All Jerome Lane heard was the whistle that signaled a free throw. All he felt was the bear hug of teammate Demetreus Gore.

Then, in an instant, he came to realize that the earth-shattering dunk he had just hammered down against the Providence Friars was no ordinary dunk.

"After Demetreus hugged me, I put my hand up and felt glass all over my head," Lane said yesterday, recalling the most famous dunk in Pitt history. "Then all I saw was glass everywhere. After that, all I knew was everyone was hugging me. It was a big celebration."

On Jan. 25, 1988 -- 20 ago today -- Lane etched himself a place in college basketball lore when he shattered the backboard at Fitzgerald Field House in a 90-56 blowout victory against the Friars.

Lane had a three-year career at Pitt. He is the school's 20th all-time leading scorer, its No. 3 rebounder and a former NBA first-round draft pick. But the dunk defines Lane.

"It gets brought up 10, 20 times a year," Lane said. "I don't get a chance to live it down. They don't talk about me as a basketball player, as this great rebounder. They don't know me as someone who played in the NBA, just Pitt. When they see me, it's, 'You're the guy who had The Dunk.'

"Anywhere I go, that's how I'm known. I could be in Honolulu and people say that to me. 'Oh, you're the guy who broke the backboard.' "

Does it bother him that he is remembered more for a single play than a rich career?

"Heck no," he said. "You have to be remembered for something. That's better than a lot of other things."

And what does he think about when he sees the replay of the dunk?

"I think, 'Boy, could I jump back then.' I wish I could jump that high now."

College basketball analyst Bill Raftery was the color commentator on the ESPN primetime broadcast that night. He still marvels at the play.

"It's just something that has gotten bigger and better over the years," Raftery said. "I think it's that way just because of the spectacular nature of the feat."

Raftery spontaneously came up with one of his signature phrases on the game broadcast: "Send it in, Jerome!"

That dunk came during one of the greatest seasons in Pitt basketball history. The Panthers started that year No. 4 in The Associated Press poll and rose to No. 2 in early January. That victory over Providence ignited a 6-1 stretch that helped seal Pitt's first outright Big East regular-season title.

Many believe that Pitt team was the most talented and best-equipped to win a national championship. In addition to Lane, the Panthers had center Charles Smith, the No. 3 overall pick in the '88 NBA draft, Gore, point guard Sean Miller, shooting guard Jason Matthews and reserves Darelle Porter and Bobby Martin.

But the Big East regular-season champions had a disappointing loss to Villanova in a Big East tournament semifinal and a heartbreaking loss to Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The NCAA game is known in Pittsburgh as "the Barry Goheen game."

Goheen made a desperation 3-pointer in the final seconds to force overtime, denying Pitt a spot in the Sweet 16. Goheen was the hero, but Lane blames former Pitt coach Paul Evans for the loss.

"We never should have let them shoot a 3," Lane said, "Why not foul like John Calipari said? John Calipari said that in the huddle, and [Evans] told him to be quiet. Why not let them shoot free throws? We're up by three, and you've got the greatest rebounder in the game under the hoop to get the rebound."

Vanderbilt won in overtime, and that was the end of Lane's college career. He left a year early for the NBA and was chosen with the 24th overall selection by the Denver Nuggets. Lane played for five seasons in the NBA before retiring. Lane said he had no choice but to turn pro after his junior year.

"It was a no-win situation with me and Paul Evans," Lane said. "We just didn't see eye-to-eye. If there was another coach there, I definitely would have stuck around because I would have been a lottery pick the next season. He kept saying that he had Brian Shorter there to take my position. If he wanted me to stay, he would have tried harder to keep me."

Lane, 41, has worked the past six years in the recreation department for the city of Akron. He returns to Pittsburgh regularly to visit his daughter, Jasmine, a student at the University of California, Pa. But he has not been back to the Pitt campus in 17 years, and it has nothing to do with any hard feelings for the school. Lane described himself as "a homebody" who likes to keep a low profile in his hometown.

He expects to return to campus for the Feb. 24 game against Louisville, when the 1987-88 team will be honored. He is looking forward to reliving some memories with old teammates.

And one thing is for sure. Someone will bring up the dunk.