NCAA basketball player intentionally misses free throw to not break a record
He could have had the school record for most consecutive made free throws all too himself. Instead, he just wanted to make sure his name appeared alongside another Hawkeye legend.
When Iowa Hawkeyes sophomore Jordan Bohannon stepped to the free-throw line late in Sunday’s game against Northwestern, he stood on the doorstep of school history.
Bohannon had made his last 34 free-throw attempts, which tied the all-time Iowa record held by Chris Street. He had not missed a free throw since a Dec. 22 game against Colorado.
Not only was a school record on the line, but the Hawkeyes were trying to salt away a win. Bohannon’s free throw would have given Iowa a nine-point lead with 2:15 remaining in the game.
But Bohannon had already decided what he would do if he was faced with the chance to make history, and he followed through with his plan.
He intentionally missed the free throw, keeping Street’s name in the record book as co-holder of the school record.
“It’s been in my mind for a while,” Bohannon said after the game, per the Des Moines Register. “I knew I wanted to leave it short a little bit. I didn’t want to make it too obvious.
“That’s not my record to have,” he added.
Coolest miss you'll ever see. @JordanBo_3 needed one more free throw to break the late Chris Street's @IowaHoops record of 34 consecutive made free throws.
After the game, he admitted he missed intentionally to keep the record in Street's name. pic.twitter.com/qHYZZDcOsJ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 26, 2018
Wasn’t Bohannon worried that missing the free throw might jeopardize his team’s chances of victory?
“We had an agreement that God’s plan wasn’t going to let that happen. You saw that tonight,” Bohannon said. “I missed it. We got the ball right back. I don’t know if it was really destined to happen, but it worked out like it should have.”
The Hawkeyes held on for the win, 77-70. Bohannon finished with 25 points.
"That's not my record to have. That record deserves to stay in his name."
– @IowaHoops' @JordanBo_3 discussed his FT miss to remain tied with Chris Street's record of 34 consecutive made. pic.twitter.com/bzfOfZJD7n
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) February 26, 2018
Street never got a chance to try to extend his record beyond 34 made free throws. He was killed in a car accident Jan. 19, 1993 — three days after his final game in which he made both free throws he tried.
Bohannon’s gesture was appreciated by Street’s parents, Mike and Patty, who are season-ticket holders and were on hand for the game. They hugged Bohannon after the game.
All the feels. #CMS40 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/tgv7CeaJBZ
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 26, 2018
“What a good kid. He’s so kind,” said Patty Street, who was brought to tears by Bohannon’s gesture. “That was so special that he thought of Christopher and that record.”
“Christopher would want him to do to the best he could do and stay after it. But that was Jordan’s decision, and if that’s what he wanted to do, then we appreciate it,” Mike said.
For Bohannon, he simply wanted to make sure Street’s memory lived on in the record books.
“I know where the record deserves to stand, and that’s in Chris’ name,” Bohannon said. “It gets me a little emotional, knowing what one player can do for an entire state and entire Midwest and entire country, just to know what type of player he was.”
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