The sound of dribbling a basketball in silence

Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway Middle School students got the experience of learning some tips from the former basketball player nicknamed the “Crossover king.” 

Five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway visited the Lawrence school on Nov. 13, where he helped promote the “Dream Silencer,” a mini T-shaped trampoline that serves two purposes: substantially reduces the noise made by dribbling a basketball and its construction places the use in the proper ball handling form, with the ball close to the body. Five Towns residents and founders of the Dream Dribble, Eric Braunstein and Dylan Kaufmann created the item.

Braunstein, 25, of Cedarhurst and Kaufmann, 24, of Woodmere, established the Dream Dribble company in 2016. They first got in contact with Hardaway last Christmas when he was watching his son, Tim Hardaway Jr. play at Madison Square Garden as a member of the New York Knicks. Hardaway Jr. now plays for the Dallas Mavericks. “We saw him on the jumbotron at MSG and got his contact information through a family friend,” Braunstein said. “We’d watched highlights of his crossover for years and we knew he’d be the perfect person to endorse our product.” 

Hardaway was impressed by Braunstein and Kaufmann’s doggedness. “These two are the most persistent guys that I know,” Hardaway said. “When I first looked at this device, the first thing that came to my mind is young basketball players. This will help them work on their overall game as well as improve their dribbling skills.”

Growing up in Chicago, Hardaway said he always had a basketball in his hand, despite the noise it would make. “If I had this when I was younger, I would’ve saved my parents a lot of headaches,” he said jokingly. “This device will give kids the confidence to improve their overall skill level with basketball.” Hardaway played 13 seasons in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers. He was best known for his crossover dribble that was known as the “UTEP Two-step.” Hardaway attended the University of Texas at El Paso.

The students were able to give the Dream Silencer a try. Eighth-grader Jordan Zarka said he like using and learned to appreciate Hardaway’s skills. “It was pretty cool dribbling on this device,” Zarka said. “I didn’t realize how good of a player Tim Hardaway was until he came today.”

Zarka added that the Dream Silencer could save him from getting into further trouble at home. “My mom always yells at me for dribbling a basketball inside,” he said. “Using this device would allow me to dribble inside.”

HAFTR Athletic Director and basketball coach Joey Hoenig also valued Hardaway’s visit. “It’s great to have a former All-Star give his advice and tips to our students,” he said. “How often does a school get to have an NBA legend swing by?”

More information on Dream Dribble and the Dream Silencer can be found at https://dreamdribble.com/.