Jerome Lane Sr. (born December 4, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lane played college basketball for the University of Pittsburgh, where he was an All-American and led the NCAA in rebounding as a sophomore.

High school career

Born in Akron, Ohio, Lane played shooting guard for Saint Vincent-Saint Mary High School and appeared in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

College career

He joined the Pittsburgh Panthers in 1985–86 as a 170-pound freshman. By his junior season, the 6'6" forward was 60 pounds heavier. In 1986–87, his 13.5 rebounds per game made him the first player 6'6" or shorter to lead the country in rebounds per game (13.5) since Niagara's

Alex Ellis Alexander Ellis may refer to: * Alex Ellis (born 1991), Canadian racecar driver *Alexander John Ellis (1814–1890), English mathematician and philologist *Boo Ellis (Alexander Ellis, 1936–2010), American professional basketball player * Alexande ...

in 1957–58. He left school after leading the Big East Conference in rebounding during the 1987–88 season.

Professional career

Lane was selected in the first round of the

1988 NBA draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...

by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

with the 23rd pick overall. Lane played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

for five seasons with the Nuggets,

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, Milwaukee Bucks and

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. Lane shined in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

as a star for the Oklahoma City Cavalry. He was an all-star in the league from 1994–96 and led the league in rebounding in 1995 (11.8) and 1996 (16.8). After a successful stint in Spain he returned to the CBA and led the league once more in rebounding in 1999, pulling down 14.5 rebounds per game for the Idaho Stampede.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , Denver , 54 , , 1 , , 10.2 , , .426 , , .000 , , .384 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , Denver , 67 , , 46 , , 14.3 , , .469 , , .000 , , .367 , , 5.4 , , 1.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" , Denver , 62 , , 25 , , 22.3 , , .438 , , .250 , , .411 , , 9.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" , Denver , 9 , , 5 , , 15.7 , , .250 , , .000 , , .421 , , 4.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" , Indiana , 3 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .600 , , .000 , , .000 , , 6.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" , Milwaukee , 2 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" ,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...

, align="left" , Cleveland , 21 , , 2 , , 7.1 , , .500 , , .000 , , .250 , , 2.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 218 , , 79 , , 14.7 , , .441 , , .063 , , .379 , , 5.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 5.3

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , Denver , 2 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .286 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , Denver , 2 , , 2 , , 7.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 4 , , 2 , , 8.8 , , .200 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.8

College

, - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

Pitt Pitt most commonly refers to: *The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States **Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh * Pitt (surname), a surname o ...

, 29 , , - , , 24.5 , , .470 , , - , , .655 , , 5.1 , , 1.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 9.1 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 33 , , - , , 35.4 , , .568 , , .500 , , .603 , , 13.5 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 15.8 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 31 , , - , , 35.2 , , .513 , , .000 , , .615 , , 12.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 13.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 93 , , - , , 31.9 , , .525 , , .267 , , .618 , , 10.4 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 13.1

Playing style

Although best known for his rebounding skills, Lane was also an adept ball handler. His jump shot and foul shooting were never consistent. He was voted as the best rebounder in the history of the ACB.

Shattering the backboard

On January 25, 1988 in a college basketball game featuring Lane's Pittsburgh team playing

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

on a national television broadcast, Lane broke the glass backboard with a one-handed dunk with Sean Miller assisting on the play. Often referred to simply as "The Dunk", the play was famously called by

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

Bill Raftery when he exclaimed "Send it in, Jerome!!" The play is on ESPN's list of the "100 Greatest Sports Highlights" and has been the subject of numerous articles even decades later.

Personal life

His son Jerome Lane Jr. is a wide receiver who once signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the National Football League (NFL).

Notes

External links

*
Jerome Lane career stats
at basketball reference.com
Men's Rebounding Leaders
at basketball.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Jerome 1966 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games Basketball players from Akron, Ohio Cantabria Baloncesto players CB Valladolid players Cleveland Cavaliers players Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Indiana Pacers players La Crosse Catbirds players Liga ACB players McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks players Oklahoma City Cavalry players Pan American Games medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philippine Basketball Association imports Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Rapid City Thrillers players Shell Turbo Chargers players St. Vincent–St. Mary High School alumni Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople