Kentucky beat Auburn to win the SEC regular-season championship on Saturday, but that wasn’t the only headline to emerge from the game. That’s because Nick Hostetter, who graduated from Kentucky in 2019, hit a half-court shot to win $10,000.
“The past few days have been absolutely wild,” Hostetter said on The DA Show. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here on sports radio right now. I still can’t believe I even hit the shot. It’s crazy.”
Hostetter was watching the game when someone tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he wanted to attempt a shot for 10 grand.
Hostetter didn’t hesitate.
“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “They do that every single game, and I’ve gone to quite a few games this year. Every time they get out there, somebody chucks up an airball. It doesn’t even get close. I’ve always thought, ‘It’d be awesome to be able to go out there and shoot a shot for 10 grand.’ It was an immediate yes, for sure.”
Hostetter had three chances to hit the half-court heave, but only needed one.
“Oh, man, just go up and chuck it up,” he said of his approach. “I didn’t think too much about the shot. As soon as I stepped on the court, I don’t even remember a thing, honestly.”
Before attempting the shot, Hostetter’s roommate told him he should run and jump on the scorers’ table if he hit it.
“When it leaves the hands, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s got a chance. That’s got a chance,’” Hostetter said, “and it went in. I run over to the scorers’ table, and looked at the people behind the table and you could tell they’re like, ‘Please don’t do this. Please don’t do this.’ I go to jump and I’m like, ‘Man, I got too much momentum. I don’t want to hurt myself and make a fool.' So I just started running and fist-pumping, jumping up and down. I honestly didn’t know what to do.”
Rupp Arena erupted as Hostetter raced around the court. Kentucky, which trailed 20-11 at that point, went on a 20-3 run and won 73-66.
Some friends have jokingly sent Hostetter Venmo requests, but sorry, everyone. He has student loans to pay.
“Absolutely,” he said. “The money is definitely going to be nice to have in the bank account.”