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fuse
04-15-2015, 09:34 PM
As a senior in high school messing around I the gym, I made an uncontested three quarter court shot.

Ages ago, and there were witnesses. :-)

What's the best shot you've made on the court?

FerryFor50
04-15-2015, 09:52 PM
As a senior in high school messing around I the gym, I made an uncontested three quarter court shot.

Ages ago, and there were witnesses. :-)

What's the best shot you've made on the court?

I've hit a full court baseball pass shot a few times throughout my life. Generally no one sees it though. :(

Occasionally will hit the "bounce the ball from 3 point line" shot.

In pick up games, I've hit some fairly wild jumpers... off balance, fading away, etc. But I generally miss my layups. :-P

pfrduke
04-15-2015, 09:56 PM
Game winning buzzer beating 3 in a rec league. Our team stunk, and we were playing a team that mostly stunk, but still - game winners are game winners.

awhom111
04-15-2015, 10:02 PM
Game winning buzzer beating 3 in a rec league. Our team stunk, and we were playing a team that mostly stunk, but still - game winners are game winners.

I hit the game winning three in my last pickup game. I am now officially retired.

Reilly
04-15-2015, 10:17 PM
As a high school senior, I hit a FT for the 100th point of the game. It was the last game before Christmas (a Friday night) against our closest (geographic) rival (though not our most-hotly-contested rival) and the stands were packed and rocking and festive. On my first FT attempt, I came up a little short, so put extra oomph on the second FT and actually banked it in for the 100th point of the game. We were a mid-sized school in the state but a juggernaut: scoring over 100 points per game 3x that year in an era *without* the 3-point shot. We had a guy who ended up being a D1 starting PG who scored 20 in an NIT game, and another kid with a P5 hoops scholly he turned down to be a 1st round MLB pick and ultimate MLB pitcher -- but neither of them banked in the 100th point of the pre-Christmas game against the neighbor (though they might've had something to do with the first 99).

BD80
04-15-2015, 10:28 PM
I almost dunked once. With a volleyball.

I think all witnesses are now dead or senile. Or returned to their home planet.

Kedsy
04-15-2015, 10:58 PM
I hit the game winning three in my last pickup game. I am now officially retired.

I also recently hit a game-winning three in a pickup game. That was fun. But the best shot I ever made was a complete mistake. I was throwing a three-quarter court pass but threw it too high and it went in the basket.

pamtar
04-15-2015, 11:08 PM
I got a dunk put-back last year at my local gym. I've never dunked off the bounce or allyoop before. I guess the stars aligned. Not saying any names but the guy who missed the shot is a top 15 prospect in the class of 2016. Jesus, now that I think about it this may be the greatest accomplishment in my entire life.

DukeDevil
04-16-2015, 12:42 AM
There I was, with 2.1 seconds left in an overtime game. Time for one play. My teammate threw a pass the length of the court to me. Back to the basket, I dribbled once, faked to my right and then turned to my left and elevated to hit the game winning shot as the buzzer sounded.

What? YOU don't know I'm not an incognito Christian Laettner...

BD80
04-16-2015, 12:47 AM
There I was, with 2.1 seconds left in an overtime game. Time for one play. My teammate threw a pass the length of the court to me. Back to the basket, I dribbled once, faked to my right and then turned to my left and elevated to hit the game winning shot as the buzzer sounded.

What? YOU don't know I'm not an incognito Christian Laettner...

Pffff. Everybody knows Christian doesn't like Cognito. He did spend sometime in Communicado, however.

1999ballboy
04-16-2015, 01:16 AM
A much more popular guy in my ninth grade class in high school bet me five dollars that I couldn't make a halfcourt shot. He gave me one attempt. In ninth grade, five dollars was substantial enough to make that a really terrible bet for me to take. But I did, and then I sank the shot. He paid up. I just wish that more people had seen it.

Richard Berg
04-16-2015, 01:20 AM
There's a snapshot of me dunking on the band-side rim in Cameron with 3 natty banners in the background.

burnspbesq
04-16-2015, 02:03 AM
I was always offensively challenged, but i had hops--touch-the-rim-with-your-elbow hops as a 6'0" eight-grader. In the rec-league championship game of my eighth-grade year, playing againt a ninth-grade team with two 6'6" guys who eventually played D1, i got called for goaltending giving weakside help on the first possession of the game. Got in their heads big-time.

wavedukefan70s
04-16-2015, 05:45 AM
A turn around jumper from deep left corner in a game ftw.

grossbus
04-16-2015, 05:53 AM
Ah, how vain our memories.

Pickup game in riverside park NYC. Tha two older, larger African-American dudes who had the game announced to the other three of us that they did not want to shoot. After a millisecond's delay, I said, "I'll shoot,"

I then proceeded to light it up.

The highlight was a drive towards the right baseline (am right-handed) about 17 feet out. Went up for the shot at the baseline covered by two defenders, one of whom got a hand on the ball. As I was fading OB I pulled the ball back, then shot it past the edge of the backboard, bottom of net.

bjornolf
04-16-2015, 06:16 AM
I've had a few...

Dozen or so half courters, a couple of them in high school games, the rest just fooling around.

Two 3/4 courters, one in a rec league game.

