Basketball courts get a sprucing up
New backboards add ball dynamics, durability
By Michael Lear-Olimpi
Knightly News Co-Adviser and Editor
The basketball courts next to the parking lots behind the campus apartments are sporting new backboards and nets, thanks to a personal donation to Central Penn.
Workers from AJT Assemblies, of Drexel Hill, installed the backboards on the lower and the upper courts—four backboards in all—in July.
“An old backboard on the lower court was broken, which led to us looking to replace,” Central Penn Athletic Director Kasey Hicks said. “I pushed to replace all four.”
Hicks said she didn’t know how long the previous backboards had been in place, but that they had been up for many years, and they were well worn.
The courts, especially the lower one, see a lot of action. Students and residents who live in the apartments, which are rented to people over the summer and through the year while they attend Central Penn programs, use them.
Many Central Penn students, including members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, play hoops and practice shooting baskets on the courts.
“We also use them for intramurals campus events, tournaments, and summer youth camps,” Hicks said. “The space has been rented out by youth groups in the past.”
She said the old backboards, made of composite wood, have lifespans that vary, depending on use and weather. The new backboards are made of tempered safety glass and are more durable.
Several players from the men’s and women’s basketball teams said they appreciate the new boards, which they said are better to shoot balls against for baskets than the old boards.
Tempered-glass backboards are up to 10 times stronger than regular glass and very durable. They provide 100-percent (professional-level) bounce response for basketballs, which provides better dynamics, allowing players to predict how the ball will move when it hits the board, according to information on sports-equipment and glass-company websites.
Tempered-glass backboards have traditionally been used on indoor courts. The boards are used in schools, including colleges, and in the NBA, the WNBA and FIBA, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA is the acronym of its French name, “Fédération Internationale de Basketball”).
The boards are strong but can break from rock or other hard-material strikes from vandals, but have gained popularity for outdoor courts over the last few decades, particularly on private property that is well monitored and has its own security department, such as at Central Penn.
The metal poles, which can easily support the heavier backboards, were also repainted, and the court surfaces may be redone, according to Kenton Alston, head coach of the men’s basketball team.
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