SKLZ D Man Basketball

I bought this for from Dick’s Sporting Goods and and never had a problem with anything I’ve ever purchased there before for any sport for my kids. This Device I thought would be great for my Kids to improve their Basketball skills.I’m an Engineer by Profession. The set-up Directions were basic and not great. Once I tried to insert this bottom pole into the base it would not fit. I re-read the directions to make sure it wasn’t me, It was the System.After installing it , the system leaned to one side, after one day outside the pole bent to a “Right Angle”.At first I thought it was vandalized? Then I watched our RING SYSTEM VIDEO AND OVER TIME the very cheap/very flimsy poles just bent in the sun on a normal day (no heat wave). I can’t imagine this product ... MoreI bought this for from Dick’s Sporting Goods and and never had a problem with anything I’ve ever purchased there before for any sport for my kids. This Device I thought would be great for my Kids to improve their Basketball skills.I’m an Engineer by Profession. The set-up Directions were basic and not great. Once I tried to insert this bottom pole into the base it would not fit. I re-read the directions to make sure it wasn’t me, It was the System.After installing it , the system leaned to one side, after one day outside the pole bent to a “Right Angle”.At first I thought it was vandalized? Then I watched our RING SYSTEM VIDEO AND OVER TIME the very cheap/very flimsy poles just bent in the sun on a normal day (no heat wave). I can’t imagine this product actually made it through the SKILZ COMPANY quality control and they must definitely know that these poles SUCK!!!!!!!

I love the concept of D-Man and he has helped me with my practices. The part where D-Man goes wrong is in the construction of the materials. The netting of the D-man itself is pretty good, but the 3 plastic poles that you hang D-Man on are VERY cheap. One good hit and those posts will get bent or cracked. The push in clips that hold the posts together do not line up very well with the holes and I had one push in clip that wanted to stay pushed in therefore leaving the post unsecured. This could be a great product with some better post engineering. It is really a shame to have such a good idea muffed by the need to be cheap with the most important part of the structure. So far my base has held up, but I worry about that cracking and letting water seep out everywhere. ... MoreI love the concept of D-Man and he has helped me with my practices. The part where D-Man goes wrong is in the construction of the materials. The netting of the D-man itself is pretty good, but the 3 plastic poles that you hang D-Man on are VERY cheap. One good hit and those posts will get bent or cracked. The push in clips that hold the posts together do not line up very well with the holes and I had one push in clip that wanted to stay pushed in therefore leaving the post unsecured. This could be a great product with some better post engineering. It is really a shame to have such a good idea muffed by the need to be cheap with the most important part of the structure. So far my base has held up, but I worry about that cracking and letting water seep out everywhere. Sand would probably be a better idea to put in the base over water, but I used water because it was the easiest thing to do. Come on SKLZ don't run for the profits so much that you take away quality. If you get one it is very fun to use in practices, but do not let your kid's run into it, bounce balls off of it, or your D-man will be a Dead Man.

I purchased two of these thinking they would be a great training tool, I was wrong. The first issue I had is that they constantly fall over even with the weighted base(check other reviews). Our only solution was to use heavy weights on top of the filled base and that did help but was still a hassle so we didn't use them as often as planned. The very first time we tried using these outdoors, the poles warped from being in 85-90 degree heat for 6-8 hours. You can see in the picture they are no longer useable. We are going to buy durable PVC pipe and fix it as someone else has mentioned in the reviews. Save yourself the frustration and $60 dollars and make a homemade one or use cones/chairs instead!