Nicholas DeMarinis has a day job, twin sons and, as of this summer, two Guinness World Records for a game most people last played at a boardwalk arcade. The South Tampa father — known online as "NickyBucketz" — pushed his own farthest miniature basketball shot record out to 103 feet this summer, topping the 102-foot, 11.76-inch mark he set in March, and separately raised his own record for most consecutive makes to 354 shots, up from 232 a year earlier.
The sport is Pop-A-Shot, the head-to-head arcade game of mini hoops and undersized basketballs found in bars and boardwalks nationwide. DeMarinis discovered it the ordinary way — at birthday parties and on the Jersey Shore as a kid — but only turned competitive two years ago, after his sister spotted a Pop-A-Shot tournament on television and told him he had to try it.
Anytime I was at an arcade for a birthday party or a boardwalk at the Jersey Shore, there was an arcade game, I was always like, let's go and play.
Nicholas DeMarinis, to FOX 13 Tampa Bay
Rhythm over raw power
DeMarinis says the record-distance shots come down to touch, not strength. "Just see it go through the hoop and get some pace going," he told FOX 13 Tampa Bay. "And after you're getting some flow, then you speed it up a little bit." He trains at home with his wife and twin boys, treating the record chase less as an obsession than a family hobby he hopes sets an example.
Win or lose, I want my kids just to see, hey, even as dad gets older and he has a serious job, he could still have fun.
Nicholas DeMarinis
DeMarinis heads to Orlando this week for his second straight appearance at the Pop-A-Shot National Championship, a 12-competitor field airing Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. It's a lower-profile stop than the rest of the sports calendar this week, but for a game built on quarters and muscle memory, DeMarinis has quietly become its most decorated active record-holder.
