Category: Sports

Justin Dargahi doesn’t have the smoothest shot around. His form isn’t ideal, his finish isn’t textbook. In fact, you could argue he looks a little awkward as he fires the basketball towards the rim, jumping forward a bit, landing on his right foot.

“My shot’s been laughed at all my life,’’ Dargahi says.

Until it starts going in, which it almost always does.

Swish.

Swish.

Swish.

Dargahi, who lives in Hunter’s Green, is one of the newest entries into the Guinness Book of World Records, for that not-ideal, non-textbook, awkward-motion shot, after he made 26 three-pointers from the NBA range in one minute.

Shooting at the top of the key from 23 feet, 9 inches away, Justin broke the old Guinness record of 25 threes in a minute held by Oregon’s Dan Loriaux, who also holds the record for most treys made in one hour (1,077) and in 24 hours (10,381).

“I told some friends that I set the record, but they just told me to come see them when it’s official,’’ Justin said, laughing.

Well, it’s official.

Taking aim at Guinness record

The former Land O’ Lakes girls basketball assistant coach set the record Jan. 4 in the Land O’Lakes High gymnasium. His record-setting morning, for which he had to file an official application, as well as hiring basketball officials and recording the event, was finally certified by the Guinness Book of World Records last month.

Justin says the Guinness record doesn’t sound like much to some, who are convinced that an NBA player could set it if they tried. But, he says some have, most notably former Boston Celtics All-Star forward Paul Pierce and former NBA journeyman and sharpshooter Jason Kapono, who led the NBA in three-point shooting percentage twice and also won the Three-Point Shootout, held during the NBA’s midseason All-Star Weekend, twice.

It takes consistency and resilience, Justin says, and the fortitude to throw up almost a shot a second. After about 10 shots, most shooters’ arms grow weary. After 20, they hurt and after 30 the ball gets heavier, and the shooting form becomes a bit unraveled.

On Justin’s most recent attempt, which was the fifth time he had tried to break the record, he missed his first shot but then made his next six.

Halfway there (at 30 seconds), he had 16 makes and only five misses.

And, with 7.8 seconds left, Record No. 26 swished through the net.

Justin, however, thought he had only made 25. After missing his final four shots, he extended his arms in agony, despite the cheering from the girl basketball players on hand.

“We had to make sure and check the video,’’ he said.

In all, Justin shot 38 times in 60 seconds, and made 26, for a remarkable 68.4 percent.

“It’s a little bit of notoriety, that’s nice,’’ said Dargahi, who works for Future Home Realty, which has six Florida offices, including one in Wesley Chapel.

Guinness confirmation arrives

The official Guinness Record certificate now sits over the fireplace in his home, a testament to setting a goal and achieving it. His next shot at fame, he says, may come from the free throw line, where the current record is 52 made in one minute from that 15-foot distance.

For Justin, the road to the record books was a natural one. He grew up a shooter, always drawing crowds and breaking records at the pop-a-shot games you find at arcades and theme parks.

He first played organized basketball at Tampa Baptist and Tampa’s Cambridge Christian, and had college aspirations. But, there were few spots on college basketball rosters for slightly-built 6-footers who weren’t great defenders.

“I was always by far the best shooter on the basketball teams I played on,’’ Justin said. “But, I wasn’t at good playing defense.”

Instead, Dargahi went to USF — where he once won $1,000 in a three-point shooting contest at the school — and graduated with a degree in journalism.

He continues to shoot hoops. On a recent blazing hot afternoon at Hunter’s Green’s Capt. Nathaniel Hunter Park, Justin shows off his gift, moving around the court and firing up shots, or “shot puts,” he jokes, many from a few feet behind the arc.

Swish.

Swish.

Swish.

“I’ve never been better,’’ says Justin, who is 34 years old. “My range keeps getting better.”

Justin still plays on Sunday mornings at Cambridge Christian on N. Habana Ave. with his old high school teammates and friends, and though he lives across the street from the court at Hunter’s Green, he doesn’t get out to shoot as much as he would like.

Still, he recently sent a letter to the University of South Florida basketball program — which has sorely lacked a pure outside shooter in recent years — asking coach Orlando Antigua for a chance to walk on to the team. He figured if he can make the Guinness Book of World Records for his uncommon gift of deadeye, long-range shooting, why not?

“Wouldn’t that be a great story?’’ Justin asks with a smile.