Island has grown.

For the first time in seven years, dunking, perhaps the most talked-about part of what many are now calling the world's most popular sport, is now legal in the Bermuda Basketball Assocation.

And as the BBA's Summer League began last week, it didn't take long for players to take advantage: Dwight Richards was credited with the Summer League season's first slam during the first weekend.

That a player in the league was even capable of it might catch some people by surprise. But a peak at a game in the nine-team Premier Division will change notions in a hurry.

"Basketball's come a long way (in Bermuda),'' said Tim Trott, a vice-president of the BBA.

Nowhere is that more noticeable than at Saltus Grammar School, whose backboards are suddenly open season for scores of former US college players and top Bermuda athletes.

Dunking was last legal in 1990, when the league, comprised largely of US Navy personnel, played their games at the US Naval Air Station. Now its been reintroduced on a trial basis, with the league putting aside safety fears and guaranteeing school officials that it would pay for any damage incurred to their breakaway rims.

The move was made not only for spectators but also to enhance the level of play.

"It makes the game fun for players,'' said Trott. "It allows them to go to the basket harder and stronger, especially against taller players.'' And going to the basket is something players are doing more and more, particularly in the Premier Division (there are three other divisions: Adult Recreation, Women's and Youth).

Screens, three-pointers (from the NCAA-distance 19 feet, nine inches) and an up-tempo brand of basketball mean scores typically run into the 60s -- in only 32 minutes (four eight-minute quarters).

In total, there are now 33 teams -- up from just 12 five years ago -- and nearly 380 players, about 75 percent of them Bermudians, said Trott, a head coach at Mount Saint Agnes.

"We in Bermuda tend to think of soccer and cricket as the number one or number two sports but basketball's right up there,'' he said. "Pretty soon I think it's going to take over, especially from a spectator point of view.'' This is merely following a worldwide trend. Soccer is generally considered the world's most popular game but basketball is a close second and one recent survey even put it ahead in terms of participants.

Trott is quick to credit the influence of US television for its growth here.

Pro jerseys, driveway hoops and playground games at Shelly Bay Park are now commonplace, translating into several young players gaining opportunities abroad.

The BBA is sending two local high schoolers -- Kevin Mooney and Lloyd Peterkin -- to a basketball camp at Humber College in Toronto next month. And Sullivan Phillips and Winston Johnston, who are playing in the BBA this summer after attending high school year in the US, are seen as having legitimate chances at NCAA scholarships.

"In just my three years here I've seen the play improve dramatically,'' said John Leone, a former college star at Virginia's William and Mary University who now plays for the Twisters.

Leone figures a combination of climate, Bermudians' love of sports and basketball's simple, inexpensive pleasure, makes the sport a can't miss prospect.

"I think it's got a really big future on the Island,'' he said.

The big drawback, Trott said, was the lack of fundamentals being taught young Island players. But the BBA is making a move in that direction by sending Bermuda coaches to Toronto for a clinic in August. As well, Whitney's Freddie Evans holds his annual summer camp next month.