One from right under the opposite basket as time expired in a rec league game, so that's, what, like a 90 footer?

My two favorite were in pickup games, though. One was actually a pass. I got a rebound to the right of the opposite basket. I was facing the wall right in front of me. Two guys tried to trap me and were hacking at the ball from either side of me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that one of my teammates had leaked out to half court. So, I lowered the ball in both hands and chucked it over my head, landing the ball almost exactly one stride directly in front of him at the foul line of our basket. He collected it and put it in before a single defender had crossed half court. Several of my opponents congratulated me on it, saying they thought I'd panicked and was throwing it away.

The second was in a pickup game to 10 by ones where 3 pointers were worth 2. My team was clearly outmatched in the game and we had little chance to win... except I nailed 5 "two-pointers" in a row. Game over. Sweetest win of my pickup career. Not a single shot, but I've never been more "in the zone" than that. For one moment, I knew how guys like JJ Redick feel. Yea, it was back when he was playing for Duke.

MarkD83
04-16-2015, 07:03 AM
In tryouts for my HS team I was playing defense. There was a bounce pass to the post and I swatted up on the ball to knock it away. It went up in the air and bounced off the backboard and in. Needless to say I did not make the team.

bjornolf
04-16-2015, 07:24 AM
In tryouts for my HS team I was playing defense. There was a bounce pass to the post and I swatted up on the ball to knock it away. It went up in the air and bounced off the backboard and in. Needless to say I did not make the team.

Nice.

camion
04-16-2015, 07:58 AM
In high school I pulled a Grayson or maybe a Tyus.

I was a pass first point guard, but no one on the team was hitting and after the first quarter we were behind 15-3 so I started shooting. Early in the second quarter I hit three straight shots to get us going. We won the game.

Later that year the US landed men on the moon and planted a flag. I like to think that was part of the post-game celebration.

Rudy
04-16-2015, 08:20 AM
#1
As a junior on my h.s. team in a practice scrimmage I was guarding the best athlete in the senior class (who went on to play football defensive back at Duke). I stole the ball off his dribble and took off for the basket at the other end, with him on my left hip all the way. On the run, I did a 180 pivot at the basket to lay it in, back to the basket as he flew by.

#2
In a rec league during law school, I took a pass on the right wing on a fast break with a 6'6" defender between me (5'11") and the hoop. I feinted toward the basket to freeze him and stepped back to swish an 18 footer at the buzzer for the end of the first half. The real highlight of the season, though, was the game my friend and teammate scored 50 points -- in a game with 8 minute quarters and no 3 point line. He had been on the freshman team (yes, that old now) at Penn.

left_hook_lacey
04-16-2015, 08:32 AM
I was playing in 12-13 year old league rec ball game. In a tight game, with the clock ticking 5.....4......3....2....to close the first half, I dribbled up to half court and let if fly towards the south goal. Nothing but net. The gym and my team went crazy.

Second half of the same game, we were down, same result...5.....4......3.......2.... I let it fly from the other side of the court towards the north goal, splash! We win. Place goes Ape-stuff. (Side story, the only guy that ran at me on both shots was my cousin who played on the other team. I remind him of it when I see him every other Christmas.)

The funniest thing about it was the next time we played that team, I remember taking the court and as I walked by the other teams huddle, I heard their coach say, "And for God's sake, whatever you do, don't let #12 get a shot off from half court." His whole team laughed.

ArnieMc
04-16-2015, 11:19 AM
We were playing 8-12 Church League at the Durham Y in 1952. We were all 8; they were all 12. They slaughtered us, but, towards the end of the game, I got an offensive rebound that bounced in the lane. I grabbed it and threw it back over my head. It banked in. We lost 40-2, but I scored all of our points!

Tom B.
04-16-2015, 11:35 AM
Best shot I ever hit while just goofing around was in a game of H-O-R-S-E on a friend's backyard court. I hit a three-pointer from the deep corner with my back to the basket -- just flipped the ball backwards over my head with both hands. A perfect swish.

In a game:

(1) It wasn't the best shot I ever hit, but one of the most memorable was the first point I scored as a varsity high school player. I was well down the bench my first year on the varsity squad. A few games into the season, Coach put me in late for some mop-up work, and I promptly got fouled while attempting a shot. So I go to the free throw line with the opportunity to score my first points as a varsity player. Catch the ball from the ref...spin it in my hands...dribble, dribble...pause...shoot.

Air ball.

I guess nerves got the best of me. Man, I could hear the entire crowd cringe. I didn't even look over to the bench or the crowd -- just stepped back, took a breath, then stepped up to the line again. Catch...spin...dribble, dribble...pause...shoot.

Swish.


(2) Flash forward to my senior year -- now I'm a starter. I'm a shade over 6'4", which was good enough to be the tallest guy in my school, so I play center. Every team we played always seemed to have a bunch of guys in the 5'10" to 6'2" range, and one guy who was 6'7" or 6'8". That was always the guy with whom I'd get matched up, so I almost always played at a height disadvantage. I wasn't much of a scoring center -- probably about 6-7 ppg. I was there mainly for rebounding, shot-blocking, and interior defense.

In our second game of the season, we're playing another area school whose center is a kid that previously had gone to my school. He'd been a year ahead of me, so he should've graduated by now, but he repeated a year when he switched schools. So now he's a big (6'6"), strong, physically well-devevloped 19-year-old. And he's the guy I'm going to be matched up against.

