Casey Hughes boasts the best slams on the Yale basketball team, but Sam Kaplan has the hottest dunks.
Whether it's his Jordans, Air Force Ones or Nike Dunks, Kaplan has wowed his friends and teammates with a massive shoe collection. The senior swingman from Worcester, Mass. had his interest piqued in high school by a former classmate and Georgia Tech star.
"I was teammates with Jarrett Jack in high school [who plays with the NBA's Portland Trailblazers now], and he kind of started me off in the right direction with collecting shoes," Kaplan said. "He always had a big collection and I guess my fetish started by seeing him and all the sneakers he had."
130 pairs later, Kaplan is a known figure among shoe-collecting aficionados. It wasn't easy, though - for a 6-foot-7 man, normal stores aren't the place to go.
"It takes a little bit of effort because I wear a [size] 15, but through various sneaker deals and whatnot . I've never really had a problem," he said. "I knew people who knew people, and I was able to get connections and build my connections that way."
These connections have gotten him some rare shoes: a pair of ostrich-skin Dunks, and his favorite - some Carmelo Anthonys modeled after the Air Jordan 2s in Denver Nuggets white, light blue and yellow.
Because some of his shoes have grown fairly valuable - upwards of $400 and sometimes tripling in value since their purchase - he can only leave them on display, wearing pairs that he doesn't mind getting dirty.
His everyday shoes are a set of white and gray Dunks he's had since high school. Still, he finds a way to impress his Elis teammates.
"He has about every pair of every color of Dunks," junior guard Eric Flato said. "Everybody on the team knows about it, every time he wears something new everybody kind of comments on it."
And while Yale is hardly a center for urban hip-hop culture, Kaplan still gets recognition for his shoes in New Haven.
"Some of the guys on the team have a pretty good idea of what's going on and there are a few guys on campus too," Kaplan said. "But there are a few spots around New Haven where you'll get credit for them."
Coach James Jones isn't as thrilled to don a pair of Air Max 90s, but he can certainly understand his senior forward's passion.
"Do I think it's absurd? No. Would I do it? No," Jones said. "I think everybody has their thing, and for a period in Sam's life that was important to him. I don't know whether it's as important as it was" when he was a freshman or sophomore.
He may not be getting sneakers at the same rate he once did, but they will always be on his mind.
Except when he's in Philly tonight. Ubiq and Sneaker Villa will have to wait. He's got some Ivy Championship hopes to keep alive.
