Patent ID: 6994502

Claim:
A pole joint screw for connecting a first section of a basketball support pole to a second section of a basketball support pole, the pole joint screw comprising: an elongated body including a first end and a second end; a head disposed on the first end of the elongated body; a threaded portion disposed on the second end of the elongated body, the threaded portion including one or more threads; and a gap disposed between the head and the threaded portion, the gap being sized and configured to receive a portion of the first section of the basketball support pole and a portion of the second section of the basketball support pole; a first position in which the one or more threads engage the support pole and the pole joint screw can be attached or removed from the support pole; a second position in which a portion of the first section of the support pole and a portion of the second section of the support pole are disposed within the gap of the pole joint screw; wherein in the second position the one or more threads do not engage the support pole and the pole joint screw generally cannot be attached or removed from the support pole because the pole joint screw generally freely rotates in the second position.