #Pitt pic.twitter.com/GtNpUsqPgh
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) January 25, 2023
The Panthers introduced him to a huge ovation from the crowd. As an added bonus, the team’s mascot hoisted a rim, just as his predecessor did after Lane’s dunk back in the day.
Tonight, #Pitt honored Jerome Lane for the 35th anniversary of his “Send it in Jerome” dunk. Here’s the presentation: pic.twitter.com/NNVb5pfn56
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) January 26, 2023
Lane told Pittsburgh Sports Now this week that Raftery’s call definitely elevated the dunk.
“Without Bill [Raftery], the calling of the dunk, it probably wouldn’t have been as exciting without Bill,” Lane said. “Because if you hear, ‘Send it In!’ You already know it’s Jerome Lane.”
“Not too many people can forget about it because it’s so memorable. Everything’s just set in stone. The dunk happened, the glass falling on your head, the players come knock the glass of your head, everybody’s celebrating with you.”
Lane, 56, earned consensus second-team All-American honors that season at Pitt. He went on to play five seasons in the NBA.
[ACC Network; Photo credit: ACC Network]