The game is back and forth the whole way, with neither team ever leading by more than three or four points. We've got the ball in the final minute, ahead by one, and I'm having a good game. I've had a fairly prolific (for me) scoring day, with 12 points, and I've been huge on the boards (I'd finish with 16 for the game). And I've held my man-child counterpart to just seven points. The one thing I haven't done well is shoot free throws -- so far in this game, I'm 0-for-3.

So naturally, I get fouled, and I've got a one-and-one with less than 20 seconds left. The opposing coach calls timeout -- he knows I'm already 0-for-3, and figures he wants to let me think about the upcoming free throws some more. (I actually liked it when opposing coaches would try to ice me. It gave me a chance to catch my breath and let the adrenaline taper off a bit. I always felt better shooting free throws after a short break.)

We break the huddle, and I step to the free throw line. Swish, swish. The other team has a final possession, but they can't score and we win by three.

There was nothing spectacular or highlight reel-worthy about those shots. It wasn't a half-court buzzer beater to win the game, or some bizarre circus trick shot that miraculously went in. They were just free throws. But they were real game pressure free throws, and they stand out in my memory because that was the moment that I really felt like I'd arrived as a basketball player.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
04-16-2015, 11:55 AM
Most ridiculous shot - I was playing rec league ball (ages 11-12) and found myself on my back on the ground with the ball and no one to pass to. Flung it up and it went in.

Most important shot - I hit the championship winner for my rec league team (ages 18-55)

Best moment - church league, I swatted someone's lay up off the backboard. He got up and was promptly ejected for some very un-church league words he used.

CDu
04-16-2015, 12:08 PM
Best shot goofing around in someone's driveway: a ~50 foot shot from the edge of the road (essentially a baseline 3 ... if you were standing about 25 feet out of bounds)

Best shot goofing around in warmups: a free throw... facing the other basket

Best shot in an actual game: fadeaway baseline 3 to take the lead with ~5 seconds left

Never quite could dunk a basketball, but could dunk a volleyball.

Ah, the glory days. Back when I had both ACLs intact and weighed about 40-50lbs less than I do now.

Billy Dat
04-16-2015, 12:20 PM
These are classic.

I was playing in a men's league game when I was in my mid 20s.

There was 1 second before halftime and the other team had the ball under their basket after a timeout. We were playing on a middle school court so it was not regulation size, but it was maybe 3/4 size.

They tried a Hill to Laettner style pass. I was about halfway between midcourt and the basket we were defending and the pass was on a direct line to me but headed over my head. I back-peddaled quickly and, in one motion, caught it and flung it back at the basket on which we were shooting, a solid 50 feet - SPLASH! We get the 3 pointer.

The team we were playing were the acknowledged muscle-headed, brute-force, pick-fights, a-holes of the league (a requirement for every men's league) but even they had to give it up and gave me a round of high fives. We wound up beating them, and the mood as the game wound down was not nearly as friendly and several fights were almost started as their cheap shots got worse and worse. They had the last laugh as they knocked us out of the playoffs.

brianl
04-16-2015, 12:35 PM
Put back at the buzzer to score my 4th point in a rival game my Junior year of high school (86). We lost by about 20, but for a guy who only played the last few seconds when we were up or down by 20 it was a huge deal for me.

That was the same year I led the team in FG%. 100% (I was 3 for 3). If K could have seen my potential and gave me a scholarship, I could have red shirted my Freshman year and have two National Championship rings today.

rsvman
04-16-2015, 02:05 PM
All in rec league games....


1) In a tight game, at halftime I was just nailing threes from the right wing. When the game was on the line, with seconds to go and us down 2, I caught a pass at almost the exact same spot from which I had been draining them at halftime. The shot was in the air when the buzzer went off; outcome was never in doubt.

2) About 3 seconds left in regulation, I get fouled going up for what would've been the game-winning shot (we're down 1). I'm 16 or 17 years old at the time. I turned to the guy and said, "you fouled the wrong guy," and proceeded to drain both free throws, giving us the win.

3) We're down two with about 5 or 6 seconds left and the other team has the ball. I anticipate the pass to the wing and intercept the pass, driving all the way down and going up for the lay-in. There's a collision with a defender and we both end up in a heap well past the baseline. I hear the ref blow his whistle. Unfortunately, he calls a charge, but the ball was out of my hands before the collision. I didn't even know if the shot had gone in or not; couldn't see it because of the crash. Ball had gone in, which tied the game and sent it into overtime. Bad news was that I fouled out on the charge. But my team won the game in the OT.

4) Honorable mention: I'm 18 and I'm a trailer on a fast break. The guard misses the lay-up and I'm flying through the air, so I make the put-back jam! Bad news is that the ref called offensive goaltending (now called "basket interference") so the bucket didn't count. But it was my one and only slam dunk in an actual game, and it was a lot of fun.


Great thread idea, btw. Enjoying reading the stories.

