On Saturday night, the Arkansas Razorbacks escaped Auburn Arena with a 79-68 victory over the Tigers. The Auburn faithful remained relatively quiet for the duration of the contest. It was the entertainment that came between the on-court action that prompted the primary jubilation and eruption that the 8,098 gathered will never forget.
For the halftime entertainment, Ben Bode, a junior in accounting, trotted onto the floor for the Golden Flake Tuition Shootout. The challenge requires that the selected student make a layup, free-throw, three-pointer and half-court shot in 24 seconds. Most students nominated struggle with the layup and free-throw, let alone earn a trip to the three-point arch.
However, Bode succeeded in the first two shots and found himself in three-point land to attempt a straight-on jumper. Bode drilled it, setting up the all-important half-court heave. At this point, the crowd began to rise to their feet, recognizing that Bode had put himself in a position to achieve the seemingly impossible.
“When I hit the free-throw, I felt pretty good,” Bode said. “I thought I had a pretty good chance at the three. So then I knocked that down. All I wanted to do was have a chance at the half-court shot. I just thought it would be fun to try it.”
Bode made the three with 10 seconds left on the shot-clock, electing to use this extra time to successfully execute a patient and poised half-court attempt. Bode hoisted the ball using two hands, granny-style, sinking the shot without even touching the rim.
The crowd, primarily the student-section, exploded, as Bode skipped across the floor, lifting his arms victoriously. The spoils: $5,000 toward his tuition.
“[Letting go] of the shot felt really good,” Bode said. “I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve shot enough to know when it’s at least going to be a good one. And that one felt really good.”
Bode played high school basketball in Montgomery, Alabama at Eastwood Christian School. The junior credits his shooting abilities to his former coach.
“I’ve been shooting the granny shot for a while,” Bode said. “I got that from my high school coach, that’s how he shot it. He taught me how to do it as a joke, but I’ve been doing it that way ever since. I knew I had a good chance if I got to half-court.”
In years prior, the athletic department had required that any student selected for the tuition shootout sign a waiver, which confirmed that student’s lack of involvement in high school basketball. The University dismissed that requirement this year.
Mark McCutcheon, CEO of Golden Flake Enterprises, was in the arena on Saturday night to witness Bode’s success. McCutcheon made his way down to the student section after halftime to extend his congratulations to the junior.
Bode’s shot resounded across the sports world, included an appearance on ESPN’s Saturday night edition of SportsCenter.
“I don’t even have a Twitter or an Instagram, so I never posted my video,” Bode said. “I saw it a few times on ESPN and it was so cool. One my friends posted it to Twitter, then [ESPN] tweeted him back asking his permission to use his video.”
Looking back on Auburn’s home loss to the Razorbacks, Bode’s feat will stand as the most exciting part of the night in a game that featured a team well on its way to the NCAA tournament.
“I’ll probably never experience that many people all cheering for me at once ever again,” Bode said. “The student section just went absolutely berserk afterwards.”
The selection process for Bode wasn’t random, as some fans might have expected.
“I’ve always wanted to do it, I just haven’t been able to make it to that many games,” Bode said. “One of my friends works in the athletic department, so I had asked him if I could do it and he helped get me set up.
“If someone expresses interest, a lot of times [the athletic department] will just let them do it. But if no one says anything, that’s when they just pick someone from the crowd.”
Because of his knowledge about the event’s technicalities ahead of time, Bode was able to properly prepare himself for his big moment.
“I practiced about two hours the morning of,” Bode said. “I did the circuit a bunch of times. I made it once or twice, so I knew it was possible. But that was out of about 50 tries.”
The junior hasn’t been complacent about keeping his skills sharp on the court since high school. Bode has played intramural basketball at the University’s Recreation and Wellness Center every semester since his freshman year.
Bode expressed his extreme gratefulness for how much the reward will aid in his education. Bode has plans to study in Ireland this summer with the Internship Abroad program in conjunction with the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. The trip is scheduled to last two months.
Now a seasoned veteran in the art of half-court heaves, Bode offered his advice to students attempting the Tuition Shootout at future home basketball games.
“Just make it fun,” Bode said. “Everyone was telling me not to do the granny shot. They said ‘that’s going to take too much time’ and ‘think of how stupid you’ll look when you air ball it.’ So I said ‘yes, but think of how cool it will look if I make it.’”
Bode currently serves as the Student Media Treasurer, along with his membership in Farmhouse Fraternity, involvement in Beta Alpha Psi International Honorary and Service Organization and contribution as a student-athlete class checker. He will be honored at the Tigers final game of the 2017 regular season this Saturday against Missouri, where he will also be presented with his official check for $5,000.
Jack Winchester, sports editor, contributed to this article.
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