The Bison men’s basketball team may not have secured a win against Arkansas-Monticello University Feb. 22, but sophomore Colby McBride left the Rhodes Field House with a victory of his own. McBride, a healthcare management major, successfully made a half-court shot during halftime, winning a $1,000 scholarship.
The scholarship, provided by donor Phillip Jones of Arkansas Mountain Real Estate in Clinton, Ark., will be applied to McBride’s account in August. McBride had two chances to make the half-court shot in order to receive the scholarship. If he missed his first shot, he had the option of either taking the second shot himself, or of choosing a former Harding basketball player to take it for him. McBride said that given how unlikely it was for him to make the shot, he was shocked when his first and only shot made nothing but net.
“As the ball got closer and closer, I thought it was probably going to be short, and that was the one thing I didn’t want,” McBride said. “I just didn’t want it to be short, I wanted it to at least hit something, anything. As it turns out, it hit nothing but net.”
Perhaps even more surprising than the fact that McBride made the shot was the fact that McBride got to take the shot at all. Jordan Roddenberry, the young alumni associate with the advancement office, said another person was originally supposed to take the shot.
“We had a twitter competition the week prior in which students tweeted using ‘#HU1000,’ telling us why they love Harding,” Roddenberry said. “We then had the donors pick the winner. Unfortunately, the person they picked was not able to attend, so we went to our second pick, which was Colby. We don’t think it was a coincidence.”
McBride said that because the original person was not able to come to the game, he first heard that he was chosen to take the shot about two and a half hours beforehand.
“I thought it was a joke at first,” McBride said. “I was going to go to the game regardless, but I didn’t know it was real until I saw Jordan Rodenberry down at the front looking up at me, telling me to get down there to the front row.”
After successfully making the shot, McBride said he was ecstatic and even now is still in a state of disbelief.
“It’s still kind of tough to process since they won’t apply the scholarship until next August, but I just went crazy when it went in,” McBride said. “All the Rowdies tackled me, and my friends tackled me. My sister got it on video from her perspective and showed it to me. Every time I watch it, I’m still in disbelief that it actually happened. I’m just really thankful to Arkansas Mountain Real Estate for donating the money, and I’m really thankful that I got the opportunity to do that.”
Jones of Arkansas Mountain Real Estate said he is excited for McBride and believes the scholarship supports the value of a Christian education.
“I was just amazed by how effortlessly he made the shot,” Jones said. “I think the competition was an exciting way for a student to earn a scholarship while reflecting on the core values that make Harding an excellent college. My wife and I firmly believe in the value of education and Christ’s love. We feel it is important to give to others when we have been so blessed. We wish all the success to Colby.”
