Desmond Bane had fun, but was ‘frustrated’ by first 3-point contest

By , Daily Memphian Updated: February 19, 2022 11:57 PM CT | Published: February 19, 2022 9:40 PM CT

CLEVELAND — It was a short-lived 3-point contest for second-year Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, who came in confident but fell in the opening round at “All-Star Saturday night.” 

“(I’m) frustrated,” Bane said afterward. “It was fun, for sure, but frustrating. Did I step on the line? Did I step on the line for one of them? Is that why they waved one of them off? I stepped on the line. I was out there running past the balls. I was losing my mind. It was fun, though.”

So much for the practice. 


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Bane worked in a couple of warmup runs the past two days to get used to the rhythm of the competition. He prepared for every spot, and picked out which rack he would choose to be all “money balls,” worth two points each. 

The only difference between those runs and the real thing: “I was by myself,” he said. “My practice rounds were way better. I was shooting in sweats and my (Jordans), too.”

But the real thing, with a packed house, is different. As if the pressure wasn’t already high — Bane went first. 

“Yes, (it was hard to go first),” he said. “I went over there, and as soon as I went over there the music started playing. It took me a second to get ready.”

He got off to a slow start, missing his first three attempts, but salvaged with a string of makes with the next two racks of balls and a make from the Mountain Dew Zone, which was worth three points. 

Bane went to the top of the key with eight points, reaching the critical part of the competition — the rack picked to be all money balls. 

“We were practicing in Charlotte, and I was cash from the top of the key that day,” he said. “So that was it, I choose the top of the key.”


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He converted two of the five to add four points, but forgot to shoot his second Mountain Dew Zone ball before moving to the next rack. The mistake forced him to run back to the long-range spot to attempt the try, disrupting his rhythm until his final three attempts, which he splashed consecutively. 

“I practiced (the Mountain Dew Zone), but then I got into the moment and I was just trying to get to the next rack,” Bane said. “The balls started slipping and I was like, ‘Oh, I need to make up for lost time.’ ”

Bane went back to the bench and plopped down. He was eliminated from the contest four shooters later. Clippers guard Luke Kennard, Hawks guard Trae Young and Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns advanced to the finals with scores of 28, 22 and 22, respectively.

Towns eventually took home the title, beating out all of the guards.

So what will Bane do differently next time?

“Win,” he said. 

But at least he won’t go home completely empty-handed. Bane, with Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton as his teammate, won the Clorox Clutch Shot Challenge on Friday night during the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge. 

“It makes me feel a little better,” Bane said. 

The bigger consolation prize: the shooting guard’s plan for the rest of the All-Star break. 

“I’m on a boat, on the water, snorkeling with my toes out and all of that,” Bane said. 

Topics

Desmond Bane Memphis Grizzlies 2022 All-Star Weekend
Drew Hill

Drew Hill

Drew Hill covers the Memphis Grizzlies and is a top-10 APSE winner. He has worked throughout the South writing about college athletics before landing in Memphis.


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