Universlam contest hits Bloomington

Kadour Ziani leaped over a small child huddled on the ground and hung in the air for longer than seemed possible. Then, at the peak of his jump, he scissor-kicked a basketball that was lodged in the corner of the rim. \nThe feat was a move that Ziani calls the "Kick the Rim." Even though it wasn't a dunk, the crowd that had gathered at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church for Universlam was in awe of Ziani's incredible display of athleticism and flexibility.\nZiani said that by accomplishing the "Kick the Rim," he holds the world record at 10 feet for touching the highest point with his foot. \n"Before I would touch the rim with my head and my nose," said Ziani, who turns 34 today. "Then, I figured, I'm flexible, so I'll try it with my feet. It wasn't really about the record, though. I wanted to send a message to people of the power of dreaming and believing."\nZiani continuously glided gracefully through the air, twisting and turning his body in ways only few can imagine. Each dunk was more improbable than the one before, and he left a lasting impression on his fellow dunkers. \n"It was amazing. He can do things a lot of other guys can't," said Jenelle Carter, a freshman at Illinois State University. "He's so flexible. He's like a ballerina in the air."\nMarshall Moses, a four-star recruit, according to rivals.com, came all the way from North Carolina to take part in the event. He was equally amazed at Ziani's dunking ability.\n"He's not very tall, and he's not really that strong," Moses said. "Man, can he dunk, though. I've seen Vince Carter and LeBron James do dunk contests, and he's right up there with those guys, if not better."\nZiani said his amazing flexibility comes from a lot of hard work but mostly patience.\n"When you plant tomatoes, you have to water them every day, but you have to wait," Ziani said. "Success is about a lot of water and a lot of time."\nZiani possesses a strong sensibility and enjoys discussing his philosophy about his dunking. To Ziani, dunking is not about the fame or notoriety that comes as a result. Instead, it's a way for him to find an identity. \nZiani's favorite dunk, he said, is the "double windmill," which many other people have tried to emulate. \n"I'm proud that people try to copy my dunk," Ziani said. "By dunking, I'm trying to express myself and create diversity and personality. If people start calling me 'Double Windmill' instead of Kadour Ziani, I would be happy."\nAaron Allen, a senior at IU and good friend of Ziani's, was at Universlam getting footage for an upcoming documentary he plans to release. Allen runs Flying 101, a film company dedicated to showcasing dunkers. Like Ziani's approach to dunking, Allen boasts that he takes a different approach to filming his documentaries.\n"Most dunking videos that you see are one large showcase with hip-hop music," Allen said. "I plan on using a lot of interviews to try to find out what makes dunking so special. I want to get at the dunkers' philosophies and how dunking affects them. The theme for the film is mind over matter"