If Stephen Bass looked confident standing under the basket before his attempt at $5,000, it's because he was.
Bass, an Auburn sophomore from Murfreesboro, Tenn., was selected by random drawing before Auburn's game Wednesday, Feb. 13, to participate in the Golden Flake Tuition Shootout.
He had the entire first half to think about this opportunity. All he had to do to win $5,000 was make a layup, free throw, 3-pointer and half-court shot in 24 seconds.
"I wasn't nervous," Bass said. "I watched the game, but for the most part, I was thinking about (the contest). I told people I wasn't nervous because I knew I could get to the half-court shot. And not to sound cocky about it, but I just knew I'd make the layup. I thought I'd hit the free throw the first time."
And he did.
Bass made the layup and free throw on the first attempts. The 3-pointer gave him more trouble than anticipated.
"I thought I could make the 3 in two shots," Bass said. "That didn't work out, but luckily I hit the third."
The announcer began counting down from 10 as Bass missed his second 3-point attempt. He swished his third try as the announcer made it to four.
Bass didn't have enough time to turn around and launch a half-court shot, so he improvised and heaved it toward the other basket.
And he buried it.
"I'm not gonna say the last shot was much skill, but I knew I could get there and get it close," Bass said. "And then it worked out. I looked up and saw the camera man and the guy under the goal and thought, 'I'm probably not supposed to do this, but here goes nothing.' I let it fly. It was great."
There was some confusion about whether he had won the $5,000. Was his foot on the line? Did he get it off in time? Is it against the rules to shoot on the opposite goal?
"I kind of realized when Jay Jacobs tweeted about me that I didn't think they could take it back after it had become so big," Bass said. "I kind of realized that would look even worse if they took it back."
In addition to receiving a tweet from Jacobs, Bass also did interviews with the Rick & Bubba Show, a local radio show called The Drive, a news station in Nashville, the War Eagle Reader and Eagle Eye TV.
His video was played on ESPN shows Around the Horn and SportsNation. Articles were written about him on USA Today, Mashable and Bleacher Report. The YouTube video of his performance has exceeded 70,000 views.
He's also getting plenty of attention on campus.
"Every day since then, several people have come up," Bass said. "People gave me hugs the day after. I've gone and ate at Momma Goldberg's a few times, and all three times since then people have been like, 'Are you that guy?' And they're random people."
After hitting four shots, including a half-court prayer, in 24 seconds, a case could be made Bass deserved more than $5,000, but he's appreciative for his prize.
"Someone else said that was the worst difficulty-to-prize ratio they've ever seen," Bass said. "But I'm very thankful to Golden Flake for the $5,000 and I'm happy with the prize. For me, I'm just thankful for what I have."
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