Hingeknocker
04-16-2015, 03:17 PM
Great thread! My two best shots are all in pick-up games:

1) Freshman year at Duke, last day before heading home for the summer. Playing the final pick-up game in Brodie after spending about half of my Freshman year in that gym playing basketball. Game was tied and our opponent had the ball. We put on a little full court press, I make the steal in the backcourt and dribble right to the 3-point line for the game winning shot. Game over, year over, and I walked out of that gym a champion. Sure felt like it anyway.

2) Probably Junior year, playing over in Wilson by now. A guy on our team was a grad (or medical?) student, and had played collegiately at UMBC, and was tall. He could dunk, and I could not, so this is why even though this isn't "my shot," it's still one of my best stories. It's game point and I get the ball on a fast break, no one from the other team is back. I notice that the big man is trailing on the break, so I throw the alley-oop to him. He catches it flying down the lane and makes the dunk for the winning basket. Since I had never, and will never, dunk, this was the closest I will ever get, and it was exhilarating.

And in full-disclosure, my worst shot ever was an air-balled free throw in Cameron. Our IM team had made it all the way to the championship game of the big IM tournament, where the Final Four games are in Cameron. All of the student section seats were pushed back, so the already-cavernous gym had a depth perception that felt to me like we were playing at Lucas Oil. The only points I scored in the game were on an and-one layup, and before the free throw, a teammate reminded me, "Bend your knees!" I shorted that free throw so badly.

DevilFalcon
04-16-2015, 03:38 PM
My most memorable was trying to deflect a pass. Couldn't get my hand on the ball but knocked it up in the air...... and into the net. Coolest 2 points I ever made. Everyone just stopped and stood there like....what just happened?

gus
04-16-2015, 03:38 PM
I also recently hit a game-winning three in a pickup game. That was fun. But the best shot I ever made was a complete mistake. I was throwing a three-quarter court pass but threw it too high and it went in the basket.

I won a pick up game like that once. After getting a steal at half court I took a few dribbles and sent a wildly inaccurate attempt at an alleyoop to my teammate. Swish.

superdave
04-16-2015, 03:47 PM
Sophomore year in high school, JV team, circa 1994....I hit last second shots to end each of the first three quarters of the game. I got a rebound and pushed up a 6-footer in the paint at the end of the 1st, caught an airball and flipped it up from the baseline at the end of the 2nd and hit an elbow jumper at the end of the 3rd.

TruBlu
04-16-2015, 03:56 PM
I was playing in 12-13 year old league rec ball game. In a tight game, with the clock ticking 5.....4......3....2....to close the first half, I dribbled up to half court and let if fly towards the south goal. Nothing but net. The gym and my team went crazy.

Second half of the same game, we were down, same result...5.....4......3.......2.... I let it fly from the other side of the court towards the north goal, splash! We win. Place goes Ape-stuff. (Side story, the only guy that ran at me on both shots was my cousin who played on the other team. I remind him of it when I see him every other Christmas.)

The funniest thing about it was the next time we played that team, I remember taking the court and as I walked by the other teams huddle, I heard their coach say, "And for God's sake, whatever you do, don't let #12 get a shot off from half court." His whole team laughed.

. . . and we are all glad you didn't play for Butler in 2010!

Gooch
04-16-2015, 03:58 PM
But occasionally played in blowouts. One such blowout was against Central Catholic HS of Allentown, PA, and soon after I was subbed in I spotted up from behind the three point line, jumper...swish!

And who was "guarding" me? None other than future Duke (and Vanderbilt) standout, Billy McCaffrey!

When I was camping out my freshman year I saw Billy outside Cameron. I was wearing my high school jacket (yeah, I know) and struck up a conversation. I told Billy about how I shot a three over him and he graciously said that he remembered it.

weezie
04-16-2015, 04:26 PM
Had near court seats during a Pistons game. During warm-ups, I winked and waved at Chauncey Billups and he came over and signed my jersey, what a charmer!

Does that count? I kinda took a shot....

gurufrisbee
04-16-2015, 04:38 PM
I have two contenders. I was always the fat kid who had a negative vertical jump so while I loved the game, I got cut every year I tried out (which was every year). But I always went home and on my hoop over the garage shot until I had to go to sleep. In the winter (this was Spokane, Washington), I would shovel the snow so that there was a slope built up at the garage and every shot would roll back to me out at the three point line and just kept shooting three's. But never made the school teams.

A) I did however play in the big 3 on 3 tournament in Spokane every summer with my friends. About ten years after graduation, I ended up in the same bracket with four guys from my high school, including the varsity starting point guard. Only one of them even remembered me (I was fairly nerdy and not social back then). But I hit five three's in that game and we slaughtered them and every one felt like a lot of high school redemption.

B) The one team I did make in high school was the church league team (everyone made it). We even had a little tournament and we got to the title game my junior year. In that game I came out and hit three three's on my first three shots and got us a lead over a team that no one expected us to beat. The rest of the game I did not play well but my team did and it came down to the wire. On the last possession I pump faked a three, drove in and threw up a tear drop that felt like it went a mile up the air because their center was 6'8" and played on our rival high school's team. But it came down as a swoosh and we won the game by 1 point. And while it was totally unrelated, when I started dating the 6'8" center's former girlfriend a couple weeks later I liked to tell myself it was connected to that shot, too.

4Gen
04-16-2015, 04:44 PM
Ninth grade intramural championship. LeRoy Martin Junior High, Raleigh NC. Game to be played full court with real officials and guests invited. My parents and sister were there.

