Olivet teen's 'lucky' 80-foot basket caught on video
Rachel Greco
LESLIE - Colin Grady didn't intend to wow the crowd last week when teammate Blake Worden passed him the ball at the end of the first quarter.
But he wanted a 3-pointer.
So as time expired, the Olivet High School sophomore glanced at the hoop at the other end of Leslie High School's gym, and one-handed, chucked it as hard as he could in that direction.
"It curved toward the basket," said Grady, 15. "It was a mad curve."
The basketball sailed about 80 feet and went in just as the buzzer was sounding during the junior varsity basketball game between Olivet and Leslie.
A Leslie schools staff member was videotaping the game — and caught the thrilling shot on camera.
In the seconds following the shot, the crowd erupts and in the corner of the top bleachers Lauri Janousek, Grady's mother, can be seen raising both hands in the air.
Call it a mom's intuition, but she had a feeling the basketball would find the net.
"It was just funny because when he threw it I thought, 'Oh my gosh, that's going in," Janousek said. "Everybody just jumped up. There was kind of just shock. Everyone was like, 'Did I just see that?' Even Leslie fans were cheering."
Olivet JV coach Chad Loveless said the "amazing" shot has been a highlight in his team's season.
"Colin had the awareness to just let it fly and it's lucky he did," he said. "It was such a laser shot. It just went right to it."
Colin said it's a memorable moment.
"I guess it's just one of those lucky things that you don't see every day."
Olivet won the game 65-50 and is 13-1 on the season.
Contact Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.