Watch This Student Win Free Tuition With A Half Court Shot

When I was a little kid, I used to love playing basketball in my driveway. I would start with the ball from some distance away and give myself three or five seconds to make a move and get off a final shot before a fake buzzer would expire. Sometimes I made it and the game against myself ended in contrived glory. Sometimes I missed it and the sense of failure was palpable. Repeating that same game was usually enough to satisfy me, but when it wasn’t, I would back up down my driveway and fantasize about taking a halfcourt shot for some stupid amount of money. I usually missed, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t spent the rest of my life hoping I’d get the opportunity to try the halfcourt shot with real stakes.

Last week, an incoming freshman at Colorado State University was randomly selected to attempt a halfcourt shot during the annual Rambunctious Pep Rally at Moby Arena. Four of the school’s major coaches decided to put up a couple thousand bucks each to pay for one year of tuition for the shooter if he was skilled enough, and let’s face it lucky enough, to sink the heave. As you can tell from the above video, the kid made the most of his opportunity and nailed it, causing a wild eruption inside the arena. If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought the basketball team just punched a ticket to the Final Four based on fan reaction.

If nothing else, this video is a great reminder of the incredible enthusiasm college freshmen often display. For many of these kids in the crowd, last weekend was probably one of the first they’ve ever been away from home. They were all looking for reasons to scream. Their emotions were naturally heightened; so, it should surprise anyone that they went apeshit the second the ball went through the nut.

Because of how often halfcourt shots are attempted, it’s not particularly crazy to see one go in. A Heat fan nailed one awhile back and promptly got tackled by Lebron James. Earlier this year, a dude in Atlanta somehow balanced the ball on top of the rim, leading to mass confusion and eventually some help from an observer who knocked it in.

And then there was this guy. Enjoy...