Being very quick (read skinny), I stole a pass and ran the length of the court and made a layup. Unfortunately, I stole the pass in the front court. Fortunately, a back court violation was called and my basket didn't count.

So I went back to studying, which I was actually good at. And that's the reason I follow DBR to this day.

Class of 1974

cbarry
04-16-2015, 04:50 PM
Exactly the same for me! Parallel universe?!


Game winning buzzer beating 3 in a rec league. Our team stunk, and we were playing a team that mostly stunk, but still - game winners are game winners.

davekay1971
04-16-2015, 05:05 PM
Not one shot but a game where I was in "the zone".

I played basketball, first in youth leagues, then for school, from age 9 through high school. In all that time, I was never a good offensive player. In high school, we had a very good team and I was the last guy off the bench. I was the punishment that coach would send in if one of our stars tried a circus dunk in the game and missed it. I was a 6 foot tall third string center.

5 years after high school we had an informal reunion of a bunch of friends from the class ahead of me through the class behind me, and all the guys who were there who used to play on the high school team played a couple games of 5 on 5. It was a friendly game, but it was very competitive because we all knew each other from way back. Chris, the guy guarding me, a nice guy but a big-time talker in games, slacked off of me loudly describing me as a "self-check" - so bad on offense that I didn't need to be guarded. Erik Meek with less game.

I proceeded to drain a three...then another...then a mid-range jumper. Marcus, another guy on the other team, started shouting at Chris "GET ON HIM! HE'S HITTING!" Didn't matter. I don't remember how many I scored - the game was to 33 by 2s and 3s, and I think I ended up with 22 or 24 points or something. Unfortunately, the next game I wasn't in the zone any more and scored maybe two or three baskets. But I will never, ever forget that feeling because that was probably the one time in a competitive game that the basket was just huge to me, and I knew every shot I put up was going to go in.

EKU1969
04-16-2015, 05:41 PM
My senior year in HS (I played baseball) we had a Varsity Club vs coaches basketball game and in warmups we had a spring board in place and somehow I ended up first in line. So, at 5'6" I was the first to dunk! In 1964, that was a great feeling!

SupaDave
04-16-2015, 05:53 PM
Great thread. Loving all of you guys stories. Cool to see that some of you love the game no matter how you get to touch that ball.

I still light it up daily at Georgia Tech. I've been playing with Bolden since he got kicked off the team actually (he REALLY kinda just allows us to be on the court with him staying in the flow unless things get tight).

I've been a Steve Kerr fan since 1984 so I believe in dagger 3-pointers. I've hit several 30 footers in many games. Mahmoud-Abdul Raof gave me this template. I just loved his game. And once JJ came along, I had a kindred spirit. During a stint in Houston, I was NBA rookie Roderick Rhodes' work-out partner and John Lucas himself helped me with my shot. I just love the long 3. It can take the air out of gym - and you hear the people go "whoa"... Played in the Atlanta-Airport employees tourney and I personally destroyed one of the Maintenance squads who had been the champion like 5 years in a row (maintenance = young guys). The look of disgust on their face when they couldn't rattle me after tons of tough play was awesome. They wanted to fight me. I just kept shooting long threes - and then held my form on the dagger - I felt like Jordan for real. We actually lost to the cops (I cramped up - ouchie ma ma!!!) but it's the best 2nd place trophy I've ever won.

BUT my very best shot - and I have played a load of basketball - was a lay-up. Law School tourney and each team has a ringer. Everyone knows I shoot the three so I'm draped on defense. Can't get much going so I play my own defense and the game is tight. And then serendipity, that moment you long for if you consider yourself any kind of defender, I overplayed the lane, intercepted a pass and then it was off to the races. NOBODY on the other team was trying to let me have this lay-up but I stayed focused knowing they were in hot pursuit. I took my steps - 1 - 2 - and remembered to treat it like a lay-up line and then BOOM, I go crashing to the floor on the hard foul but all I do is look to see if the ball goes in. Perfect angle. My teammates pick me up and all my 40 year old bones could say was "And 1 baby!!!!" Earned it the hard way. A great feeling.

Neals384
04-16-2015, 05:57 PM
One Friday night in college one of the frats had a huge party, and only four of their players could get to the gym for the Saturday morning frat-league game. I wasn't in the frat, but in desperation they brought me along as a ringer. I was never much of a scorer, but that morning I poured in a game and career high 15 and we won 52-15, so I tied the entire other team. No one shot sticks out, unless you count my free throw - a rare make!

BrazyATX
04-16-2015, 05:58 PM
High school, not a major game in the season, but a home game. Ball was going out of bounds in the corner on our end. Dive out of bounds to save it, launch it behind my back intentionally trying to throw it near our goal so as to avoid the other team breaking out..... NAILED IT. Nothing but net.

Ended up being the only points I scored in the game (think of me as the Amile Jefferson/Lance Thomas type).

gotoguy
04-16-2015, 07:46 PM
I played organized thru high school and A LOT of pick up after until my forced(spouse) retirement at age 55, 6 years ago. At Duke I always tried to schedule morning classes and unless I had an afternoon lab I was in the gym. In those days you could play pick up in Cameron. I hated the IM building as the courts could get slippery during warm weather.

