We came, we saw, we improvised...

Did you see the little box on the 4/15/2017 "before" net change at Derfelt? If you clicked the box you're here. If you didn't, well, here you are anyway. In the interests of rim/net integrity, I should explain what Eric and I decided needed to be done on this hoop. I enlarged the photo of the rim, you can see that it is not typical. Actually, I had never seen this setup before. With a little research, I found out this rim is designed for a metal chain basketball net. The net loops attach with an "s" hook. It appears this type of rim/net set up is designed for longevity and low maintenance. So here we are, my son and I, at a crossroads. You can use a metal net on a rim with regular attachment hooks, but why would you? So when you hit that perfect shot and expect to hear the net "snap," it sounds more like a door closing behind you at a maximum security prison? I'm picturing major injuries to hands and fingers with all that metal around. So, a little more investigation leads me to the possibility of using small hose clamps. That had the advantage of being reusable, but the time and hassle of unscrewing and then tightening a hose clamp, while making sure the hose clamp did not protrude and possibly alter a shot, kept me looking for options. We decided to go with plastic zip ties. After clipping the tie end off, you could hardly notice it and regardless of which way it would rotate, there was no possibility of it getting in the way of a shot.

While not our normal mode of operation, we made a net-less rim whole again. We now carry a small supply of plastic zip ties in our "toolbox," hoping we don't run into this dilemma too often.

Metal basketball nets, really?