Randy's Most Memorable Sports Moments: #7
Notice I titled these sports moments as the “most memorable,” not necessarily the most heroic. My #7 is definitely not my most heroic, its actually one of the most embarrassing moments of my life...and also very memorable.
As a junior in high school I decided to go out for the basketball team. I had not played in previous years and lacked team experience, plus I wasn't that great. The coaches decided to start me on JV for the beginning of the season so they could see how I performed in games. I played well on JV averaging almost 10 points per game and leading the team in rebounds. Halfway through the season my coaches decided it was time for me to jump to varsity.
My first game on varsity was at home against a tough conference rival. I didn't expect to get any playing time but towards the end of the 3rd quarter our other big guys were in foul trouble.
At first I just ran around and stayed out of the way but I did touch the ball a couple of times and safely passed it off. Then, after the other team scored they applied a full court press. The press worked well on our guards so I ran to an open spot at half court and my teammate passed the ball to me. I was definitely out of my element trying to dribble up the court knowing full well that a trap was coming.
I happened to be on the sideline right next to the bleachers. As I approached half court I thought I heard a fan yell "2 SECONDS" to me. I very briefly glanced at the scoreboard and thought I saw a 1. Instinctively I shot the ball from just inside 1/2 court. It wasn't a bad shot and went off the backboard. I had expected to hear the buzzer go off when the ball was in the air and when it didn't I looked at the scoreboard...8 seconds left and counting! In retrospect I realized the fan had actually said "10 seconds."
One of my teammates grabbed the rebound after my miss and got fouled so there was a dead ball with 3 seconds left. My coach immediately benched me and didn't put me in for a LONG time. I was thoroughly embarrassed for launching a 1/2 court shot with 10 seconds left in my first varsity game in front of our home crowd.
As a junior in high school I decided to go out for the basketball team. I had not played in previous years and lacked team experience, plus I wasn't that great. The coaches decided to start me on JV for the beginning of the season so they could see how I performed in games. I played well on JV averaging almost 10 points per game and leading the team in rebounds. Halfway through the season my coaches decided it was time for me to jump to varsity.
My first game on varsity was at home against a tough conference rival. I didn't expect to get any playing time but towards the end of the 3rd quarter our other big guys were in foul trouble.
At first I just ran around and stayed out of the way but I did touch the ball a couple of times and safely passed it off. Then, after the other team scored they applied a full court press. The press worked well on our guards so I ran to an open spot at half court and my teammate passed the ball to me. I was definitely out of my element trying to dribble up the court knowing full well that a trap was coming.
I happened to be on the sideline right next to the bleachers. As I approached half court I thought I heard a fan yell "2 SECONDS" to me. I very briefly glanced at the scoreboard and thought I saw a 1. Instinctively I shot the ball from just inside 1/2 court. It wasn't a bad shot and went off the backboard. I had expected to hear the buzzer go off when the ball was in the air and when it didn't I looked at the scoreboard...8 seconds left and counting! In retrospect I realized the fan had actually said "10 seconds."
One of my teammates grabbed the rebound after my miss and got fouled so there was a dead ball with 3 seconds left. My coach immediately benched me and didn't put me in for a LONG time. I was thoroughly embarrassed for launching a 1/2 court shot with 10 seconds left in my first varsity game in front of our home crowd.
posted by Randy and Erin at Thursday, September 07, 2006
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