My favorite shot however came in a 7th grade game against a smaller county school 7 miles distant in a non conference match. It was just before half and I have no recollection of the score or if we were ahead or behind but it was likely the former. I was bringing the ball up court which in itself was unusual as I usually played down low, back to the basket (think Okafor without the size and footwork, lol but with good hands and nice touch…I digress.) Anyhow there was only one clock and it was at the opponent's end of the court behind me as I dribbled approaching the half court line. The sparse crowd (parents, friends and disinterested siblings) began shouting, "clock! clock!" to get my attention. I looked back over my shoulder quickly and seeing that there were two seconds left in the second quarter turned back to face our basket and let it fly from the center court circle. It was dead on though a little long and it banked right thru, a two pointer in those days. People in the stands were laughing and when I turned around to head back on D I realized I had taken the shot with 12 seconds left, not 02 seconds. Was I embarrassed. But it counted. I couldn't get into the locker room fast enough.

Son of Jarhead
04-17-2015, 02:33 AM
Back story: I never made my school teams (just not big enough, I guess... didn't reach 6', or 160 lbs. even, until I was 18), but I have played a gazillion intramural, rec league, and pick-up games over the years. Well, the years starting when I was big enough to heave the ball up to an 8-ft goal, 6 maybe, and through to almost 30. It was 6 days after my oldest daughter was born. I was suffering from cabin fever (her mother had a rough delivery and this new dad did almost everything for mom and baby) and needing a break, so I went out to the driveway to play a game of 21 with my brother-in-laws. I promptly blew out my ankle. My foot and ankle were still shaded purple on my daughter's first birthday, and 20+ years later, it still feels like a marionette with a string cut. I haven't run a full-court game since. This thread has been a nice excuse to reminisce about the good old days.

I have three memorable shots:

1) Pick-up game on WCU's IM courts. My team consisted of my SPE frat brothers. The other team had this gangly 6'9" guy who supposedly had been a walk-on at an ACC school before transferring to WCU. I don't remember his name, everybody just called him "Stretch". I had been knocked out of bounds and towards the right corner under our basket while the other team had taken a rebound and pushed the ball up court. Stretch was loafing around on the left side of the key, not wanting to expend the energy, while I was hustling to get back on D, when one of my teammates stole the ball. I was just at the right elbow and Stretch was just off the left when I got the pass ahead. Being only 6' tall, I knew I couldn't just lay it up. His long strides got him down onto the block before I could have anyway. I possessed a wicked little hook shot, quick release, always used the boards... my frat brothers called it "that damn little sh_t-shot" because I regularly torched them with it. Well, I proceeded to back him down and shoot my right-handed hook. I put a lot more arc than usual and banked it high off the glass and in. Everybody, even his own friends, laughed at his mighty swat that whiffed helplessly by under the ball at the peak of it's arc, and at the loud cursing he did about it for the rest of the game.

2) Pick-up game in WCU's Reid gym (where Ronnie Carr made the very first intercollegiate 3-point shot on Nov. 29, 1980) and I was running with some of the varsity players. There was this 6'5" jumping-jack, last name of Hill (no relation). He could not shoot to save his life, and was a bit of a jerk, but the dude had some serious hops... I did not. After a turnover, I leaked out and received the pass ahead, and Hill was bearing down on me from behind, talking trash to me. I did a jump-stop, pump faked, he flew right over top of me, and I casually banked it in off the glass. I caught the ball after it went through the net and tossed it to him out of bounds and turned to go back up court without a word. He couldn't see it, but I had the biggest grin on my face at the look on his, and at the ragging he was getting from his teammates. (Side note... I had a memorable block against those varsity Cats, too. Pinned the starting point guard's shot on the glass from behind on the break. He was a cool guy, he patted me on the back afterwards and said "nice block". I really appreciated that gesture.)

3) Tournament game at a fraternity gathering at NC State. SPE chapters from all across NC had gathered at State for the weekend. Seeing as WCU was the farthest away, we hadn't planned on attending at all, but I was going to be home in Durham for the weekend, so I went anyway. There were 4 guys from one of the small private schools, Gardner-Webb I think, and we joined forces to play in the tourney. The only problem was, none of them could play a lick. They were just there for the kegger that followed the tourney. I scored 34 of the 38 points we got, and I assisted on the 2 baskets that made up the other 4. The memorable shot came late in the game. I had been keeping us in the game, and had they played me straight up the whole game, I might of won the game by myself, I was that hot that day. Their best player, who had taken over checking me after I scored on our first 4 possessions of the game, started yelling for his teammates to come double team me as soon as I crossed half court. I managed to split the double team a couple times and score a couple baskets, but I began to get worn out. Bringing the ball up court late in the game, and seeing yet another double team coming, I just pulled up in the center jump circle and drained a three. The dude just threw his hands up and said "I guess we should be triple-teaming you." It was the last points we scored, but we only lost by 14. That 34 was the most I ever scored in a timed game, though I have never considered it my "career high" since there were no officials. I only know what I scored because the guys on my team told me. I guess even frat guys can subtract out the only 2 baskets I didn't score from the final. ;-} I did score 28 twice, hitting 6 3-pointers both times... once in an intramural game at WCU and again in a rec league game here in Durham in my late 20's. Loved those games when I was "in the zone".

