January 30, 2010
Well there’s been a good outcome to the girl’s high school basketball coach who made the blindfolded half court shot – Coach Joel Branstrome got the Final Four tickets he was “promised”. Hopefully Kansas will be there for him to cheer on. If you don’t know the story – he tells it in the video below – which also shows his shot.
Coach Branstorme’s a former Jayhawk walk-on turned Biology teacher and girl’s b-ball coach at Olathe Northwest High School (Ravens) in Olathe, Kansas (central, close to MO border). The team promised him tickets if he made the shot, which of course was a joke, which of course he went along with. They blindfolded him, spun him around three times and handed him the ball. He initially thought they were going to throw a pie in his face and when nothing happened he dribbled once and shot the ball. After making it, the students went wild, which he also expected, and it wasn’t until he saw it on replay that he believed it. The team felt bad and got him a $10 gift certficate to Chipotle, which he was delighted to get.
Some of the kids felt absolutely horrible that they didn’t have tickets. But that’s not what it’s all about. We got some smiles, it was a feel-good moment.
The video of course went viral, the NCAA heard about it and gave him tickets (including lodging and transportation) – just like it should be. The school’s media department should be congratulated as well for the great footage they provided.
This is a unique circumstance – Coach Branstrom is an educator, former student-athlete, head women’s basketball coach, and apparently, a pretty good outside shot. When we first got word of Coach’s shot, this was a no-brainer. He’ll be in Indianapolis as a guest of the Association, said Greg Shaheen, the NCAA’s senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. The fact that he took the prank in good stride speaks volumes about his character. We’re excited to have Joel and his family at the Final Four as guests of the NCAA.
Coach Branstrome:
Even though I was part of a great team at the University of Kansas, we didn’t make it to the Final Four when I played. [made it to Sweet 16] I am excited for the opportunity to participate in the greatest weekend of basketball at the 2010 Final Four.
With all the press, you can be assured the tickets won’t be top level, back row. Nice to see a good decent guy and his high school students get rewarded for something they weren’t expecting or set out to get.
