A CUT ABOVE
When a referee called a foul more than halfway through a college basketball game on Feb. 3, a group of shirtless men walked to the bottom of the bleachers and stood behind the hoop. While two men opened a plastic bag and held it behind Ian Allen’s head, another student, Dane Charleston, turned on an electric razor.
As the opposing player prepared to shoot free throws, Charleston started shaving Allen’s curly hair.
For decades, college basketball fans have tried to distract opponents while they’re shooting free throws by holding up signs, performing skits or busting out attention-grabbing costumes. But members of the swimming and diving team at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, employed a new strategy: giving haircuts from the sidelines.
Charleston broke out clippers to shave Allen’s locks nearly a dozen times in the second half of Oakland’s home game against Cleveland State University, which shot 8-for-12 from the free throw line during that stretch. By the end of
Oakland’s 83-71 win, Allen was left with a buzz cut in the front and a ball of hair in the back.
Allen told The Washington Post his messy haircut was worth it. He and other members of the swim team said they believe their courtside hair dressing contributed to Cleveland State’s four misses.
Junior Jonas Cantrell, who held the bag behind Allen, was especially proud of their contributions after seeing that Cleveland State had shot about 90% on free throws in its previous game.
“To take that team down to a [66.7%] free-throw average, it showed us we’re doing something,” Cantrell said.
The idea for the stunt originated in the Oakland swim team’s locker room, which the swimmers had recently turned into a makeshift barbershop after most of them decided to shave their heads. But
Allen was reluctant to lose his thick, soft brown hair that he washed with highend shampoo and conditioner. He kept delaying his buzz cut.
When the swimmers decided they wanted identical hairdos in the stands on Feb. 3, Allen agreed to shave his head before the basketball game. Then his teammates suggested he do it during the game.
They brought the tools needed to distract their opponents: a silver Philips Norelco razor and two trash bags. About 40 team members, wearing swimsuits and black body paint to spell “OU PRIDE!,” piled into the student section.
Just over two minutes into the second half, Cleveland State forward Tristan Enaruna was fouled while driving to the basket.
That’s when the swimteam members first moved down the bleachers and shaved the left side of
Allen’s hair. Enaruna sunk the first free throw, but while the senior was preparing to shoot the second, Allen yelled and pointed to his head. Enaruna missed the second shot.
“The hair was worth it,” Neal Ruhl, who announced the game for ESPN, said on the broadcast.
When another Cleveland State player was fouled more than five minutes later, the swimmers walked down the bleachers again and Charleston shaved the top of Allen’s head.
With under nine minutes remaining, a fan approached the swim team and asked to join the stunt. Charleston shaved his hair while another player shot a free throw.
Charleston continued to shave Allen’s hair during free throws. None of Cleveland State’s players who shot free throws made both attempts until there were about 2½ minutes remaining.
“Nobody’s making more of a major impact today than the swimming and diving team,” co-announcer Tony Paul said.
By the end of the Horizon League matchup, just the back portion of Allen’s hair remained. As he left the stadium, he was surprised to see a video of his cut circulating on social media.
His teammates were equally shocked as popular accounts such as Bleacher Report and Overtime reposted the clip. It eventually appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
“It was really cool,” Cantrell said. “I was just like, ‘How many times is this going to be able to happen in my life?’ ”
Oakland forward Trey Townsend credited the swim team’s antics when discussing the victory in a post-game news conference.
“I bet Cleveland State’s never seen anything like that,” he said.