I never made a game-winner myself, but I did lose a Durham rec league championship my senior year in high school when a kid on the other team hit a half court heave at the buzzer. My best bud growing up, Dave, had a knack for hitting those kinds of shots. Playing H-O-R-S-E out on my driveway, he made a completely blind shot from behind the house, and on the first try no less. He just ran around there and threw it over the house... swish. He had the distinction of being the last man cut every year in junior high, losing out every time to a really tall guy that was later a walk-on at Duke in the 80's. Dave moved up to North New Jersey for high school and played varsity as a sophomore. Based on the newspaper clippings he had all over his walls, he hit several game winners his junior and senior years, including two from half court in the same month. The headline on the second was something like "He did it again!".

For a different view, I did have two memorable misses, though neither was in a game. The first was when I was, oh, maybe 12 or 13, and I got chosen to shoot a free throw during halftime at Cameron for a free pizza from Pizza Hut. I was so nervous being out there in front of 9,000 fans that I short-armed it and hit the front rim. I did hit dead center on the front rim, but the ball just clanked off right back to me. (Side note: I did get to run full-court in Cameron once. Coach D'Armi's son, Mick, was one of my best friends growing up and Coach D let Mick and I, and a bunch of our friends, in one night sophomore year in HS. Had the whole place to ourselves, very cool experience.) That missed shot for a pizza may have been the inspiration for a lot of practice I put in at the charity stripe afterwards, which leads to... the second memorable miss. It came in college. I won my intramural league's free-throw shooting title every year, but one year I was especially good. I hit 24 of 25 for 96%. It was the 19th attempt that I missed. I am still pissed about that one.

El_Diablo
04-17-2015, 09:52 AM
It was a completely meaningless shot, but I hit a three-pointer in Cameron in front of approximately 9,314 people.

cspan37421
04-17-2015, 04:04 PM
There are some really good stories here. Lots of people with a few very special memories. In my sporting life, while such heroics were largely limited to the dodgeball court (and the unglamorous defensive end of soccer that does not involve goalkeeping), I had a memorable experience on the basketball court which was revealing to me. But first, back to school.

I was in Card once with a guy I knew from a campus group, and we were just shooting around. He was hitting everything in sight, and I inquired about his intramural team. He said that his wasn't even closest to being the best. This surprised me, because he was nailing from all over the court. I said, naively, "But you're so good!" He replied, "I can shoot around here unguarded and sometimes I hit a dozen straight. But play defense on me, put a hand in my face, and I can't hit the ocean from the beach." I pondered that.

Three years later I'm a summer intern at a company and I'm at their fitness center court. It's quiet, on the weekend, and I'm shooting around, but for once, I'm not chasing down rebounds half the time or more. I'm hitting almost everything in sight from all around the perimeter - top of key, baseline, etc. Always on the move, too - no standing still stuff. I was trying to simulate a game in my mind. No, I'm not hitting 12 in a row, but 6 in a row, then a miss, then 5 or so in a row, stuff like that. No one was there to see it, or so I thought. Then a guy (who I knew could really play) appears from a side hallway near the court and says, "Hey man, you can really shoot!"

That compliment led to another, undesired one - we started shooting around together, and my shooting percentage of 90%+ turned into its mathematical complement of <10% after that! Or so it felt. I wanted to crawl into a basket for dirty warmup jerseys, get carted away, and wash away my stage-fright-induced choke job.

Newton_14
04-17-2015, 11:01 PM
Cool stories! So I'll pitch my two favorite moments in...

The memory I am the most fond of was an assist, not a bucket. I played PG for my High School. In a road conference game my Sr year, I play every minute of a double OT game and start cramping in the first OT. I am getting treatment during every timeout and when someone else is shooting foul shots. For the stall ball haters, this part is for you. We were running them out of their gym down the stretch in regulation until our Coach puts us in stall ball with 6 minutes to go. We give up all of a double digit lead and head to OT. With 7 seconds left in 2nd OT with the game tied, we call timeout to set up a play. The ball is inbounded to me and no one goes where they are supposed to so I am forced to drive it from the right wing, when our SF jukes his guy and breaks back door. I hit him with a sweet bounce pass and he lays it in just in time to beat the buzzer. I jump for joy and when I land, both calves cramp so bad I can't move.

Second one. Exhibition game when I was 19. Back and forth game but they keep us at bay with 7 to 9 point lead down the stretch. Starting with 3 minutes to go, I hit five 3's in a row on consecutive trips down the floor, but twas not enough. We lose by 1. I find out after the game that I had 26 points when I began my barrage of 3's to finish with 41. My career high in any game ever. Most fun I ever had on a basketball court. Just hate it was in a losing cause.

DevilSpawn
04-18-2015, 08:50 AM
1. Street ball at Umstead Park court in Chapel Hill, where I grew up. I was in high school, can't remember the year - either late 70's or early 80's. 6'9" UNC player Rich Yonakor shows up for some run and brought his surprisingly attractive girlfriend. So the rosters were me (5'11", 32" vertical soccer player, 8 dudes from the nearby city housing, and blindingly Northern European Yonakor.)

After my team scored, Yonakor was slow coming back for his team's offensive set, where he had been understandably posting up every possession. (Our tallest player was likely around 6'3" or so.) I was playing/d'ing 2 guard and anticipated the opposing point's pass over to the 2 guard once they have the ball in their offensive half court. I ran into the passing lane, nabbed the ball, and started sprinting up the court in open space with only 6'9" Yonakor standing at the top of the paint waiting to swat my weak shot all the way to Hillsborough.

I ran right at Yonakor and just as I got within 10 feet of him I drifted to the right to try to get past him. I got just far enough away to get him to extend horizontally in order to take away some of his vertical advantage. Just as I got 90 degrees to his left, I rainbowed up the best floater of my life. He went full sky (and this was right in front of his girlfriend, who was lounging in back of the basket), my shot arced over his right hand, bounced off highest section of backboard above the rim, and went straight through the net. My speed carried me off the end of the court and I caught a nice glance from his girlfriend. All of the other guys start giving Yonakor good natured but full diss for getting posterized (alas, not by a dunk) in front of his lady. My street cred was nicely boosted.

2. In junior high school, I played on a rec league team with Ranzino Smith, who would later play for UNC. Ranzino played point, 2 guard, wing, PF, and center, all at the same time. My role was to inbound him the ball and then get the h*ll out of the way. He was a man among boys, no doubt. His dad, "Smitty" was also our coach and a really nice guy.

During the season, we were invited to a tournament out at White Cross community west of Carrboro. White Cross was far enough removed from the Chapel Hill/Carrboro community that it didn't have the same political/social views that we were used to. We show up for the tournament and felt some negative energy from the hosts. I think we were the only team with black players. We wanted to kick some butt and get out with out any nastiness.

The game started, and we got the tip, (Ranzino probably jumped center - I can't remember), and I got the ball just inside half court. I took one or two dribbles and then paused, looking at the defensive set we're facing. Two defenders started to trap me, and I immediately tried to find a way to pass out of the double team and get the ball to Ranzino. Everybody in the gym knew where I would be going with the ball, to Ranzino, who would surely open up a can as soon as he got the the rock. Unfortunately, the other team D'd up Ranzino and he couldn't get free.

Somehow, I still had my dribble as the two double teamers closed in. I knew I had another non-Ranzino team mate open, since I'm double teamed, but I couldn't find him. The home team crowds starts salivating and getting loud as they know I'm in trouble. For some reason, instead of trying to loft a prayer of a high pass over them to Ranzino, which would have been forgivable, or simply calling time out, I get the bright idea of hoisting up what must have been a 30 foot jumper.

I gathered myself up to generate as much jump as I could muster, and let fly. By the time the incredulous defenders realized I was actually going to shoot from another zip code, they left me a window between them where the ball could go. Off the backboard and into the net. Nobody expected that, and certainly not me. The home crowd got real quiet and I ran back to play D, trying to not to look surprised myself, and instead pretend that 30 foot jumpers were normal for me.

NM Duke Fan
04-18-2015, 09:06 AM
Decades ago when I was around 11 I would regularly practice a running hook shot from around the free throw line, and got to where it was an extremely high percentage shot. Later in my twenties I was able to move it out to the top of the key, and even now in my mid-fifties I can make a running hook shot, mostly right handed, but occasionally left handed, from past the top of the key. 3 Points! When I play with guys in their twenties they freak out. My best performance in a pick up game was 4 of these made in a row, so collectively they are my best shot. A nice weapon to have at 5'11". None of them have been blocked, so far ...

rocketeli
04-18-2015, 09:16 AM
I played on my high school team. We sucked, but one game with a team we actually rather disliked we were only down one with about 10 seconds to go. I dribbled around to the free throw line area and threw up a shot. It missed and bounced high off the back of the iron. I had followed my shot in and grabbed the rebound and put it back up with about 2 seconds left. It went in and we won the game. So that was my best shot ever made.

Merlindevildog91
04-18-2015, 10:32 AM
Two free throws.

I attended a Christian school and in those days if you were female and breathing, chances were good you would have a spot on the basketball team. Everything in girls sports was done on a shoestring; we wore the same uniforms for volleyball, basketball and softball and coaches were whatever teacher wanted a stipend. As an 8th grader, I was on the varsity team. As a JV player the year before, I was appreciated for my hustle, if not talent; the next year the "coach" was an English teacher who spent her days tearing down what little self-esteem I had, on the court, and later on the softball field.

We had a conference game just before Christmas. The team we were playing was thought to be weak, and the "coach" informed be before the game that I would probably get to play because the competition wouldn't be much. Turned out to be a close game. During the third quarter, the "coach" said to me in front of the team, "I know I told you you'd get to play but this game is too close and I don't want us to lose, so I can't put you in."

God-or karma-intervened; both of our starting guards fouled out and another got hurt, and she had no choice but to put me in. The score was tied with one minute to go. The other side had a throw in at half court, and we were supposed to be back in a 2-1-2 zone. Just as they threw the ball in, I broke toward half-court, stole the inbounds pass, and drove toward the basket. Got fouled. Hit both ends of the 1-and-1, and we won by 2.

Didn't play again for another month.

Thank God, the "coach" got pregnant, and the next "coach" was the music teacher who was terrific at motivation. I would still run through a wall for that man.